Can anyone tell me whether it is possible to record audio via a USB headset (overlaying onto an imported backing track in audacity), and also listen to the 2 overlapping audios (the backing track and my recording) LIVE, played through an audio headset also plugged into the PC, as I record? (ie 2 headsets plugged into the same PC)
On Audacity, I have the microphone setting on the usb headset, and the playback setting on the audio headset, but can only hear the backing track via the audio set, but can only hear the backing track through the audio headset. Many thanks.
If you enable [u]Software Playthrough[/u] you can hear what you’re recording through the selected [u]Playback Device[/u] but there is always latency (delay) through the computer.
You can adjust the [u]Latency/Buffer Length[/u] but it sometimes gets tricky because if the buffer it too short you’ll get glitches/dropouts.
(overlaying onto an imported backing track in audacity),
Typically, you record a new track and mix later - [u]Tutorial - Recording Multi-track Overdubs[/u].
You can record all of the sound going to your headphones/speakers with WASAPI (loopback) but you’ll have to configure Windows to send the microphone signal to the headphones (without going through Audacity) and you’ll have to turn-off Software Playthrough to avoid a feedback loop.
(ie 2 headsets plugged into the same PC)
No. By default, Windows only allows one recording & playback “device” at a time. With There is software to get-around that but from what I understand most people give-up and find a more straightforward solution. With multiple microphones/headphones, you’d normally use analog microphones/headphones with an [u]Audio Interface[/u] and/or a mixer. There are mixers with USB outputs.
A [u]USB mixer[/u] with analog microphones/headphones might be best for you because you can plug your (analog) headphone directly into the mixer (with a splitter if you need 2-pair) which means you won’t get latency, and you can run your backing track into the mixer, etc. With a more elaborate setup, you could have a mixer for monitoring and a separate interface for recording.
Note that mixers & audio interfaces do NOT work properly with USB microphones or analog “computer microphones”. You’ll need stage/studio microphones with balanced XLR connections. (They do make pro headsets with that type of mic, but they are not cheap.)