Hello, I dowloaded Audacity 2.1.2 on my laptop with OS windows 10 pro, I have a Yamaha DTX400K drum kit which I want to record covers and drum sounds on through Audacity , now the only problem is that I can’t find my drum kit as an input in the program so it only records through the internal microphone in my laptop. what should I do please help out .
Thanks. " Audacity 2.1.2 , Yamaha DTX400K , USB TO HOST CABLE , YAMAHA MIDI Driver installed , Windows 10 Pro 64-bit , 1 Headphone/Microphone input on my laptop , Lenovo G580 Laptop.
Yamaha DTX400K drum kit which I want to record covers and drum sounds on through Audacity…
…YAMAHA MIDI Driver installed
Sorry, but Audacity is an audio program, not a MIDI program.
Audacity will work with a USB microphone or a USB mixer. These devices work with digital audio streams.
MIDI sends note, timing, and velocity (loudness) messages to the MIDI software (or MIDI instrument) and the computer/instrument generates the sound.
If you’re using MIDI software to capture/record the MIDI messages, the sound you get won’t be exactly the same as what you’re getting from your drums. The generated sound depends on your virtual instruments (in software). With high quality virtual instruments, it can sound like expensive drums/cymbals, or it doesn’t have to sound like drums at all!
If your drums have an analog headphone output and your computer has a line-input you CAN record the analog with Audacity.
Most laptop computers only have mic-level inputs, so in order to get good quality recordings with a laptop you usually need an external USB audio interface with line inputs.
so it only records through the internal microphone in my laptop. what should I do please help out.
Plug into the mic input before starting Windows. Then it should show-up as an external microphone.
If you don’t see the external “microphone” it as an option in Audacity, right click the Windows speaker/volume icon and then click on Recording Devices. If Windows doesn’t see it, Audacity can’t see it. There’s a chance that the headphone won’t “activate” the input like an actual microphone.
If you want to record the headphone output, I recommend that you get a Y-Adapter (splitter) so you can plug-in headphones (or an amp/speakers) and the computer at the same time. You can get latency (delay) when listening/monitoring through the computer, so it’s best to monitor the direct output from the instrument.
The Mic-In of your laptop is not a good option for music. For one thing, it’s usually mono, not stereo, and easily overloaded producing crunchy sound.
You can get a stereo USB adapter for your laptop. I have a Behringer UCA-202 and like it. Here it is connecting my stereo mixer to my Windows machine. It also has a place to plug in headphones.
You can try without it, but if you find your mouth forming the words, “It doesn’t sound very good,” you may be a candidate for a stereo adapter.
Behringer is not the only one. There are others.
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewforum.php?f=27
Koz
That’s a different drum kit… The USB port on the TD-30 works for MIDI or audio (I just looked at the online user manual).
You can connect the > TD-30 > to your computer and use your sequencer software (DAW) to record the
TD-30’s performance > as audio or as MIDI > (p. 140)
I’m pretty sure the USB port on your Yamaha kit is MIDI only, but you can check your user manual.
As some of the other elves are quick to point out, some computers can switch between Stereo Line-In and Mic-In with one socket. Those are celebrities. Most can’t. Even rarer are the computers with all three connections, Blue Stereo Line-In, Pink Mic-In and Green or Black Stereo Line-Out or Headphone Out.
Even Macs, which had Stereo Line-In for thousands of years, finally gave up and went with a microphone connection instead.
The small Behringer adapter has one other attribute. It’s certified for Overdubbing/Sound-On-Sound. You want to add drums while playing along to an existing song? This is a good way to do it.
Koz