I didn’t think there would be a reply after that long, great! Thanks for your answers!
I didn’t really follow up with Audacity for my multitrack recording and multitrack playback. I got recording working under Linux with JACK but never more than two outputs. And it is more complicated than seems necessary to me. Maybe one could extend JACK support in Audacity to get multitrack output working? This sounds easier to me than adding native multitrack output and would have the same result, at least on Linux.
Next I tried some other open source solutions (Ardour, Traverso, …), both on Linux an Windows, but they didn’t really match my needs (Ardour would probably work out fine but requires too much screen estate on my little Laptop…). I ended up using a commercial software for the time being (Reaper, which is not that expensive…). I would still prefer Audacity or at least another open source solution if it were possible.
I did not try to compile my own Audacity with ASIO support. I understand the principle, but I have no experience at all with compiling stuff on Windows. This would be a whole-weekend-task for me, time I cannot afford to invest right now. Maybe I will try this some time in the future. Until then it seems I have to use commercial stuff… grumble
Would it be possible to use JACK to make a virtual “sound card” with multiple channels which actually takes inputs from multiple real sound cards and controls them under one driver for Audacity?
I presume that you are talking Linux?
Yes that is possible, but unless all physical recording devices are sharing a common clock signal they will gradually drift out of sync.
Inexpensive sound cards will often not have very accurate clocks and no input for inputting an external clock signal so this will probably require hacking the cards with a soldering iron.
See here: http://quicktoots.linuxaudio.org/toots/el-cheapo/
and here: http://jackaudio.org/multiple_devices
I was not actually talking any specific OS as JACK is cross platform and I would think that it would work the same on all platforms even though it doesn’t have much documentation for windows or Linux.
That first link is a good article, thanks, I should see what I have around here and try it.
Does Jack actually work on Windows? Jack development on Windows has tended to be rather sporadic and Windows users tend to shy away from anything that is more complicated than running an EXE (gross generalisation I know )
I think Jack does work but I have not been able to find enough documentation on it to get anything going in the patchbay. I will probably have to use Linux but that is not a problem.
I am on windows primarily by the way but I also use Linux occasionally.
I just recently purchased an interface which has two inputs for two microphones. I’ve been wondering the same thing…how I can record with both microphones at one time and get two seperate tracks, since it seems Audacity only offers input recording for a single mono track or a single stereo track? It is, in fact, doable!
Set the input to 2 (Stereo) Input. Let’s say microphone 1 is a guitar in the left ear and microphone 2 is your voice in the right ear. When you record with the two microphones with the input set to stereo, you’ll hear the guitar in the left ear and your voice in the right ear in the single stereo track.
Pan the stereo track you just recorded all the way to the left and export the file (you’ll need that file again in a second). Repeat this process, but pan to the right instead (you’ll need this file, too…remember where you save them!). Now you have two new files, one for the guitar and one for your voice.
Import both of those files. You’ll notice that they’re still stereo tracks, and that the track for the guitar is still in the left ear but your voice in the right ear is silent, and vice versa for the track that you panned all the way to the right (i.e. your voice is still in the right ear but the guitar in the left ear is silent).
Simple go to the “Tracks” tab and click the first option: “Stereo Track to Mono.” Now they are both mono tracks, one for the guitar and one for your voice, as if you recorded the two microphones into two seperate tracks.
I would choose “Split Stereo Track” from the track context menu (drop-down).
The two tracks must afterwards set to mono (instead of L or R; same menu).
It is rather confusing that the track menu and the drop down menu do not share the same functions but almost the same names.
Why do that when “Split Stereo to Mono” will do both operations at the same time? This is precisely the job that “Split Stereo to Mono” was created for.
Sorry, my fault.
Split to mono is ok.
I’ve confused it with split to dual mono, i.e. that the tracks were both the same averaged Sound.
That’s only with the split to mono in the track menu - which of course only Returns one channel.
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