Hey y’all, so i’m trying to record drum covers for my YouTube channel and I have an electric kit (Alesis Nitro Mesh) I went and bought a USB cable and downloaded Audacity so I could record it but when I go into the program, the USB cable doesn’t show up as a microphone. How can I fix this?
I have an electric kit (Alesis Nitro Mesh)
The USB connection is [u]MIDI[/u], not audio. Audacity is not a MIDI application.
With MIDI, the drums send a “MIDI message” telling the software which drum was hit, and how hard it was hit. Then, the actual drum sounds are generated by a virtual instrument and MIDI software. Later after capturing (“recording”) you can change the sound of the various drums/cymbals and/or change/correct the timing, etc.
If you have a desktop/tower computer with a regular soundcard or if you have an audio interface you can record the analog line-outputs. (The microphone input on a laptop is not “correct” for a line-level or headphone-level signal.)
There is a headphone jack for private practice, plus stereo outs to connect to a PA system, amplifier or recording console.
Bingo. Now all you need is a nice Behringer UCA202 as a stereo sound interface…
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-U-Control-UCA202-Ultra-Low-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI
…and you’re in. This has the additional advantage that it’s certified for overdubbing.
You can try to force your computer sound connection to work, but unless you have a full-on desktop machine you only have about a 25%-30% chance of success.
koz