Recording is too fast for track

[aean]

Ok, it seems I was too quick on the A|V part. Not totally satisfied with the A|V solution I wanted to be totally sure it was indeed slowing my pc. Yesterday when I shut it off, my recordings were fine. I know my pc has a tendency to stand still, usually because avast! is busy. But it's only for a second or two. Today I did some test stuff with avast! scanner on, just counting over a beat. All was in working order. Recordings were fine.

Now, I'm troubleshooting to make sure that whatever was wrong before won't happen again. I do have both Real time and High quality sample rates set to fast sinc. I don't recall if there were my settings way back before when I first starting successfully recording. Chances are, I had both set for High quality sinc because I'm a sucker for anything that says "high-quality". I bought my soundcard used, so I was immediately suspect of the hardware when the problem first began.

I don't know. All's recording fine now. Giving kudos to Gale, I think my setting were just off. And I was too panicked and frazzled to see it. I'll keep an eye on it and report back how everything is going.

Thanks to all who replied!

Cheers!

[Gale Andrews]

Now, I'm troubleshooting to make sure that whatever was wrong before won't happen again. I do have both Real time and High quality sample rates set to fast sinc. I don't recall if there were my settings way back before when I first starting successfully recording.

Just to reiterate, the only thing relevant there to recording an overdub is the "Real time" Sample Rate Converter. That will affect playback quality, but only if you were resampling playback (that is, the project rate (Hz) bottom left of Audacity was at a different rate than the rate of the track you were playing).

However, if your sound device or its drivers are questionable, it *might* help if you made sure those two rates matched. If they do, then the recording is made at the actual sample rate of the track being played, and the playback of that track won't be resampled. This should not really matter. For example, if your sound device records at up to 48000 Hz sample rate, then other things being equal you should record at that highest available rate to get the highest quality (but not at a higher rate than that, because that will also involve resampling,which is always lossy).

Choosing one recording rate rather than another should never alter the speed of the recorded track. But with an "iffy" device, asking it to record at (say) 48000 Hz while resampling playback of your 44100 Hz backing track to 48000 Hz might just be enough to throw it off and give unpredictable results.


Gale

[aean]

So far so good.

Gale, thank you so much for your input. I'm learning this whole recording process pretty much as I go, asking questions here and there and playing around with different tools. I know nothing of sample rates and resampling. I will check my soundcard to see the highest rate it can handle. Without you, I'd still be in the dark on these things.

Cheers!