Audacity Forum

i am trying to record a mix straight from my mixer into my computer. what seems to be happeneing is the record is playing faster than it is coming out of the computers speakers and a gap starts increasing making it impossible to mix. is there any easy way to prevent this? or do i need a better sound card or a linky usb thing? or do u think i will run into more problems after i solve this one? i really hope this is it. thanks a lot for any help

Which Mac do you have and which OS? You shouldn't need the USB thingy at all. Most Macs still alive have a nice Stereo Line-In (two black arrows and a circle) and a headphone jack.

It's possible to get a Mac so old it won't do that, but my very old iBook could.

If you do have a modern Mac, you should not be using Audacity 1.2. Newer Macs don't support Audacity 1.2. Get 1.3.12 from here:

http://audacityteam.org/download/

You can have both on your computer, but only use one at a time. Audacity 1.3 will open up 1.2 projects, but not the other way 'round.

Koz

oh right sweet man thanks a lot. i had no idea there was a newer program i just got audacity yesterday and its really hard for me because i am bad with computers. i stick to vinyl for the most part hehe. o and the imac i have is pretty new, its like the new square one that looks like just a monitor with everything built in it. i am using mac os x but im not sure how to be more specific... and i am plugging the line in into that little circle with the arrows socket you decribed. so im hoping getting the newer audacity might fix this problem. thanks ill let u know how it goes

ok i have gotten the new version and am still experiencing the problem. it is a delay from hearing the song that is in my headphones and what im hearing from the speakers. the delay isnt increasing though like i thought . is it possible to minimize this delay...? or is this a problem that everyone has and i need to learn to deal with it? thanks

What you are heading is "playthrough delay" and there is nothing you can do about it short of turning Software Playthrough off. Go to the Transport menu and turn Software Playthrough off, then listen through the mixer headphones only.

-- Bill

thank you for your help that clears everything up. i suppose i better get used to recording this way.