Please read this Frequently Asked Question. That is, turn off Software Playthrough in the Audacity Preferences, which has the playback delay. Then go to "Sound" in the Windows Control Panel, click the "Playback" tab, right-click over the sound device you are recording into > Properties, then click the "Levels" tab. Then unmute the input you are plugged into (probably line-in). There isn't any guarantee this will work, it depends on your sound card and drivers. If it does not work you have to use software playthrough with your current hardware and accept the playback delay.johnescott64 wrote:I have a guitar going through a Digitech RP250 multi effect processor. My computer runs Windows 7, and I have headphones plugged into the computer to hear everything. I have imported audio tracks and am trying to record the guitar along side the song that has been imported. My problem is that I hit the notes on the guitar, but there is a 1/2 second delay before I hear the sound through the headphones and it delays the recording the same amount. In reality, I am playing right along with the song, but it get's recorded as if I am off by that 1/2 second.
You still have to fix the recording delay. Use Time Shift Tool (F5) to drag the recorded track backwards to the correct position. In Audacity 1.3.12 (the version you should be using on Windows 7), you can measure the latency, then set the Latency Correction in Recording Preferences to that amount. If the recording latency is constant, that will lay down the tracks in sync.
If you unmute the input in the Control Panel, you should be able to hear before you record. If you have to use software playthrough, click the red recording VU meter in Audacity to turn monitoring on, as well as enabling software playthrough.johnescott64 wrote:A second problem is that I cannot hear the guitar in the headphones until I hit the record icon. I just downloaded Audacity about a month ago, so I am a newbie at best.
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Also, please don't send PM's asking for help; we want people to post in the Forum so everyone can benefit from the questions and answers. To post, go to the front page of the Forum, and click the link for the operating system and version of Audacity you have (Audacity 1.3.X, Windows in your case). Then click "New Topic" top left.
Gale