Problems with multitrack (overdub) [SOLVED]

[ButchA]

I have been a long time user of Audacity going back to a 32bit Windows XP desktop. It always worked perfectly over the years. But now I'm on a Lenovo laptop with Windows 7 and have the latest Audacity 2.0.6 installed. It plays back all my pre-recorded tracks and sessions from my old XP system and lets me tweak them and remix them. But yet for some reason I can't record like I used anymore.

Shure microphone plugged into an 1/8th inch adapter, and then plugged directly into the external mic jack on the laptop
Track 1 records beautifully. Whatever instrument (rhythm guitar, keyboards, etc...) is fine.
Track 2 records but gets all choppy, cuts out, goes whisper quiet, comes back in again at normal recording level, etc... repeat... etc...

Test mic (fine). Test mic cable (fine). Test 1/8th inch adapter (fine). Test laptop (Windows 7) settings in the control panel (and they too are all fine).

Forgo the Shure mic and try using the built-in, internal, microphone on the Lenovo laptop (yeah, I know - it sounds like {censored} but what the heck). Same thing...
Track 1 records beautifully. Whatever instrument (rhythm guitar, keyboards, etc...) is fine.
Track 2 records but gets all choppy, cuts out, goes whisper quiet, comes back in again at normal recording level, etc... repeat... etc...

What happened with Audacity running on a 64bit Windows 7 laptop? Why are there so many problems now?

[kozikowski]

It's possible to wander off in several directions. Do you mean "Track 2" as in the right channel of a stereo capture, or "Track 2" as in the first overdub timeline of a sound-on-sound session?

You should be capturing the microphones as mono. One bouncing red bar and one line of blue waves. Is that what you're doing? My laptop has option to capture the built-in microphone as stereo should I so desire, but the external services are pure mono.

Koz

[ButchA]

I'm sorry I wasn't clear...

Both tracks are mono. Both tracks are the Shure microphone into the 1/8th adapter and then into the external mic jack on the laptop.

Track 1 MONO: Rhythm guitar.
Track 2 MONO: Bass guitar.
Headphones on or off, it makes no difference. If I get bleedover, I'm not that concerned at the moment. I just want Track 2 to record clearly and cleanly while Track 1 is playing.

[kozikowski]

If you post enough times without trying to sell us anything, the forum moderation will go away and your postings will appear immediately. I need to go back and read that again.
Koz

[kozikowski]

I'm more than even sure I know what's happening, but the mystery is why it's not happening to track one. The guide track or Rhythm Guitar.

Mic-In on a Win7 machine (or Vista, or Win8) is not just a hole where you pour microphone sound. Windows tries to "process" the sound so to make communications like Skype work better. It tries to do echo cancellation and noise removal... and it hates music.

I'm not a Windows elf, but this happens often enough we have a manual entry for it.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/fa ... hancements

I would dust off my hands and go away but for one problem. Why didn't it happen to the first guitar?

That may be your bleed problem. You should be listening to headphones and there should be zero bleed between the tracks (this is assuming your headphones can't be heard down the hall in the kitchen. I know people who listen like that. I don't know how without their ears starting to bleed.

Those kinds of problems are frequently cause by telling Audacity to record from "Stereo Mix" or other fake software device instead of the actual hardware Mic-In on the soundcard. You can check that with the Audacity Device Toolbar.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/de ... olbar.html

Stereo Mix is "Everything Playing on the Computer." So your track two is really trying to record the bass guitar plus the rhythm guitar plus everything else that's open in Windows Control Panels. That's why when you said you might have bleed, my ears went up. That could be a settings problem.

Let us know.

Koz

[ButchA]

Thanks... I am going to go to Lenovo's website and see if they have updated audio drivers. That be another place to look....

[ButchA]

No such luck...

I went to Lenovo's website and updated the audio drivers to the latest version, rebooted, tested various Windows sounds, played an MP3 tune, watched a You Tube video, and everything still works great

BUT NOT AUDACITY!!!

I don't get this at all! Try this simple test... Heck, don't even use an external mic. Just use the mic built into your laptop:

*PLUG IN A PAIR OF HEADPHONES INTO YOUR LAPTOP*
1) Hit the record button on Audacity. Leave it as mono, it doesn't matter for this test...
2) Sing "Helloooooooooo" for about 10 seconds into the built in microphone.
3) Stop the recording.
4) Hit the record button again on Audacity. It will create another mono track on track 2. Again, leave it as mono for this simple test...
5) Sing "Helloooooooooo" again but in a higher pitched voice, for about 10 seconds into the built in microphone.

In theory, you should be harmonizing with yourself in this simple test for 10 seconds. Track 1 is playing your first "Helloooooooo", while you are recording your second "Hellooooooo".

Both tracks should be crystal clear with no choppyness or cutting in and out... Maybe I should completely uninstall Audacity, reboot, come back and install a fresh version of it. I'm completely at a loss here...

[kozikowski]

Assuming they're two mono tracks, use the left-hand track drop-down > Make Stereo Track. Drag-select the first 6 seconds (assuming there's a stutter) and File > Export Selection: WAV (Microsoft).... If that doesn't include any damage, drag-select 6 seconds that does.

Post it here.

http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 49&t=72887

Are you trying to produce work at some super high quality rate? I'm assuming 44100, 16-bit, Stereo. If you're trying to produce at 96000 and 24-bit Stereo, you may just be over-running the machine's ability to keep up. Overdubbing needs carefully timed, bi-directional, real-time data streams. It can't stop and wait while hard drive services catch up.

Koz

[ButchA]

I just made a sample recording of me speaking to you and also strumming an acoustic guitar.

Track 1 Stereo: My voice talking to you and explaining the problem. :55 to 1:10 is me simply strumming on my guitar.

Track 2 Stereo: At :55 to 1:10 is an attempted overdub of me playing a quick little guitar solo or something over the guitar chords on Track 1.

Both tracks were recorded using my Lenovo laptop on Windows 7 and using the built in microphone. Nothing fancy... I was also wearing headphones so I could hear Track 1 play as I was recording Track 2.

https://app.box.com/s/8mxkh0yaa8fi63n0an4v7iuoe68tqxl4

Hopefully you can open up the file from that website called box.com

[ButchA]

Here's another example....

I plugged my Fender Stratocaster straight into the mic jack (with 1/8" adapter) on my Lenovo laptop. Track 1 (not heard, not mixed down, not included) was me just playing a rockabilly guitar rhythm in the key of "A" in Mono. It recorded perfectly fine.

Track 2 is the main problem... Below is the clip of me playing a short rockabilly guitar solo/riff through headphones, while Track 1 was playing and Track 2 was recording. You can clearly hear how the electric guitar cuts in and out and the sound is all whacked out..

https://app.box.com/s/ki32ab53zssbkndma0t8teb766rg0f5i

What is going on with version 2.0.6???