Only one track out of many is heard when I do playback (Big Sur

I have multiple tracks in my project but when I do playback I can only hear one track out of many. Also if I import a file recorded earlier with multiple tracks, it will only play one track still. Please advise.

What version of Audacity are you using?

Please post a screen shot of one of the projects.

– Bill

It’s Audacity 3.0.2
I have attached a screenshot. Nothing is muted and still I can hear only one voice. I saved last version of the project as an mp3 file. I tried to import it to audacity on a different laptop - same result, I can hear only one voice
Screen Shot 2021-05-27 at 10.32.40 PM.jpg

if I import a file recorded earlier with multiple tracks

You can Import a stereo or mono file or you can Open a multi-track Project.

Is the voice you can hear OK mono, one blue wave?

As an experiment, jam the Left/Right slider (to the left of the stereo track) all the way to Left on one of the silent tracks. Does that track come to life?

Koz

Thank you very much, Koz. Moving Left/Right slider to the left of the stereo tracks all the way left brought all of them to life!
Could you please explain what happened. I am a frequent Audacity user and I would like to prevent this issue from happening again.
Thanks again,

Inga

Now there is a new problem. The stop botton was flickering and now the tracks are playing all but with breaks of total silence. I don’t know what that is about.

Is that in tracks immediately after recording?
How long are the gaps?

Your stereo tracks are recorded out of phase and you are listening in mono not stereo. This was a very serious problem in the early days of recording on the computer, but it still happens, even commercially. There was a recent NPR show where the interviewer’s microphone was out of phase and if you listened on a smartphone, she vanished, but the guest was still perfectly clear.

Where are your stereo (two blue waves) tracks coming from? Always the same connections and cables? Describe it.

How are you listening? There may be a cable problem there, too. Can you hear this short (39 second) sound test OK?

https://www.kozco.com/tech/LRMonoPhase4.mp3

The four segments should be about equal volume and you should be able to hear all four. I bet you will be missing one of them. Post back.

It’s pretty unusual to have two connection problems at the same time, but each of these problems by itself is not that unusual. It drives people nuts because it’s magical. “My stereo show is perfect, but it won’t play on one of my computers and a smartphone.”

Koz

Hi Koz,

I have here recordings from different people, I know that most of them record with their phones, I am meeting them tomorrow, so I can ask what each of them record with.
I am listening with earphones on my main laptop, I was listening directly from the second laptop that had the same problem.
There is a connection problem - I can’t hear anything directly from my main laptop while using Audacity while I can hear youtube, for example, no problem, from the same laptop. It just stopped for no reason, no change of cables or anything.

I listened to your sound test: I could hear you talking from right and left, then there was a part I didn’t hear, and then there was the last part starting from 3, 4, 5, 6… till the end.
Yes, it is quite interesting that an exported file of mixed multiple tracks when imported to audacity back will play just 1-2 voices out of many chosen randomly both on my main and extra laptop. I find it is magical that by sliding the bar left the sound appeared. Any explanation?
Thank you very much for your help
Inga

Hi Steve,
I guess I need to post a reply to you here as well.
The problem with the gaps passed on its own. I guess audacity was lagging for some reason and was loading when I pressed play for a long time, then I pressed play again, then the stop button started flickering and gaps appeared, then after some time it started playing fine.
Thank you,
Inga

I could hear you talking from right and left, then there was a part I didn’t hear, and then there was the last part starting from 3, 4, 5, 6… till the end.

That’s a good starting place. Your monitor or listening system is broken. The third segment in that test has my voice exactly the same on both the Left and Right. This would be typical of someone who had a single microphone performing correctly into a stereo track. I suspect this is how many of your guests are performing which is why you can’t hear them, either. The fourth segment, the 3, 4, 5 thing has my voice intentionally damaged.

Any explanation?

I think I can explain the YouTube thing. Those are full stereo. There is different sound on Left and Right. The violins on the left and the trumpets on the right. I think you’re hearing those shows damaged, too, but it’s less obvious because it’s hidden in the musical production. I bet there are some instruments in the middle of the orchestra you can’t hear.

Do you have or can borrow a second set of headphones or earphones? They’re wired, right, not wireless? Do you have them plugged in all the way? I have one laptop where the headphone plug likes to get stuck half-way in.

As I think about this. You didn’t say my “Left” voice was in your left ear. Is it? Are you listening on a single earpiece?

What happens if you listen on the laptop speakers?

Past that I think you need hands-on servicing. You missed a very basic sound monitor test.

Koz

Hi, Koz.
I used a different set of earphones and they passed the test. I guess my main earphones that I am using are broken. With them I can hear both right side and left side sound in the middle while the sound coming from the middle I can hear only quiet obscure sounds. With a different set of earphones or amplifier I can hear fine all from right sides.
However, this still doesn’t provide an answer to why I cannot hear audacity projects through amplifiers or directly on a different laptop.
As far as I understand now, sliding the R/L bar to the Left allowed me to hear all the sound of the project on the left which translates to the middle sound while using my main earphones. Is this a correct understanding?

Thank you, Koz.
Inga

I guess my main earphones that I am using are broken. With them I can hear both right side and left side sound in the middle

From my hardware experiences, I would say the ground wire or shield in the headphone cable is broken. That would give you exactly the listening experience you have. I would be ripping them apart and trying to fix them. That’s how I got my terrific Sennheiser headphones—out of a bin. Normal people would chuck 'em.

However, this still doesn’t provide an answer to why I cannot hear audacity projects through amplifiers or directly on a different laptop.

I need to get fresh, hot caffeine and unscramble that. A broken headphone cable is not the only way to get these strange cancellation problems (and no, Audacity is not broken).

Koz

As far as I understand now, sliding the R/L bar to the Left allowed me to hear all the sound of the project on the left which translates to the middle sound while using my main earphones.

Those are not your main headphones any more. We’re calling those your broken headphones. Yes, breaking your shows by throwing off the Left/Right sound balance allows them to appear on your broken headphones.

I can make this worse. The shows you could hear on your broken headphones? Those shows are broken. Write them down. You may need to find out who submitted them when we get all this settled. You may not be able to use them in a production.

As we go.

Koz

What’s the show? I don’t think we ever asked that. What is the production? Why are we here?

Sometimes knowing the goal can shortcut a lot of hunting and pecking.

Koz

why I cannot hear audacity projects

Audacity Projects are not sound files. Audacity can’t Save a sound file. To get a common sound file you have to File > Export one, either perfect quality WAV or lesser quality but smaller MP3.

You can’t listen to an AUP or an AUP3 Project file on a computer. You have to open them in Audacity and make Audacity play them through the computer. That’s why when you get done with your production you have to Export a “real” sound file so everybody else can hear it.

This brings us back to what the show is and what we’re doing.

Koz

Hi Koz,

Sorry, I had no access to the computer where we had this chat. Thank you for your reply, it was very helpful.
I still don’t understand why Audacity didn’t play the project through amplifiers if the problem was with the earphones cord. And how did moving it to the left solve this problem.

Inga