RECORDING LEVELS ON STEREO IS NOT RIGHT

[Rockguitarist88]

There was no recording at all when i used the RCA's and the instructions clearly state that the RCA's are for a output to your stereo and not for recording.

I tried doing what was posted previously about duplicating mono tracks etc. But no matter what happens it will always come out of both speakers ,although the "unpanned" speaker is quieter.

The only glimmer of hope i get with recording stereo is that the podcast factory has a switch on the back to select your instrument input or the line in, input.
When i plug in my guitar to it it records on the right stereo side, and the mic records on the left. But not both for either. Also, if plug in only the mic as i never use the instrument option, and the levels show left hand side, if i click the instrument/line switch in an out repeatedly, the right hand side level jumps and records a small click.

Its as if Audacity and podcast are having a good time having a luagh at my expense. I do feel like there is a soloution though, i just havent yet found it.

[whomper]

There was no recording at all when i used the RCA's and the instructions clearly state that the RCA's are for a output to your stereo and not for recording.
I tried doing what was posted previously about duplicating mono tracks etc. But no matter what happens it will always come out of both speakers ,although the "unpanned" speaker is quieter.
.

rca is line out. period. goes into any line in whether stereo or other. if you have a sound card you can plug those in and record in stereo (assuming actual stereo is provided else dual mono or only one channel depending how you use your box). i do that with my pc. do you have an internal sound card or external with line in? then it will work fine.
most including apparenlty your playback equipment does not have perfect separation. stereo normally provides some sound from each speaker. if you want the ping pong effect you may need a new amplifier.
you still have never provided complete details of your set up and details of every step you tried that you say failed.

[whomper]

No i hadnt changed a thing, like i said i didnt use it for a while. Ive checked all the drivers, there allu updated and correct. However we find a way of making it work in stereo properly then i shall let everyone know, as other people are having the same problems and i know how stressfull it is.

righto. maybe *you* didn't. but some of those automatic microstuff updates often makes changes. maybe the driver is up to date now but not going to work anymore. recheck all seven or 8 places ms hides settings for audio and make sure they are all correct. any one of them can cause problems. check your sound card settings and also any external devices. double check the connections. i am not aware of anyone else having problems like this. and you still have not documented in detail what you actually did and how the hard/soft wares are set up and interconnected. you just keep asserting you did something but did not tell us all the steps so we can verify it.

if it worked once and is not working now, then something did change. maybe the hardware failed. maybe the updates broke the software. maybe the commands/steps you are doing are different now. maybe the cables are loose. whatever. there is something different.

[Storer]

I just ran some tests with a 440Hz, -2 dB tone alternating between left and right channels, with 1/4 second silence in between. With my sound card -- Soundblaster Audigy Platinum circa 2002 -- I can hear the right channel sound through the left ear at about -33dB and vice versa. This occurs with Audacity 1.3.12RC2, Audacity 1.2.6, Goldwave 5.24, and Winamp 5.5. I'm running Win XP/sp3. I had never noticed this before now, and since in my case, it happens identially with four different playback programs, that pretty much points the finger at my sound card.

I determined the level of the "leaking" channel sound by creating a mono sound with an identical -2 dB sound, 1/4 sec. silence, a -32 dB sound, and another 1/4 sec silence. To my old ears this mono tone and the alternating stereo tones sound the same.

I've attached the two files used for this test. They are only 2.5 seconds long, so play them in loop mode if you want to try this test.

stereo-separation-test3.wav

Stereo, alternating left and right -2dB, 440Hz

(215.38 KiB) Downloaded 43 times

stereo-separation-test2.wav

Mono, Alternating 440Hz -2 dB and -32 dB tones.

(107.71 KiB) Downloaded 40 times

Dave

[whomper]

bruce bartlett, microphone guru, says 20 db gives full stereo sound.
if your channels are -30db for crosstalk that is good for a cheap sound card.

[Ctrl+N]

why mono if i want stereo recording?

You should choose mono if you want a monophonic recording to come out of both speakers equally.

I am not sure whether you are using a line-in jack or a microphone jack coming into your sound card. The jacks are wired differently, one is stereo and the other is monophonic.

I tried doing what was posted previously about duplicating mono tracks etc. But no matter what happens it will always come out of both speakers ,although the "unpanned" speaker is quieter.

When i plug in my guitar to it it records on the right stereo side, and the mic records on the left.

So you are saying you want the microphone to come out of the left speaker and the guitar on the right?
If so you definitely want to use the line-in jack and tell Audacity to record in stereo.

[Irish]

"If all else fails, read the manual" ...so I read the manual. (M Audio Fast Track USB)

It says: "Mono Switch - When pressed in, this switch sums the input signals to mono for direct monitoring."

i.e. when pressed in, you will get whatever input (or inputs) you are using coming out equally on both channels (as Koz suggested). Otherwise, as you have said, you get the mic on the left channel and the guitar/Line on the right.

PO'L