Audacity Help!!!!

[forpetessake]

Us darn newbie's....always stirring up the pot!


Ok so I got my first track recorded. Hooked up my Roland Hd1 drum kit to the pc and recorded the track into Audacity.

Wanted to add on some more percussion by recording a 2nd track over it.

Problem was, (and yes my pc speakers are connected...lol) I couldnt hear the first track when I went to record the additional one over it.

Where did I go wrong?

Anyone have experience with recording into Audacity using more than one track?

Thanks for any help.

[CyberCat]

I son't know anything about Audicity, but here are some general things to check:

1. Does the first track play through the speakers at all?
2. Are you trying to record the new track ontop of the old one? If you are, the new one may replace the one etirely and you might not hear it. This happens in most recording programs that I've used. Sonar Studio 6 is the first one that I've seen that allows you to hear both tracks during a re-record. So you might need to record the 2nd take on a new track.
3. Check the output settings of the old track.

[brandondrury]

I couldnt hear the first track when I went to record the additional one over it.

Do you mean you physically recorded over the first track? Or do you mean track #1 has your original drums and on track #2 you added your percussion?

[badlight]

Oh man, this is so simple to fix youre going to smack yourself after. Im not saying you should, but you'll want to.


Alright, open audacity. Click Edit at the top, and then find preferences. Or just push CTRL+P. A box should pop up, and the first tab should be "Audio I/O". This is what we are looking for. Near the bottom there should be two boxes along with something that says "Play tracks while recording a new one". Click that box, and voila. I find that sometimes Audacity likes to change its preferences occasionally, so keep an eye on things while using it.


Oh yeah, every time you hit the record button in Audacity, it records a new track.

[archiegood]

If you are hearing both tracks recorded in the new one, check the source right below the fast forward button. If it says stereo mix, you can record anything playing through the computer. So, change it to line in, mic in, whatever you are using as an input.