Help! I'm a little confused with TRS, Logic and interfaces!

[shauncerborino]

I'm not completely technically impaired but I do need some help starting off. I currently use Logic 8 Express (hoping to move up to Logic 9 Studio once money starts coming in again. I have a Rode condenser and an M-Audio Fast Track. I have a TRS and XLR cable. The music I've been making is a mixture of real instruments and synths.

I've been using my keyboard and digital piano with midi for the software sounds but I don't know how to record the keyboard and piano sounds on to Logic. I read online and from help at Sam Ash to buy a TRS for that, which I did, but I don't know where to go from there. Also, I currently have some guitar in a few of the songs I've written and I've used the software sound for that. I don't want to keep that because real guitars of obviously better. Could an electric and/or acoustic-electric guitar be able to record through the interface with the TRS the same way the keyboard and piano will?

Another issue I don't know how to work out is the level of the microphone. After messing around with the program I was able to get the channel from the mic to record to Logic but the sound isn't clear and the levels are too low. The mic is not a problem itself but I have no clue how to adjust this.

I appreciate any answers. I have everything in front of me and now I'm trying to put it to good use to get some clear music made. Thanks!
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[boo]

I'll try to answer your questions.

A trs cable is a balanced cable, it should work for your keys, if you have a balanced output, but a regular instrument cable will probably work too.
Keyboard: take the line out of the keyboard and plug it into the fastracks line in. Create an audio track in logic and arm it for recording. You should hear the internal keyboard sounds.

An electric guitar would use an instrument cable to record . An electric acoustic could use an instrument cable if the pickup is decent, or I always use external mics for acoustics.

You have a condenser mic, does the fastrak have phantom power? You need it to run condensers. It would be a switch labeled phantom power or 48v on the hardware or the software for the fastrak. What model of rode mic? What keyboard?

[shauncerborino]

Ok. I figured out the TRS cable today. It works fine. I've been messing around with the making the sound a little clearer. However, when I play the keyboard, the audio isn't on point. While I record at a certain measure, I'm playing in time, the music is playing in time, everything sounds great. When I'm done recording and playback, the audio starts 1 second before the measure. It's not delayed because it doesn't start after. But everything matches up during recording. Is it a signal problem?

My interface has the phantom. its labeled 48v. I switched it on. The mic is a Rode NT-1A. I'm also using a Yamaha P-85 digital piano.

Thanks for your help, I know things will start coming together lol