Recording Wave problems

[Peestie]

I've just got a new laptop and a Tascam US122 external soundcard. I have my guitar plugged into the US122 and it records just great BUT it seems that that is the only thing I can record. On my old PC (witout the US122) I could change the input to record from Line In/Wave/Microphone etc. and I could record sound files playing on other programs (like Guitar Pro 5) with Kristal or Audacity but now I don't seem to have that option on the new laptop.

Can anyone shed some light on what I've missed? Are there settings I can change that will allow me to change the input so I can record these files again?

Thanks.

[AndyH]

It is not clear from your post if the only thing you can record is any input from the Tascam device or just the guitar. The first makes sense, the second is confusing.

If the Tascam has no microphone facilities, that explains no microphone recording. If it has and you can't use a microphone, either something is broke or you are not following some part of the manufacturer instructions.

Everything from a USB device goes in via the USB connection. When such a soundcard contains both microphone and line in facilities (and/or any other inputs), the selection is all done in the external device. The recording program just get the signal sent over the USB connection. This does not involve separate selections in the recording program for line-in, microphone-in, instrument-in, etc. This may not be true for USB 2 soundcards.

As far as recording audio playing on the computer goes, you most probably can't. This is one of the "deficiencies" of USB. PCI and on-board soundcards can do this through their mixer facilities but those don't exist for any USB I've seem (because they can't exist).

It the card is full duplex you might go line-out to line-in and record via the D to A and A to D processing. Might if the drivers are multi-client to allow one program to use the input and another to use the output. However, I suspect that is unlikely with USB.

[Peestie]

Thanks for the reply.

I can only record from the USB not just the guitar, sorry for not being clear.

So, what you're saying is that because I'm using the USB device there is no way that I can record audio from that's playing on my computer like I used to be able to do on my old computer? Is there no way I can change something so that I can record the audio playing on my computer with the soundcard in the laptop? :confused: (Sorry if I'm seeming a bit stupid, I'm a bit slow with computers).

On my old PC in Audacity I have a drop down menu for input which lists:
Wave, Line In, Aux/Phone, CD Player, Microphone, Stereo Mix
On the laptop the same box is there in Audacity but it is "greyed out" and there are no options to drop down. Does this mean that there is nothing I can do about this, even with the soundcard built into the computer?

Thanks.

[AndyH]

Is the internal soundcard working? It can be turned off in a number of ways. Sometimes there is a BIOS option. It can be disabled in Device Manager. It can be disallowed in the Multimedia section of the Control Panel. If the soundcard is functional it still might not be "working" exactly because something may need to be adjusted in the Windows Control Panel.

Sometimes, but not so commonly, two different soundcards have some conflicts so that one, or both, won't work. Mostly it is possible to set them up so both work fine.

Do you know how to check on its status in Device Manager? Do you know how to look at the default options for OS Multimedia? You first have to establish that the soundcard works, then you have a chance to find out why it doesn't work in a particular application.

You probably use WinXP; I don't. I've worked with WinXP a little, enough to get around for the things I'm talking about here, but I probably would have difficulty giving clear directions from memory. I believe there is a permanent Start Menu option for Control Panel which will get you to Device Manager and Multimedia options. The BIOS is accessible only during boot-up, only at a certain time near the beginning of the process (generally by pressing the Delete key or pressing some particular Function key).

If you don't know how to check the things I listed above, try the OS help. Unfortunately that will probably be as useless as it usually is, but maybe you will get lucky.

[jmail]

A lot of newer computer gear (laptops & desktops) know that you "do not want or need" two sound devices working at the same time... Therefore, they will graciously & quietly disable the onboard device at boot-up so you can't use it, and then be kind enough to not tell you it did so... Again, a BIOS option on some machines... Go and be careful...

[oretez]

for a quick test unplug the tascam, just for fun, reboot. See if that makes onboard sound (if you have it) available to your recording app

Audacity, if I remember correctly and it has been a while since I reviewed it, used to only access a single audio card. Something not particularly unusual for entry level recording software

a number of consumer audio apps to not provide an option for selecting among several discrete audio sources, they will attempt to locate a default device

The options you describe for Audacity with an on board sound card do not indicate discrete devices . . . they are options available on the single bit of hardware.

As Andy indicated USB audio devices tend not to function directly through the windows mixer and while you can get system audio routed to USB devices in ways other then analog out to analog in, it tends to not be as simple a process, if it works, as unplugging the USB device and using the onboard cards 'What you hear' option (which comes under a number of names but tends to be easy to locate because it is not: CD, WAV, Synthesizer . . . it's the 'other' option (if it's available) . . . which simply sums everything from all audio sources)

[Peestie]

Thanks for all the tips. I'll give them a go and see if it works.

Thanks!