Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility... -Sound Forge - PC

Subject:Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility... Posted by: scooby13q Date:3/1/2002 2:27:41 PM I'm having problems getting good quality audio from my Roland VS-1680 console. Whenever I record, the volume picked up by Sound Forge is very low, and when I amplify it, it doesn't sound very good. I've checked the Volume Control, and all inputs are turned all the way up. I've been trying to connect the Roland to my sound card via 1. a standard L/R cable from the master output to the aux 2 input, 2. an optical cable and 3. an L/R cable from the master output to the mic input. I've had the most success with the mic input, since I can adjust the sensitivity, but even at higher volumes, the audio sounds more like AM radio, and I have to use a combiner to use this input, thus eliminating stereo effects. I was also curious if there's any way to get Sound Forge to synchronize with my mixer in some way so that I wouldn't have to send each track seperately and then try to match them up again once they're all sent. I've read the Sound Forge manual and understand it, but I'm not very experienced with the program, so chances are it's probably some simple problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Subject:RE: Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility... Reply by: Chienworks Date:3/1/2002 4:39:54 PM You will definately want to NOT use the mic input. That is designed for input levels that are in the millivolt range, and your mixer is probably putting out at least 0.5 to 1.0 volts from it's main outs. If you turn the mixer down far enough so it doesn't overdrive the mic input, then your signal to noise ratio will be non-existant at best. When using the line in on your sound card, have you been checking the level setting in the sound card's mixer panel to set it for an appropriate level? Lasty, are you multitracking with your Roland? If so, you should probably be using Vegas Audio LE that came with Sound Forge instead of Sound Forge itself. Sound Forge only handles a single stereo track. Vegas Audio LE handles up to 8 stereo tracks. Of course, you'll still only be able to transfer one at a time through your sound card. Maybe a better option would be to do your mixing on the Roland first, and then send the entire output as a single stereo signal into the computer.
Subject:RE: Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility... Reply by: scooby13q Date:3/2/2002 6:22:45 AM I checked the line level controls in the Windows Volume Control and set them all the way up. As for the Vegas Audio LE, it seems like a good program, but you have to pay $200 to get it to actually handle more than two tracks... =( . I like the capabilities of editing on Sound Forge, and sending the finished product over as single a stereo signal, althought it would be easier, would mean that I couldn't edit individual tracks. Can I get Sound Forge to recognize the SMPTE time code from the console so that I could line up the files more easily in a program like Cakewalk after editing them?
Subject:RE: Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility... Reply by: scooby13q Date:3/2/2002 6:26:04 AM Oh yeah, one more question. If I were to get a program to do multitrack recording synchronized with my Roland console, what program should I get? Since I already have editing capabilities with Sound Forge and it'd be nice not to have to pay a fortune, are there any programs that simply facilitate a transfer of data between my console and computer and could be used to put multiple tracks together without a lot of extras?

Subject:Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility...

Posted by: scooby13q

Date:3/1/2002 2:27:41 PM

I'm having problems getting good quality audio from my Roland VS-1680 console. Whenever I record, the volume picked up by Sound Forge is very low, and when I amplify it, it doesn't sound very good. I've checked the Volume Control, and all inputs are turned all the way up. I've been trying to connect the Roland to my sound card via 1. a standard L/R cable from the master output to the aux 2 input, 2. an optical cable and 3. an L/R cable from the master output to the mic input. I've had the most success with the mic input, since I can adjust the sensitivity, but even at higher volumes, the audio sounds more like AM radio, and I have to use a combiner to use this input, thus eliminating stereo effects. I was also curious if there's any way to get Sound Forge to synchronize with my mixer in some way so that I wouldn't have to send each track seperately and then try to match them up again once they're all sent. I've read the Sound Forge manual and understand it, but I'm not very experienced with the program, so chances are it's probably some simple problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Subject:RE: Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility...

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:3/1/2002 4:39:54 PM

You will definately want to NOT use the mic input. That is designed for input levels that are in the millivolt range, and your mixer is probably putting out at least 0.5 to 1.0 volts from it's main outs. If you turn the mixer down far enough so it doesn't overdrive the mic input, then your signal to noise ratio will be non-existant at best.

When using the line in on your sound card, have you been checking the level setting in the sound card's mixer panel to set it for an appropriate level?

Lasty, are you multitracking with your Roland? If so, you should probably be using Vegas Audio LE that came with Sound Forge instead of Sound Forge itself. Sound Forge only handles a single stereo track. Vegas Audio LE handles up to 8 stereo tracks. Of course, you'll still only be able to transfer one at a time through your sound card. Maybe a better option would be to do your mixing on the Roland first, and then send the entire output as a single stereo signal into the computer.

Subject:RE: Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility...

Reply by: scooby13q

Date:3/2/2002 6:22:45 AM

I checked the line level controls in the Windows Volume Control and set them all the way up. As for the Vegas Audio LE, it seems like a good program, but you have to pay $200 to get it to actually handle more than two tracks... =( . I like the capabilities of editing on Sound Forge, and sending the finished product over as single a stereo signal, althought it would be easier, would mean that I couldn't edit individual tracks. Can I get Sound Forge to recognize the SMPTE time code from the console so that I could line up the files more easily in a program like Cakewalk after editing them?

Subject:RE: Getting good quality sound and mixer compatibility...

Reply by: scooby13q

Date:3/2/2002 6:26:04 AM

Oh yeah, one more question. If I were to get a program to do multitrack recording synchronized with my Roland console, what program should I get? Since I already have editing capabilities with Sound Forge and it'd be nice not to have to pay a fortune, are there any programs that simply facilitate a transfer of data between my console and computer and could be used to put multiple tracks together without a lot of extras?