My set up is a Dell Inspiron E1505 Duo Core, that is connected to Behringer Eurorack UBB1002 mixer with an adapter cable that has two 1/4" plugs that run together to make a single stereo 1/4' plug that i attatch another addapter to make it fit the 1/8" jack on the side of my laptop. All other cables are Livewire cables paired with MXL 990 & 991 Condenser Mic's & an SigmaTel audio driver. I am using Audacity and Sony Acid 6.0.
My problem is that evertime i begin to record it'll record with good quality for about 5-10 seconds then the sound will just drop to either a very low volume, or no sound will be recorded at all. I know using a laptop is probably not the greatest platform to record on but it is all i have. Soooo, does anyone know why it does this? and how do i fix it?
Comments
This was a problem before. I use to run just a mic cable with a
This was a problem before. I use to run just a mic cable with a few adapters to get it to fit in the mic jack of my laptop.
So i bought the mixer which has helped it alot. but now the problem is everyonce in a while.
And its not really a fix amount of time. it'll record fine for a long while but when the problem begins typically after 1-2 hrs of laptop ussage/recording then the problem begins a pattern which starts at about 30 seconds of recording then the sound will roll off to silent...it'll goto about 2 seconds of decent sound and then roll off to silent. then i would push the volume up on my mixer and the sound would be muffled...and about a few mintues after that it'll be just a completely silent recording, except for when i jerk around the cables it'll make that clicking/fuzz noise. which i assume is normal if your moving the cables around alot.
I think the problem lies in your laptop. I suggest you try the e
I think the problem lies in your laptop. I suggest you try the experiment of playing out of the line out and looping it back to the line in. Instead of playing a recorded track, it would be better to download one of those free oscillator programs so you can put out a constant 1KHz tone at a defined amplitude. Loop that round to the input using a 1/8" to 1/8" cable and record the result. Try waggling the input jack. I suspect you have a dry joint somewhere in the input circuitry.
Maybe it's time to consider an external USB or FireWire audio interface. A decent two-channel unit is not expensive, and you will be surprised at the improvement in sound quality over the internal sound card.
Break the problem down. Try an experiment. Set the software to t
Break the problem down. Try an experiment. Set the software to track, i.e. play a recorded track while recording another, and connect the line out jack round to the line in jack on the laptop, leaving the mixer out of it. If the new track suffers from the same problem, then you can rule the mixer out and look for the problem on the laptop or its software.
If the new track was OK when connected like that, then it's likely to be a d.c. blocking problem. Try putting 47uF 16V electrolytic capacitors in series with the signal leads between the mixer and the laptop input jack, + end towards the laptop.
I'm assuming here that the problem happens a fixed time after you hit record and not a fixed time after you start making a noise into the mics. If you record silence for 20 seconds before you bring up your faders, does that mean you get a completely blank recording?