Recording With Samson C01u & Cool Edit Pro 2.0

[allyisme]

I'm stuggling big time guys!!!!! I've got a Samson c01u USB Mic and I'm using Cool Edit Pro 2.0 in my home studio to record vocals, however, the huge problem I have is when I'm recording I cann't hear my own voice in the headphones (or through the speakers), I can record my voice and it comes out clear as day on playback but I can't hear it whilst I'm recording? I've been told it's the 'monitoring' but when I click on the 'monitor' button, I can see the slides moving and it's registering my voice but I still cannot hear it at the same time as singing???? It's very frustrating. I'm using the onboard sound of my P4. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[A String]

I've never used Cool Edit Pro 2.0 so I'm not familiar with it's interface. The issue does sound like a monitoring issue. I'd recommend going through all the settings and looks for anything that talks about playback, monitoring and simultaneous recording/playback etc. There may be a few guys here who have used that software. Give them some time to log in and I'm sure you'll get a better answer.

 

Welcome to the forum!

[allyisme]

Thanks Craig, what software are you familiar with that I can try out to see if it is a settings problem?

[A String]

I use Cakewalk.

 

If you wanted to try a free program, try Audacity. A lot of folks here use it, so you'd have lots of help with settings etc. You can find it here.

[allyisme]

Thanks I'm downloading it now and I'll give it a go, hope it's user friendly :-). I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again

[allyisme]

I've dabbled abit and I can actually hear my voice in real time for the first time, so my mic wasn't a waste of money. I know I've only had it for 10 minutes but I've got about a 1/2 second delay from when I talk to when I hear it in my headphones, do anyone know how to fix this? As I'm using it for a home studio I can't exactly have it like that cause it'll totally through me off when I'm singing. Thanks again for all your help

[A String]

What are you using for your soundcard? The problem you are having is a latency issue...

[allyisme]

At the moment it's just the onboard sound of my P4? So it's not fast/good enough to have it play back in exact realtime? I bought a sound card but the idiot at the store gave me one for a surround sound setup and there's no line out so I can't get anything out of it. What's the cheapest, most effective soundcard I can get so it does what I want?

[A String]

There may be a setting in Audacity that will help out the latency issue. Unfortunately, I use Cakewalk. As I mentioned though, several folks on here who use Audacity. It's still only 8:00 in the morning here, so you'll have to wait until they wake up and start logging on before you can get further help with that.

 

One way or another, we'll get your problem solved for you!

[allyisme]

ok I've got Cakwalk Sonar Producer 5.0.1 demo version and I'm still having that problem with the voice being a half a second behind in the headphones to when I sing?

[Dr. Ellwood]

BUMP..for more info:

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

Originally posted by allyisme:

...I've got about a 1/2 second delay from when I talk to when I hear it in my headphones, do anyone know how to fix this? As I'm using it for a home studio I can't exactly have it like that cause it'll totally through me off when I'm singing. Thanks again for all your help

In your sound card application, you want to select 'zero latency monitoring' or 'direct monitoring' or whatever hardware monitoring option might be available to you. Scratch that, this mic doesn't have such a thing, unless you've loaded their dedicated drivers, which are an option.

 

 

You'll need to go into your audio recording program and start lowering buffers until you get into the less than 15 milliseconds of latency. (some can get as low as 1.5ms.) By the way, you can not go through reverbs and such...the most direct path is the shortest, and any side trips that you take will lengthen the trip and therefore the time that it takes to make that trip. Some programs offer a 'live' mode, if yours does, check it out.

 

Setting up a recording system is not hard. Setting up a recording system that allows people who have no recording experience to do all of the things that occur to them all at once is a pain in the ass, and can be impossible. I suggest that you find someone else who has a recording rig, and hang out with them for a while to get a handle on "what" and "how". It will save you money and headaches in the long run. For example, a usb mic..... ??????? Seemed cheap when you bought it, right? Now you need to make adjustments and, guess what?

 

You might, however, go to the samson webpage and download the increased functionality drivers for this product. Maybe that will help. In any case, you should be able to drop the latency of most any computer to acceptable levels, so don't give up. Just keep asking questions and learning.

 

In my opinion, dedicated boxes like those from tascam or M-Audio etc offer a lot more to the guy who wants to learn, because they are usually a bundle of software and hardware, and they have already sussed out most of this stuff for you.

 

Bill

[stamplicker]

Hi Allyisme,

 

Welcome to the Forum. Not sure of your setup. As Astring mentioned, It could be your sound card. By the sounds of it, your machine is being under resourced. Hence the latency in your mic as well. If your using the Audacity, before opening it, try closing all that you can. Extra windows, anything down in the taskbar (by the clock). and then open Audacity and try it again. If it continues, then I'd have to say it's the onboard sound device. Should be able to pick up a generic no name sound card for around $20 if not less to get you up and going or even if they have a used Soundblaster 5.1 for about the same price if not cheaper.

 

just tested audacity with my usb mic and had no latency. (running soundblaster 5.1)

 

*Edit... Plus what Bill said

[Dr. Ellwood]

Yeah plus what Bill said for sure! Thanks Bill, I keep bumping this because I have the exact mic and recording program he does! except I don't have any latency problem.