Recording HALP!

[Steinmetzify]

Guys,

Here's my problem....I'm trying to record exactly what I hear in my headphones from JamUp Pro into Reaper and then export that track to Soundcloud to show a friend what I hear.

I don't know exactly what I'm doing wrong, but all I get when I hit the stop button and push play is white noise...the levels are there, I can see them going up and down when I pick or mute or whatever, but when I stop recording and play it back it's just crackly noise....is it just levels that are the problem, ya think? I have two inputs on this laptop, one with a mic symbol and the other with a headphone out symbol. I'm using the mic one....I don't know if there's something I'm not doing with the output or what.....I would also like to know if there's some way I could monitor what I'm playing thru headphones WHILE I'm doing it, if that's possible.

Could someone take the time to point me at a thread/video that helps with this problem? I'm a complete newbie with this app and program, so hitting me with a vid that marginally discusses this question probably wouldn't help.

I'm just running the app thru an Apogee Jam, and then thru my iPhone 4s and a 1/8" stereo cable into where I'd usually plug my headphones into my computer.

If someone were to actually be able to take the time to write out exactly what I'd have to do, step by step, I'd be really grateful.....or even point me at a thread that does it, that'd work. I'm an older live amp type guy, and have never really done this before, that well. I recorded a few things, but it took literally HOURS to figure it out, and I wound up so frustrated I thought this time, I'd ask for help.

I know there's someone out there that could tell me how to do this stuff in like 5 minutes.....and I'd really appreciate that someone(s) taking the time to do so.

Running Reaper 64bit> Windows 7, if this makes a difference....sorry for the long diatribe, I'm just frustrated as f*ck. It seems like it should be easier than this, and it probably is....I just don't know what I'm missing. I posted this on the Reaper forum, and someone just pointed me at the manual, which is FOUR HUNDRED PAGES LONG.....if I don't know WHY it isn't working, how is the manual gonna help me when I don't know what to look for?!

Anybody? Help? Please?

 

[bulletproof_funk]

I'm guessing your iPhone's headphone out works, so it's maybe some tricky business with Windows 7's recording mixer. If you see a speaker icon on your icon tray (normally on the bottom right), right-click and select "Recording Devices". Should be a new window that pops up showing your laptop mic input, it should have a green checkmark on it (i.e. Default Device), if not, then click the "Set as Default" button. Test the levels here, maybe adjust your iPhone output volume.

Let me know how this works out.

 

[PatF]

In addition to the above sugggestion-

For the crackling audio problem you will need some ASIO drivers. ASIO4ALL is a good generic one. After installing it you will need to go into Reapers options / preferences / sound device and change it to asio4all. Then you will need to set the latency in the asio4all dialog box (ASIO configuration) and keep raising the buffer size until the crackle goes away.

http://www.asio4all.com/

This will get you through the day, but I would suggest buying a 200 dollar USB interface. Good examples are from Native Instruments, Roland, or Presonus. Maybe the Apogee will work with the ASIO4ALL driver on your PC?? I don't know for sure.

For mp3 mixdown export you will need to download the LAME encoder. Drop the single dll file into
you Program Files / Reaper folder. Please verify this with a Reaper forum search for the exact folder path.

http://lame.sourceforge.net/index.php

Good Luck!

 

[Steinmetzify]

In addition to the above sugggestion-

For the crackling audio problem you will need some ASIO drivers. ASIO4ALL is a good generic one. After installing it you will need to go into Reapers options / preferences / sound device and change it to asio4all. Then you will need to set the latency in the asio4all dialog box (ASIO configuration) and keep raising the buffer size until the crackle goes away.

http://www.asio4all.com/

This will get you through the day, but I would suggest buying a 200 dollar USB interface. Good examples are from Native Instruments, Roland, or Presonus. Maybe the Apogee will work with the ASIO4ALL driver on your PC?? I don't know for sure.

For mp3 mixdown export you will need to download the LAME encoder. Drop the single dll file into
you Program Files / Reaper folder. Please verify this with a Reaper forum search for the exact folder path.

http://lame.sourceforge.net/index.php

Good Luck!

Man, I have no idea what you just said, but I appreciate you taking the time to say it. Thanks!

 

[PatF]

No problem. Sorry for the jargon assault.

ASIO4ALL is a free universal soundcard driver. It's a download and install.

LAME is a mp3 encoder so you can render mp3's from Reaper. You can't without it. This isn't an installable program. You just get a lame.dll file and you drop it into your Program Files / Reaper folder using Windows Explorer

I found a couple videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsZzF2XjqdU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYh9H8gKLTo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy9ZxNXksBU

 

[maddnotez]

I'm assuming you bought the "jam plug"?

If not then you'll probably need an interface like mentioned above.

If you did buy jam plug than that is your interface and it probably has its own drivers and you might not need asio 4 all.

When your in reaper (regardless of what interface your using) in the top right corner there's a drop down box that says direct audio or perhaps asio (pic#1).

Click on that and select asio. Then route the ASIO driver to the interface driver or "jam plug" driver and you should be good (pic#2).

As far as monitoring while playing, right click on the actual track at the very bottom and check off monitor input (pic#3). Make sure the track is armed.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Mad, thanks for the screenshots dude....not using the 'Jam Plug'....I got an Apogee Jam, which is an interface between the guitar/app....goes guitar>cable>Jam>app>line out/headphones....I don't think it has a driver, but I can give it a shot.

Pat, same thing....I'll try changing those things and look for a route for that file in Reaper; thanks.

 

[maddnotez]

Mad, thanks for the screenshots dude....not using the 'Jam Plug'....I got an Apogee Jam, which is an interface between the guitar/app....goes guitar>cable>Jam>app>line out/headphones....I don't think it has a driver, but I can give it a shot.

Pat, same thing....I'll try changing those things and look for a route for that file in Reaper; thanks.

Apogee.com may have the drivers their site.

If not then download the asio4all

 

[Steinmetzify]

Mad, thanks for the screenshots dude....not using the 'Jam Plug'....I got an Apogee Jam, which is an interface between the guitar/app....goes guitar>cable>Jam>app>line out/headphones....I don't think it has a driver, but I can give it a shot.

Pat, same thing....I'll try changing those things and look for a route for that file in Reaper; thanks.

Apogee.com may have the drivers their site.

If not then download the asio4all

Checked, they don't....it's designed for iOS, so there's no Windows support. D/Led the asio4all and gonna give that a shot in a bit. Thanks for all the help, guys....this stuff was frustrating beyond belief for a guy who's used to just turning knobs on an amp. I don't know how the Axe guys do it....I'd either be a quivering mess or everything would be smashed beyond repair inside of an hour.

 

[bulletproof_funk]

I just installed Audacity 2.0 (free multi-track recording and editing software, I guess this is what people call a DAW?...) just to quickly mess around with recording, spent about 30 min. with it and it seems to work okay on my Win7 laptop. I recorded a drum track from the mic in with my iPhone drum app as the source, then overdubbed rhythm and solo tracks from my guitar->Boss GT-100 amp sims->Win7 mic in. I could listen to the drum track and record the guitar tracks with no delay (once I adjusted the delay setting to 0 in the preferences). Then finally exported to a WAV file and instant mix. I could install the Lame mp3 converter later and export directly in the future.

You could give Audacity a try as well and see if you have better luck. Its user interface has some quirkiness to it but I only started using it an hour ago and it doesn't seem too difficult to get up and running.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

 

[Steinmetzify]

I've done some work in Audacity before, but like you said, there are quirks....I can't ever seem to get the levels right in there lol....got it to work in Reaper and posted a quick patch overview of the three I'm using. Took all of 10 minutes once people helped. Think you might dig it; I got it to play/monitor in Audacity, but I'm more used to Reaper so went with that. Give it a try, the app is free and if you already have an interface then you're cool.

 

[PatF]

Hey dude, got your pm. Your welcome. I couldn't create a reply due to my hack status.

There is a input monitor switch on each track in the mixer of reaper for what it's worth.

This stuff is a never ending learning curve. Just gotta keep pluggin away at it and have fun with it.