Two Problems...., 1 with imic the other with protools free Options

[mancabbage]

ok, this first question is for all the people who have used imics to record anything that involves more than one track....

Ive recorded my band playing through my imic, and it sounds amazing, but when my singer goes to overlay the vocal track - there is a delay so he thinks he is in time, when in fact he isnt at all??I figure this is something to do with the USB not being fast enough (just a guess). How can we solve this, is theer a possibility that we could work out the delay and shift the tracks across in pro tools or something to make them in time???

Ok question number two, i have a two track recording in protools and i choose bounce to disk - but it only turns the first track into an AIFF file, not the others - is there a possible way to like mix the tracks down (like in photoshop when you choose merge visible (only the ones u can hear) or flatten image (the whole lot)). if so, umm whereis it, Ive looked everywhere. If thats not he solution how do i bounce to disk my entire recording - with all tracks playing with each other, etc, etc.

[mancabbage]

WAAARGH help me

[Synthetic]

must be patient... its the holidays and people are usually busy. I will try to help answer your questions later as I have more time myself.

[Levon River]

Not only is it the holidays, but many people--like me--don't have the exact same set-up or software or similar problems, so there isn't necessarily enough to go on to know exactly how to answer your questions. So it gives rise to other questions, like:

1) Have you read whatever documentation is available for ProTools Free?

2) When bouncing to disk:

A. Are all the tracks you want bounced set to play (not muted)?

B. Have you selected the tracks you want bounced?

3) For the out-of-sync vocals:

A. Have you done anything to calibrate your system for latency?

B. How is your singer monitoring the tracks and his own vocal while recording? Is his vocal coming back to him late in headphones out while recording?

C. Have you tried just grabbing his vocal and nudging it in relation to the rest of the tracks to see if you can get in into sync (after, of course, saving the file first)?

[Synthetic]

ok... concerning the delay... yes... you can nudge the vocal tracks to account for the delay. Plus there is an option in the menus for minimizing latency as well but it turns of all sends and plugs on the tracks.

when bouncing to disk... make sure to use outputs 1-2 for boucning as this should be the master mix output. For this to work though... you must have all tracks that output sound routed to the 1-2 output. If you are using sends to route sounds for fx... make sure the fx track has output set to 1-2 as well. Actaully you can use any of the outputs but 1-2 is the common one. Your tracks basically need to have the output set to the same ouput that you use when bouncing the track.I recommend just looking through all your tracks and make sure the output is the same. And as Levon said... make sure there are no muted tracks or no automation that is muting your tracks.

[mancabbage]

ok umm how woul di go about calibrating my system for latency?

[Tone]

mancabbage

If I seem to be misunderstanding your predicament or insulting your intelligence then disregard this message;

- When you select the tracks are they ALL blackened or just 1 track? Did you choose 'select all' from the left side of the mix window? It really does sound like you are selecting one track only? Are they stereo tracks and does the L & R signal on the master fade light up?

- Concerning Latence; When recording you need to select the 'Low Latency' option from the Operations menu. This apparently gives a 'low latency monitoring' time of 3.0 milisecs (up to 50 ms and more is very noticeable).
If there are still problems then, alernatively, reduce the Buffer size (Setups/Hardware Window) to 128 samples when recording CRITICAL timing inst like drums, percussion or whatever establishes the rhythm and groove. Set to 256 for Vocals, Gtr Bass etc. I keep mine at an all purpose setting of 256, with Low Latency selected, and have no problems forcing me to change although the experts say you should increase the buffer size to 1024 for final mix down. Maybe it affects my final mix I am not proficient enough to say.

As I went thru the PT learning curve I thought I would try to help out the experts here but I suggest, if you feel there is conflicting info, give preference to their knowledgable over mine every time.

Hope this helps
Tony

[mancabbage]

yo that helped like loads thanks a lot ( i am a COMPLETE beginer here - i only downloaded it last week)

[Presto]

Good luck and welcome Keep us posted with your imic results. I tried recording voice through the imic without preamplification and it was quite shitty

[lastmachine]

Here's how we do it in the MacGhetto:

Bounce to a single track and play it through iTunes. This to headphones wrapped snugly about your singer's head. He sings into the mic/preamp/iMic, and DO NOT MONITOR PLAYTHROUGH. This way you ignore the slight but annoying latency. You can paste a count-in onto the music track, then have him snap his fingers along with it BEFORE singing. Then line up the visible finger-snapping with the visible count-in on the music track--voila! you are synced.

Nopw throw away the music you used in iTunes--you have a vocal track which you know syncs with the rest. mix and edit to your heart's content.

Hawk "I spent all my money on a flatscreen iMac" Dahl