Problem with recording vocals on Audition with MOTU 828 MKII

[hulotings]

Hello! This is my first post, would apprecite your help greatly.

The situation is this - I have a pc, motu 828 mkII (USB) and an se2200 condenser mic. I have the mic wired to the front of the 828 in the 'mic/guitar in 1' (XLR), and then I have the output of the motu (main outs 1&2, in the rear) going to a pair of ADM9 speakers (in their analog left and right connections), and the USB connection going to my PC.

On the PC, I'm trying to use Adobe Audition to record the vocals coming from the se2200 - the problem is, when I arm for recording on multitrack view it starts scrolling across, but despite the fact that the motu is picking up the microphone sounds (the levels on the 'mic 1' are moving, so its definitely detecting the sound), audition doesn't seem to detect anything, and so it gives up recording after around 6 seconds and goes into the grey section (as opposed to red)

I have the following settings on track 1 of multitrack;

'Out 1' = Motu Phones 1-2
'In 1' = Motu Mic-Guitar 1-2

The strange thing is, yesterday when I started experimenting with the mic, it was recording the sounds absolutely fine in Audition..is there something I'm doing that's really obviously wrong? Is it possible that when I opened Sonar 6 to do something else, it may have confused Audition?

The other question is, is it possible to hear what the microphone is receiving through the HEADPHONES (as it records, so you can monitor it, AS WELL AS receiving the other sounds ie beats, instrumentals)?

I would really appreciate your help - sorry these questions are about something so basic, but its really frustrating!

Many many thanks

[XYZ]

My guess is that this may be an Audition problem. However here are a few suggestions, and a way to listen to what you are recording directly through the MkII.

The 828 seems to be working, given that the meters are bouncing when you speak into the mic.

I have to ask, I believe this is a condenser mic--I assume you have the phantom power turned on? Is it set to guitar when you are plugged into the XLR?

First, could this be a mono vs stereo mis-match? Some programs don't like it when you try to hook a mono signal to a stereo track, or a stereo signal to a mono track. Maybe Audition can be used to record stereo and see if you get sound on one side? Could it be left vs right?

To listen to what you are recording through the mic, use cuemix. Set up a mix by unmuting the Mic/gtr and unmuting the phones 1/2 as an output [you have to choose phones 1/2 as your output for that mix]. Now you will hear whatever is coming in through the mic. Now if you want to also hear your mix, in the MOTU driver, set "phones fillow main mix" and you will hear the both your mic being recorded and your main mix. Another way to do this is to use the spdif1/2 as a loopback--if you are interested in this approach, and don't know what I mean, just respond and I'll lay it out for you.

[hulotings]

Thanks for your reply XYZ. Really appreciate it.
Firstly, I have a feeling its audition too - i think its getting confused, because when I first plugged the condenser into the MOTU and opened Audition, it was able to record on the multitrack, then it suddenly stopped working when I went back to a little later. Nothing shows up on the levels (on audition), when you talk into the mic.
I have turned phantom power on, yes. How do you set it to guitar, i didnt know there was a setting for that, but yes, it is set to +48V.

You mention that Audition may be getting confused by the mono signal - how do I create a mono track on multitrack - are you familiar with doing this?
Is that the main problem, that it is getting confused by the mono signal, and therefore I need to change that specific track on the multitrack to mono? Would it be able to cope with having one track mono, and the rest as stereo?

I am intruiged by this spdif1/2 as a loopback - could you explain this process in layman's terms?

Again, thanks so much for your help!

T

[XYZ]

Unfortunately I have zero knowledge of audition--the fact that it can record audio has just tripled my knowledge. I just know in DP if you have a mono track, it will only allow you to select mono sources, and took a wild guess that audition may want you to choose a mono input for recording. Since the MOTU 828 is really just a set of mono inputs, all can operate independently, there should be nothing stopping you from recording in mono, unless it is an Audition limitation. This is probably not a problem [it would not be in DP], but I took a guess just in case.

As far as the SPDIF loopback trick, here is what you do:

a] send your main output to spdif1/2
b] hook an rca cable between spdif input and spdif output on the back of your 828
c] Open up cuemix, and set up a mix where the spdif input is unmuted, then choose your favorite output.

With this you can send your intended output to anywhere and everywhere with additional cue-mixes. You can also add in external sources [for example, you might want to compress your main mix, and add in your vocal for a custom headphone mix for tracking vocals [this is what I use this for]. If this is not clear enough, let me know, I can send you a screen shot of cuemix to show you what I'm talking about.

[hulotings]

Hey mate. Thanks so much again - its interesting the spdif. Would you be able to send a step-by-step screenshot of the spdif process? Does this process require the use of bus's?

[hulotings]

just saw the motu mkIII - seeing as i have the motu mkII, does that mean I can't use the new cuemix software with it that comes with the mkIII (with the FX software etc)? If i can, is there an upgrade or completely new version that I can install? it looks pretty good!

[XYZ]

Oh, sorry about that, it is simpler than I led on.

on the 828, on the back, you have a bunch of connections. They are as follows [from memory, I used to have a mkII]

--2 BNC connectors for word clock in and out
--2 RCA connectors for digital S/PDIF I/O [a single stereo digital output format*] Think of this as a stereo audio cable, only it is pure digital
--2 ADAT optical connectors [one for input, one for output]
--ADAT Sync
--SMPTE in and out
--MIDI in and out
--And then a bunch of analog I/O

So if you just plug the S/PDIF output to the SPDIF Input, you now have a pure digital path that allows you to route an output to an input [which is not a current cuemix capability].

Oh, and the cuemix software has been ported to the MkII--the only limitation is that I don't think you get the built in effects with the MkII, but everything else should be the same.

Keep asking questions if I'm not making enough sense!


S/PDIF=Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPDIF

[hulotings]

That's great! I think I have a spare rca cable lying around @ home, so I'll give that a try later.

When you say that the new cuemix software (that comes with the MKIII) has been 'ported' to the MKII, does that mean it is possible to install/update the old cuemix dsp and use it with the MKII? Do you know where you can get hold of the new cuemix programme/s?

Thanks again!