Recording Line 6 UX1 and Reaper help needed

[jeremyjuicewah]

Wont go into details unless someone out there tells me they know this set up, but though I can record vocal and sax through mic into mic port of UX1, I cant record guitar direct into guitar port or into any other port. Anyone up on this stuff?
Best wishes
Mike

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

Ok, should anyone need to know, have found a load more settings and defaults on the line 6 software going by the name Podfarm, allows switch between ports and hopefully some increase in recording level. Have got it working, now to refine and get clever with it. All the best
Mike

 

[jrintaha]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out. I'm using the Toneport UX2 for all my recording stuff. If you need a higher recording level, check the microphone gain pot on the UX, also phantom power if you've got a condenser mic, and select a preamp model of your liking from the gear menu. There's also the possibility of sending the dry unprocessed signal to a different ASIO output (which you can select in your recording software), you might want to check that out first and see how it sounds like without any processing. Depending on the room you're recording in, you probably want to add some sort of reverb.

 

[gregerhillman]

Wont go into details unless someone out there tells me they know this set up, but though I can record vocal and sax through mic into mic port of UX1, I cant record guitar direct into guitar port or into any other port. Anyone up on this stuff?
Best wishes
Mike

Seems like you've got it sorted already but I thought I'd offer some explanation to you and others reading this thread, about the differences in signals for your sound card.


1. You can record sound to your sound card through a mic or through a line cable.
With any type if mic you need to make sure that the input is set to get the signal from the XLR source. It could also be labeled MIC. If you are not sure if the mic needs phantom power (48volts coming from the sound card which powers the mic) or not, turn it on and you are covered. There should be a switch on either your sound card or inside the software that comes with it.

Using the Line-in option doesn't require any phantom power, but generally a higher gain in order to get a good signal. The gain is adjusted on a knob on the sound card in most cases. If you are running a controlling software you may set the again there as well.

2. Setting the gain levels

Now, back in the analog days you could make recordings which now and then went over the 0 db (decibel) mark without wrecking the recording. But now, as most of us record digitally, it's really important to pay attention to the recording levels.

In my opinion it's one of the most important steps of setting up for a recording session simply because you need good levels to work with when you get down to mixing the tracks.

So, you need to make sure you do not hit the "red", meaning crossing the 0 dB line, because that will cause a distorted sound.
Do a test recording and look at the levels on your sound card if it has that feature. It may just have an indicator for when it is getting a distorted signal (too strong) and that's what you want to avoid. Adjust the gain and try again.

The reason for looking at the actual sound card instead of inside the recording software is that the software meters tend to be less accurate.

Hope that's useful.

Play On!

//Greger

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

Thanks all. Yep, input sound level is critical with what I'm using. Too high and I get a sound like a stylus ruining fifty quids worth of vinyl and all sound disappears. Can undo and recover. I am finding that this recording method is head and shoulders above my old Boss BR900CD. I believe I can use the Boss as a soundcard though and I think it will be real easy interface to work with. Its all a challenge to my tired old brain but I am having good fun and great success, for early days.
Mike