Old 07-08-2021, 11:59 AM   #1
ReaperGuy
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Default Stereo recording, Line In

I'm quite rusty with Reaper, haven't used it in a few years now.

I recorded an LP album last night into Reaper.
I wanted to record the tracks as stereo, but when I
tried, the sound only came out of one speaker.

So I resorted to recording as Mono, right.
I could then at least hear the track coming out
of both speakers.

I know it's a stereo recording.
I plugged in the stereo outputs from my amp into
my Line In input on my computer.
Is there something I need to look for in Reaper to get
a stereo track happening?
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Old 07-08-2021, 12:03 PM   #2
uncleswede
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couple of questions....

1) can you see two waveforms on the recorded track or one?

2) When you armed the track for recording and set the input type (rt-click on the Record button) did you select a stereo input, rather than a mono one...
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Old 07-08-2021, 12:40 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uncleswede View Post
couple of questions....

1) can you see two waveforms on the recorded track or one?

2) When you armed the track for recording and set the input type (rt-click on the Record button) did you select a stereo input, rather than a mono one...

1) No I only see one waveform on the tracks.
2) Yes I first tried input type (stereo), but only one wave
form was recorded, and it came out of only one speaker.

I am assuming that the Line In jack on my computer is stereo?
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Old 07-08-2021, 12:45 PM   #4
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Yes, your sound card should be stereo. Are you using a stereo cable to connect?

- Sometimes one of the jacks or the cord can be going bad and have intermittent contact. That will usually cause static/popping if you wiggle the jack(s)

- All things being equal, with Reaper set to record a stereo input and if the cord is good, the source is actually stereo...it should work...
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Old 07-08-2021, 02:07 PM   #5
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are audio input and output ranges set to "2" in Reaper's audio device preference page?

.
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Old 07-08-2021, 02:40 PM   #6
DVDdoug
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Quote:
I am assuming that the Line In jack on my computer is stereo?
You do have a desktop/tower with line-in (usually blue), right?

Most laptops only have a mono mic-in and headphones-out.

There are some Windows settings for 1 or two channels. Right-click the Windows Speaker/Volume icon, then Open Sound Settings, find your Input Device and go through the menus/settings to find the 1 or 2 channel setting.
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Old 07-08-2021, 07:23 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gibson_GM View Post
Yes, your sound card should be stereo. Are you using a stereo cable to connect?

...
Yes I am using a stereo cable.
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Old 07-08-2021, 07:24 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SonicAxiom View Post
are audio input and output ranges set to "2" in Reaper's audio device preference page?

.
Well I don't see "ranges" but I see Input and Output channels
set to 2.
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Old 07-08-2021, 07:56 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DVDdoug View Post
You do have a desktop/tower with line-in (usually blue), right?

Most laptops only have a mono mic-in and headphones-out.

There are some Windows settings for 1 or two channels. Right-click the Windows Speaker/Volume icon, then Open Sound Settings, find your Input Device and go through the menus/settings to find the 1 or 2 channel setting.
Yes I am using a desktop with a standard Blue line in, that should be stereo.
I went into the Windows settings and it said:

Line In (2- High Definition Audio Device).

Nowhere could I see 1 or 2 channels.
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Old 07-08-2021, 08:10 PM   #10
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I have recorded in the past in stereo, but don't remember if that was through
my external audio device or not.

It's possible that my stereo amp to computer recordings were never in stereo.

The back of my stereo amp is confusing.

It has:

Input:
Phono
CD
LD


Tape1/VCR:
Record (L/R) ****
Play (L/R)

Tape2/Monitor:
Record (L/R)
Play (L/R)

The only one that I can get an input into
Reaper is Tape1/VCR Record (I am recording vinyl albums).

My turntable is connected to Phono.
But for playback of my records and recording of my records
I set my amp switch to Phono

I don't set it to Tape1 (there is a button for this on the amp front).
If I set my switch to Tape1, no audio goes to Reaper.

I hope some of this makes sense to you folks, because I
don't know what the heck is wrong.
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Old 07-09-2021, 05:16 AM   #11
locombiano
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This is the way I do it:

Turntable to "Phono" in the amplifier.
"VCR Out" from my amp to "2-TRACK IN" in my audio mixer. In your case, you should use "VCR Play" in your amp.

In Reaper's track panel, in just one track:

Input: Stereo > USB Audio CODEC 1 / USB Audio CODEC 2

Last edited by locombiano; 07-09-2021 at 06:28 AM.
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Old 07-09-2021, 09:27 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by locombiano View Post
This is the way I do it:

Turntable to "Phono" in the amplifier.
"VCR Out" from my amp to "2-TRACK IN" in my audio mixer. In your case, you should use "VCR Play" in your amp.

In Reaper's track panel, in just one track:

Input: Stereo > USB Audio CODEC 1 / USB Audio CODEC 2
Thanks.
I have mine setup pretty much as yours.
I don't see "Input: Stereo > USB Audio CODEC 1 / USB Audio CODEC 2"

I am choosing Input: Stereo > Left/Right (that's all that's offered).

When I record like this now I am see two channels, however audio is only being
recorded on the right channel, the left channel has no sound, it's flat.

Playback of the audio only comes out of my right speaker.

I have no idea what the problem is. I've done this now with two different
albums.
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Old 07-10-2021, 07:47 AM   #13
serr
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It sounds like it may be simply a cable connection issue.

Troubleshooting 101: Start at one end and work to the other.

Start with the cables patched into the two inputs.
Swap them!
Did the silent channel follow to the other side or is the same channel still silent?

That will tell you if it's the input cable connection or not.
If the silent channel switched sides with the swap, then it must be the input cable itself.
If the silent channel stayed there, that means either the silent input port on the audio interface is not working or you have errant input channel selection in Reaper.

See where I'm going with this?
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Old 07-10-2021, 10:32 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by serr View Post
It sounds like it may be simply a cable connection issue.

Troubleshooting 101: Start at one end and work to the other.

Start with the cables patched into the two inputs.
Swap them!
Did the silent channel follow to the other side or is the same channel still silent?

That will tell you if it's the input cable connection or not.
If the silent channel switched sides with the swap, then it must be the input cable itself.
If the silent channel stayed there, that means either the silent input port on the audio interface is not working or you have errant input channel selection in Reaper.

See where I'm going with this?
Thanks serr I think you have come up with a great way to troubleshoot this!

I swapped the cables (left-right) and did a second recording.
The same channel is still silent!

"If the silent channel stayed there, that means either the silent input port on the audio interface is not working or you have errant input channel selection in Reaper."

I will continue investigating. Of the two reasons you state above, I would side with the second.
How do I check the 'input channel' selection in Reaper?

When I look at the input selection I only see:

Input: Mono (left, right)
Input: Stereo (left/right)
Input: Midi (left/right)
Input: None


Further to this (to prove that each channel works with my plug input), I mentioned earlier that when I select Mono, I can get either the Left OR the Right channel to record.
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Old 07-11-2021, 12:28 PM   #15
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Well this is VERY embarrassing!

I have three RCA stereo cords chain linked from my stereo amp to my computer line input.

My stereo amp is in one room and my computer in another.
I feed my cording through a small hole in the wall between rooms.

The last stereo cord was fed in between the walls but the connectors had not peeked through yet.
When I pulled the cord a little just now to see the connectors, sure enough
one was not connected!!!

Problem solved.

Everything is working now as it should have been.
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Old 07-12-2021, 05:29 AM   #16
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Great. Glad you sorted it. Had people scratching their heads!

Also, glad you owned it too :-)

You're not the only person to do this I bet!

dB
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Old 07-12-2021, 09:28 AM   #17
serr
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It's actually not as silly as it sounds though! Cables are the thing that get handled and exposed to abuse. It would be real easy to go in circles with enough variables so you really have to force yourself to start at one end and work through to the other. Sometimes you have to start yourself with "Is the unit plugged in?"

I wrote that a little ambiguously above in hindsight but you figured it out.
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Old 07-12-2021, 03:01 PM   #18
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I agree, lost count how many times I have crawled on the floor to track cables down when a signal gets lost! The most annoying is when mic cables "go bad"!

dB
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Old 07-12-2021, 04:46 PM   #19
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When I did tech support, people never believed me that it was probably the cable. It was always the cable..
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Old 07-13-2021, 04:16 AM   #20
Dr Bob
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Yup. Cables - bleh! The problem is the cables "look" OK. The connectors "look" OK. Sometimes even the joints inside the plugs "look" OK. But, you get breaks inside the cables, a pin gets bent, or there's a dry joint which finally gives up!

Also, plugs "look" like they are plugged in, but need to be reseated!

dB
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