PT11 2nd track automatically recording 1st track's audio problem

[KungFuRooster]

I recently bought PT11 student and using it for the first time, I've noticed that when I try to record a second track, the recording that has been created on the first track automatically carries over to the new (2nd) track. It is not microphone bleed that is taking place, this happens with the microphone turned off.

I'm using a Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium HD sound card on Windows 8 64 bit. I'm having no latency issues running a Mackie Onyx Blackjack as a microphone preamp using the auxiliary input of the X-Fi Titanium.

Below is a bandicam video showing the second track copying the first at a reduced volume.

Is there some kind of "What U Hear" option that is at play here or what?

(No actual sound is audible from the video, it is simply a guitar track recorded on track one, then I'm initiating recording on track 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3XXW...ature=youtu.be

How is this happening?

Thanks

[mesaone]

I can't be certain, but I believe you are picking up interference. Happens sometimes with internal soundcards. Does it sound like a high-pitched whine or digital "scratches"?

From the looks of it, track two is not recording the output of track one. It just appears that way because you are not seeing any activity on the waveform on track two, because you're zoomed out. Maybe zoom in on the waveforms to show whether the peaks are time-aligned?

And yes, I believe your card has a loopback function. Apparently it's labeled as MixFL and MixFR (Front Left and Front Right) and is set as your input for the first track.

[KungFuRooster]

It is not interference, it is the sound of the first track. The sound of track two is the sound of track one. When you play both tracks, it sounds like the same guitar on top of itself. While it is true that the waveform is very tiny because I just played an electric guitar unplugged at a distance from my ADK S7 (it's also not magnified). The tracks do align though, except the second newly recorded track is about half the decibels of the first one that it's copying.

As for the rest of the scenario, I'm asking the viewer of the video to take my word for it that the microphone is not active, there is no bleeding, and no sound being made during recording. However, if I do use the microphone while track 2 is recording, it will record the sound I make onto track 2, but in addition to that, it automatically duplicates track 1 simultaneously when track 1 is being played back (while track 2 is armed). If I mute track 1, then nothing is automatically recorded on track 2, but I would like to be able to hear my previous tracks during recording.

I'm going to ask one of my old audio engineer instructors if he's ever encountered this problem, but my only course of action after that is paying avid for phone support.

However, I've yet to see if Pro Tools 10 will duplicate the issue. I will repost with the answer today.

[KungFuRooster]

Unfortunately, Pro Tools 10 makes no difference. The exact same problem exists.

[Darryl Ramm]

It is not likely to be Pro Tools at fault, it will be something you are doing and for anybody here to offer useful help you need to describe clearly exactly what you are doing and exactly how everything is connected.

The Mackie is not something you would normally use as a Mic preamp. Its a interface intended to be used as an interface. And why are you using the sound blaster? The Mackie should do all you need. Why not use the Mackie interface straight into your PC? Alternately why not plug a microphone straight into the Soundblaster Mic input? But first thing you should try is to just get the Mackie working as an interface with no Soundblaster involved. Just use headphones to start with if you don't have monitors you can connect to the Mackie.

How exactly have you got the Mackie wired to the sound card, what exact outputs connected via what cable to exactly what input.

How was the Guitar recorded on track 1? DI to the Mackie or you micing a cabinet? With what microphone connected exactly where?

What is happening in track 2? What exact microphone are you using for that? Connected to what input?

What is recorded on the first track, what on the second. Physically unplug the microphone? Do you still get pickup?

What exact monitors/speakers are you using and what exactly are they plugged into? Try using closed back headphones with the monitor level turned down or the monitors physical unplugged. What happens?

What exactly is the Playback Engine in Pro Tools set to?

Is the Mackie USB cable connected to the computer? Why? (if you are not usign it as an interface it need not be connected... but I would be using it as the interface and getting the Soundblaster out of the picture.).

Are you trying to use the Mackie and Soundblaster simultaneously via ASIO4ALL?

[Darryl Ramm]

Can you also explain exactly what you mean by "microphone turned off" how exactly did you "turn off" the microphone.

I am especially suspicious that you have some kind of monitoring loop, like you are trying to drive monitors (or just have a random cable connected) from the Soundbalster output to an Onyx input and the hardware mix/monitor section in the Onyx is routing back to the input on your interface. That or you have managed to mess up with ASIO4ALL. Either way start by just using the Onyx as the interface and get that working.

[Danny Caccavo]

This might not be your problem, but there is a bug in the Input pane of the I/O setup. When you create input paths, make sure you check both boxes (Auto-create sub paths, and Auto-default channel assignments). If you don't, you will create a path with corrupt subpaths. Try deleting them and making fresh ones.

Sorry if this isn't helpful...

[Lpmike75]

Sounds to me that you probably guessed right in your first post. The sound blaster cards have a record what you hear option. You can go to your soundblaster options and uncheck that.

I also wonder why you use the sound blaster card if you have the Mackie.

[KungFuRooster]

Yeah, I was running my signal through the monitor out of the Mackie and into the line in of the X-Fi Titanium. This would give me a nice signal and work flawlessly in Audacity, but it seems to confuse PT11, which I believe requires you to be running an interface as an interface. I suppose you could theoretically use the X-Fi for this purpose, but it's beyond me exactly how.

My other issue was overcoming the fact that I can't install Mackie Onyx drivers on Windows 8, they simply refuse to install. But besides that, I tried running them previously on Windows 7 and had terrible latency. Using my method described above, I had latency of about 4ms in Audacity. I also don't have "what u hear" activated on the soundblaster, but I will investigate the auto-create sub paths and auto-default channel assignments.

How I solved this issue in the end was buying a $300 Avid Fast Track Duo from Guitar Center and using that instead of the Mackie. It has USB, but only for power and not signal transfer (thank god) and doesn't present any problems on Windows 8. Now that I know it works, I can return it and save $60 ordering it on Ebay. For an extra hundred bucks, it was a pretty clean fix. It seems like a good little unit and I can't complain about its latency (I should have a real 1/4 inch line out anyway!)

Thank you everybody for your support!

[Darryl Ramm]

I have no idea what you mean by " It has USB, but only for power and not signal transfer". The Fast Track Duo uses USB in the same way as the Mackie.

So now hopefully you just plan on using the Fast Track, with its drivers, and monitors connected directly to it and and the Soundcard is not used at all.

Darryl