Recording in STEREO to Audacity in Windows 10 - RESOLVED

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Recording in STEREO to Audacity in Windows 10 - RESOLVED

Postby Hugh-AR » 13 Feb 2022 17:43

Note: Read on .. but I have found the solution to all this. See my last post. Hugh

Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Modern keyboards pose no problem when recording. You can record directly to WAV or MP3 to the keyboard's hard disk, or to a memory stick. But what about those older keyboards and organs that don't have the option to record to WAV or MP3?

My Yamaha AR80 is one of these, and to date I have had no problems doing recordings using Audacity. In the early days my computer had a LINE IN for STEREO INPUT (a white 3.5mm socket). Then along came laptops, and to record with them you had to do it via a USB Port. I have a LINE OUT from my organ, so put that through an AUDIO INTERFACE which had a permanent USB from it which I plugged into my laptop. Audacity picked up the STEREO input from the Audio Interface via the USB. Recordings went great, and were in STEREO.

Then this year I had a new laptop, running Windows 10 (well, not 'new' .. a 'refurbished' one). I downloaded Audacity 3.0.0, connected up all my leads to record .. and everything seemed to be going fine. Until I listened to it and visually looked at the waveform that Audacity had produced. This wasn't being recorded in STEREO! It was TWO TRACK MONO! The waveforms on the left and right channels were exactly the same.

Do you know what I am talking about? MONO is just one track, so if you have two speakers (or headphones) the sound only comes out of one side. With STEREO you get sounds coming from the left, and different sounds coming from the right. The overall sound is a 'fullness' all round. TWO TRACK MONO is the same mono track coming from both sides. I can only describe that as the sound appearing to come from 'over the top of your head'.

Have a listen to these two. This is a recording of Margaret Draper playing Albatross on her AR100 organ. She records to a floppy disk on her organ, and by sending me the floppy files I am able to play her piece through my organ. The audio is taken from the LINE OUT of the organ, and this first one has been successfully recorded in STEREO on my old laptop.

STEREO


This is what the Audacity waveform looks like. Look closely at the left and right channels and you will see that they are different.

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This next one has been recorded the same way, but on my new laptop .. and this one has ended up as TWO TRACK MONO.

2-TRACK MONO


This is what the Audacity waveform looks like this time. Look closely at the left and right channels .. they are exactly the same!

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As a musician, there really is no point in doing a recording unless it is in STEREO. You don't get the separation of the instruments and therefore don't get the 'fullness' of sound. If you compare this with sight, it's like looking at the world through one eye and not getting any perspective.
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Brian007 » 13 Feb 2022 18:14

Hi Hugh,

My initial thoughts would be to record the audio onto your Tyros 4s hard drive as a wave file and copy from there to a usb stick and import that into Audacity that way.

The only time I have recorded into Audacity directly was when I had a Korg arranger and the onboard recordings were not that good I thought ?

Now I record directly into Cakewalk which I use for all my music,

Good luck finding a solution, Brian007
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Hugh-AR » 13 Feb 2022 18:58

Now as I am getting a recording in proper STEREO on my old laptop, there can't be a problem with my recording equipment. So the problem must be with the SETTINGS on my laptops .. either the settings for SOUND in Windows 10 and/or the settings within the Audacity program itself.

I do know that I have to set up my recording equipment first .. the LINE OUT from the organ going through my AUDIO INTERFACE (the BEHRINGER UCA202) and into my laptop via the USB Port. Then I run Audacity. Otherwise Audacity doesn't pick up the recording devices.

Computer Settings

To compare the Windows 10 SETTINGS on my two laptops, I click on the 'Windows' symbol bottom left of the Task Bar and choose Settings.

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Then choose System.

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Then Sound.

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This is what I see on my old laptop:

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There you go! It's spotted that I have a BEHRINGER device on the Line In ie. via the USB Port.

Now my new laptop. This is what it says:

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So this time a Microphone via the USB Audio CODEC (and I suspect this is the problem?).

AUDACITY Settings

In the Audacity program itself, I see this on my old laptop:

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... and this on my new one:

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Any suggestions as to what I can do to rectify this
STEREO / TWO TRACK MONO dilemma? In both the above it tells me that 2 (Stereo) Recording Channels are set up.
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby kens » 13 Feb 2022 19:06

Hi! Hugh
With my EL700 organ I take the audio out via the headphones socket. Using a splitter plug out from the organ to USB in at PC. I can listen using headphones while recording in audacity. The organ speakers are silenced using this method.
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Brian007 » 13 Feb 2022 20:14

Hi Hugh

After reading your 2nd post watch the video below it is interesting and you may need a driver for the interface to act as a line in

anyway you decide



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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby barwonfan » 14 Feb 2022 02:35

I have been reading these posts with interest. One question arises for me; I'm wondering if, when I am playing a song accompanied by a style on my PSR970 and I am listening to myself via my stereo head phones, will I be hearing myself in stereo or mono?
PS. I have an adapter on the end of my head phone lead which is plugged into the headphone socket of my PSDR 970, and it is a stereo adapter. J.T.
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby andyg » 14 Feb 2022 09:44

Locate and find, then install the correct and most up to date drivers for the Behringer interface, as W10 hasn't 'found it' and is using a generic CODEC. It might be that the Behringer is a bit old and that it won't work with W10 - I have a couple of interfaces that 'stop' at W7, which is the main reason I still use it on some of the PCs and laptops here. But hopefully a new driver will sort the problem out.
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby andyg » 14 Feb 2022 09:45

barwonfan wrote:I have been reading these posts with interest. One question arises for me; I'm wondering if, when I am playing a song accompanied by a style on my PSR970 and I am listening to myself via my stereo head phones, will I be hearing myself in stereo or mono?
PS. I have an adapter on the end of my head phone lead which is plugged into the headphone socket of my PSDR 970, and it is a stereo adapter. J.T.


You'll be listening in stereo.
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Hugh-AR » 16 Feb 2022 00:22

Brian,

What a brilliant video! He has explained quite clearly what the problem is. The UCA202 (I have the UCA202 which is identical to the UCA222) needs the proper DRIVER for it to work properly. And Andy has said this as well:
Locate and find, then install the correct and most up to date drivers for the Behringer interface, as W10 hasn't 'found it' and is using a generic CODEC.

I have looked for a Driver on the Behringer site and have found this, with a 'Download' arrow to the right of it:

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When clicking on that download arrow I am taken to this:

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... and when clicking on the above I get this:

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So maybe this is what I should do. I am always wary about downloading things, and in particular would not download from the Box LINK appearing under Brian's video (when Watched on YouTube). I would have no idea of what I was downloading onto my laptop. You have to be able to trust the source of your download, and I reckon the LINKS from the Behringer site would be fine. But before doing that, I will make a RESTORE POINT on my laptop so I can go back to that should things go amiss.
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Hugh-AR » 16 Feb 2022 09:48

Example of how a MONO recording sounds (one track only .. left Channel if using Stereo equipment to listen).

Jim Reeves - I Love You Because

When the advert comes up, click the X in the top right hand corner of the rectangle to remove it.

And the same piece done in STEREO (a very good stereo recording).

JIM REEVES I LOVE YOU BECAUSE

When the advert comes up, click the X in the top right hand corner of the rectangle to remove it.

And then this one, which is recorded in TWO TRACK MONO (the same Mono track coming from left and right Channels).
He sings three songs in this clip.

Jim Reeves - I Love You Because - Bimbo - Four Walls

When the advert comes up, click the X in the top right hand corner of the rectangle to remove it.

After listening to these I'm sure you will understand why I want to get my laptop to record things I play on my AR80 organ in 'proper' STEREO.

Hugh
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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Brian007 » 16 Feb 2022 12:36

Hi Hugh,

Behringer dont do a driver that you want, or they did not, and Audacity does not natively support AISO.

Here are links to what I have used and are as far as I know safe

64 Bit driver https://www.dropbox.com/s/ktf6wn2aok45xgh/BEHRINGER_2902_X64_2.8.40.zip?dl=0

32 bit driver https://www.dropbox.com/s/rvyzujhpokzlx41/BEHRINGER_2902_WIN32_2.8.40.zip?dl=0

As the video says installation is everything , plug directly into a USB on the computer , not via a USB Hub , and whichever USB Port you use on your computer it will only work on that port so no swopping it about.

This will give you a L & R LINE IN FOR STEREO.

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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Brian007 » 17 Feb 2022 16:01

Hi Hugh,

Found this may be of use to you ?

Stop Windows turning your USB audio Mono: UCA202, 222 & more



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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Hugh-AR » 03 Jul 2022 22:37

Thanks for the video Brian. Thing is, I don't have any of those options to choose from. I think this is because my 'old' laptop has Realtek Audio Manager and my new one doesn't have a Realtek Soundcard .. it uses the default Windows settings.

I have found a further video by Vision & Technology updating the information he gave in his previous video.

Fixing Behringer UCA202 Win 10 update problems (June 2017)



Trouble with this is that the Driver he refers to (the BEHRINGER USB AUDIO 2.8.40) is no longer available for download on the websites he mentions. But I have noticed that you have given the LINK to this Driver in a Dropbox LINK .. so I may try that.

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Re: Windows 10 and recording with Audacity - a BIG PROBLEM!

Postby Hugh-AR » 04 Jul 2022 23:32

SOLUTION to getting my 'new' laptop to record in STEREO

I have finally come up with the solution to all this. YOU DON'T NEED ANY OTHER DRIVERS. You just use the Windows Generic one .. but you have to set up the options to do what you want.

First of all, I plugged my Audio Interface (the Behringer UCA202) into one of the USB Ports. The green light on the device comes on to show that it is taking power from the laptop, and ready to go.

To get at the Windows Sound options, click the 'windows' icon, bottom left .. and then choose Settings.

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Next, choose System.

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Then choose Sound.

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In this next screen you will see the Input device. This is called a Microphone, and herein lies the problem. By default, Windows sets any USB Input Device as a Microphone, and sets it up as a MONO input.

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To get at the Windows Sound Options you have to click on Device properties.
The next screen that comes up is this one.

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Looking at the above, it looks as though you have reached the end of the road, and Windows is just informing you that that indeed is the Input Device .. a Microphone (which you can Rename if you so wish).

But look over to the right of the screen and you will see this:

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Click on Additional device properties and you will see this:

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Look at the 'tabs' at the top. This tab is the General one.

Click on Advanced, and you will see this:

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You can see from the screen above that the Microphone Properties, Default Format has been set up as 1 channel, 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality).
This is why all the recordings have been coming out as 'two-track MONO'.

Click the 'down-arrow' on the right and select (click on) 2 channel, 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) .. ie. a STEREO input.

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You will now see this .. but don't click OK yet! You have to click Apply first, to set this option. Then click OK.

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Last thing to do is to set the Volume Level for your Input Device.
Click on the tab Levels at the top and set the volume to about 70%. You can always change this later if your recordings are either too loud or too soft. 70% is perfect for the LINE OUT from the AR80 organ.

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Then to make sure my Input Device is the one I have set up I have gone back to an earlier screen and Renamed my device from Microphone to BEHRINGER.

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Then when Audacity picks it up it will say that the 'Microphone' is the BEHRINGER (USB CODEC).

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Once I had done all this I did Restart my laptop just in case I needed to do this in order to make my new settings the new 'Default'.

I have now recorded Bev Harrison's piece East of the Sun, and here are the two versions I have recorded on this laptop.
The first is the MONO version this 'new' laptop was creating until I changed the Windows settings; and the second is the STEREO version I am now getting.

2-TRACK MONO


STEREO


Just listening to that INTRO, what a difference it makes to have the recording in STEREO!

So now (at last!) I can use my 'new' laptop to record my AR80 organ (or any other Stereo source) in STEREO.

Hugh
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Re: Recording in STEREO to Audacity in Windows 10 - RESOLVED

Postby Hugh-AR » 07 Jul 2022 09:04

In the above, I had set the Windows Input Sample Rate to 2 channel, 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality). However, I only need 2 channel, 16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality) and this is what I had previously set up in Audacity.

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So I have gone back into the Windows Sound Settings, Input (the quickest way to do this is to right-click the speaker icon bottom right and to choose Open Sound settings).

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Clicked on Device properties, then Additional device properties, Advanced and changed the sample rate. Finally clicked on Apply, and then OK.

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Re: Recording in STEREO to Audacity in Windows 10 - RESOLVED

Postby Hugh-AR » 17 Mar 2023 01:03

Note: Every time I get a Windows Update my recording option is re-set to MONO, so I have to go back to the instructions above and change it back to 2 Channel, 16 bit 44100 Hz (CD Quality).

When I do this I have to have the BEHRINGER UCA 202 Audio Interface plugged into a USB Port (it shows it's 'live' as the green light comes on) as Windows Sound is actually configuring the UCA202 device. I do not run Audacity until after I have re-set the option from MONO to STEREO.
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