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Weird recording issue


cruisinon2
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OK, so I've been using Garageband for some time now to quickly lay down scratch tracks for new material.

 

Here's the set-up:

POD500X L/R 1/4" outs--->Focusrite 2i4 interface--->Macbook Pro

 

Last night I noticed that if I record a single take on an empty track, both L and R waveforms show up in the track as they always have. But, if I click on the "cycle recording" feature that allows you to stack multiple takes, the inputs seem (at least visually) to be summed, and I only get one waveform appearing in the track on subsequent takes. If I then go back and select the original take, it also appears as a single waveform.

 

Any ideas from those more computer savvy than myself?

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Sounds like an odd problem, maybe even a bug. Not familiar with Garageband, but maybe take a look at the options available for multiple takes, if there are any.

 

In Reaper you can implode and exploded media items to or from takes. And if you have a number of takes and the track height is too small it will only display the selected take. You can show or hide empty takes. There's other stuff you can do too.

 

But displaying a stereo take suddenly as mono is weird. I can't think of any reason why someone would want to do this, unless I'm completely misunderstanding the problem. Maybe someone who actually uses Garageband would know. In any event, it sounds like something specific to Garageband.

 

I would suggest giving Reaper a try.

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Sounds like an odd problem, maybe even a bug. Not familiar with Garageband, but maybe take a look at the options available for multiple takes, if there are any.

 

In Reaper you can implode and exploded media items to or from takes. And if you have a number of takes and the track height is too small it will only display the selected take. You can show or hide empty takes. There's other stuff you can do too.

 

But displaying a stereo take suddenly as mono is weird. I can't think of any reason why someone would want to do this, unless I'm completely misunderstanding the problem. Maybe someone who actually uses Garageband would know. In any event, it sounds like something specific to Garageband.

 

I would suggest giving Reaper a try.

No, you got it...stereo take displayed as mono. It is weird...you select the input options when you create a new track, and I'm certainly not changing that between takes. It's definitely tied to the use of the "cycle recording" feature. If I disengage it and record another pass, it's back to displaying the stereo waveforms. Strange...

 

I'm thinking it's a bug too, because the track header still indicates both inputs are in use, despite displaying only one waveform.

 

I always record everything dry, so soloing the different takes,its hard to tell if it's actually being summed to mono, or just being displayed that way. Tonight I'm gonna try the same thing, but with a real obvious stereo delay from the POD...if that stays intact under both scenarios, then it's probably a bug in how it's being displayed. Can't think of any other way to rule it out.

 

It was also about 2 am when it started...can't entirely rule out "bleary-eyed and stupid" as a cause ;), but I was able to reproduce the issue several times. Seemed real enough, lol. We shall see...

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It was also about 2 am when it started...can't entirely rule out "bleary-eyed and stupid" as a cause ;), but I was able to reproduce the issue several times. Seemed real enough, lol. We shall see...

 

Do mild, harmless hallucinations repeat themselves? Hmm.

 

Well, hopefully you get it sorted out sooner or later. Let us know.

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Do mild, harmless hallucinations repeat themselves? Hmm.

 

Well, hopefully you get it sorted out sooner or later. Let us know.

OK, so I recorded a track with both inputs, and a super-annoying ping pong delay from the POD. Still displays only one waveform when cycling multiple takes, but the delay is intact, so it obviously is indeed recording both L and R inputs, so who knows? I suppose it doesn't much matter what's being displayed, as long as its recording the signals it's fed. Weird...

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Still, it's gotta be a little embarrassing for the makers of Garageband when they find out about this, unless they already know. I mean, one of it's most basic functions is to display waveforms. :lol:

 

Waveform displays in software like this must have some intentional meaning, otherwise why not just display them with simple bars or something. I find them useful for when I want to spot, at a glance, a particular section of a song. It's an easy frame of reference. I don't rely on them for anything else though. So I suppose a mono versus stereo display would make little difference.

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