How to make DAW see more than 2 incoming tracks?

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 28 Sep 2015 7:58 am

I've been using a Presonus 2x2 to record into my laptop (Windows 8 ) using Audacity. Got some pretty good results recording the band live but I wanted to step up to 4 tracks so I got this Behringer 4x4 usb interface:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/UMC404HD

Good sounding unit but I cannot get Audacity or Reaper to see 4 individual tracks. Any advice?

Tim Russell · Post by **Tim Russell** » 28 Sep 2015 10:08 am

I'm not sure that multi-track (more than two) individual tracks into the laptop to mix later is possible...especially over the USB bus.

I know that with a desktop you would need a multi-track soundcard with the additional inputs to accomplish this.

I have the Behringer Xenyx Q802USB Mixer (8 in ) and unfortunately all mixing must be done on-board with my setup as well.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 28 Sep 2015 10:45 am

Many (Most?) DAWS will only use one recording interface unit. Thus you can record, at one time, the maximum inputs on your unit.

Multiple passes with tracks is what we do to get more. e.g. if the unit only has two inputs you record two tracks then go back and record two more tracks up to the total number you want.

e.g. record drum machine track and voice. Then go back and add bass and rhythm guitar. Then go back and add steel and/or lead guitar, etc.

I have the high end version of Sonar (Platinum) and I can only use one recording interface unit at a time. Fortunately I have a Roland Studio-Capture that has 12 channels with preamps.

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 28 Sep 2015 11:40 am

The goal is to record 4 tracks of live music (i.e. 3 mics and 1 line from the board) simultaneously into the DAW. My usb audio interface is a Behringer 4x4. The DAW only sees 2 of the incoming 4 tracks.

My research is telling me I need to upload ASIO drivers, update the sound card or switch to a Mac, in order to get more than 2 tracks at a time into the PC. Can anyone guide me through this process?

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 28 Sep 2015 11:43 am

I believe Tim is wanting to use his 4x4 by itself, which should not be a problem recording 4 INS at one time.

Jack is correct in that you cannot use TWO interfaces at the same time , but Tim is stating that he has the USB 4x4 , which by itself, if configured properly, is a true 4 input interface. I use a M-Audio Delta 66 which is 4 x 4 audio and I can arm 4 tracks at one time for recording.

Now I am not familiar with the DAW that TIM is using so first he must confirm that the DAW can indeed capture 4 inputs at the same time for recording. Then configure the interface properly, make sure that the DAW see's it ( all 4 ins) and then go from there.

The new interface should have come with the proper ASIO driver, if not it can be obtained on the manufacturers website.

Also it appears that Audacity needs to have preferences reset..

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Multi ... _Recording

Ian Worley · Post by **Ian Worley** » 28 Sep 2015 11:46 am

Your issue is most likely just a limitation of the sound driver you are using. The standard windows MME and direct sound drivers only support stereo input. You need an ASIO or WDM driver to access all the unit's inputs and record more than 2 channels simultaneously. The Presonus unit has its own ASIO driver. Presumably you've already installed the drivers that shipped with the unit, just go to Options> Preferences in Reaper and select the ASIO driver.

There is an inherent limitation on Audacity, which doesn't even support ASIO so it will only offer stereo input without some serious finagling. You can find info about this and about recompiling the program on their website, but it's not worth the trouble IMO.

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 29 Sep 2015 8:30 am

Thanks Ian. I am seeing the same thing about Audacity. Looks like it's time for me to step up to a more modern DAW so I'm on a trial subscription with Reaper. I uploaded the ASIO4ALL driver which looks to be the missing link to multi-tracking. Now I just need to figure out how to assign the recording tracks in Reaper to the incoming tracks.

Thanks all!

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 29 Sep 2015 8:57 am

Be careful with ASIO4ALL. It can work for some and screw things up for others. Only use or try it if you must. ASIO4ALL just fakes Windows into thinking the device is ASIO. If the device has ASIO (and many do) use that. If not and it is WDM/KS compliant and the DAW uses WDM/KS devices best to use that.

The gearslutz forum is a good place to get a lot of recording information. www.gearslutz.com

Ian Worley · Post by **Ian Worley** » 29 Sep 2015 10:52 am

ASIO is a hardware driver standard, meaning it enables compatible software such as a DAW to bypass the Windows sound system and access hardware such as a USB interface directly, thereby reducing latency significantly.

ASIO4all adds drivers that allow your DAW and similar software like video editors, etc. to access your computer's onboard sound card (or any other sound device in your computer) directly without routing it through Windows' conventional sound control scheme. Using it won't have any affect on the limitation in Audacity without recompiling the software as discussed above. Audacity will still only see the Windows MME and direct sound drivers.

The Behringer interface has its own unit-specific ASIO driver. This is what you want to install and use. If you don't have the CD that came with it you can download the driver from their website. Once you selected it in preferences, it will provide a list of input sources in each DAW track, usually in stereo pairs, but you can select each individually.

I wouldn't bother installing ASIO4all at all. It won't hurt anything, but it won't be of any particular value unless you plan to record in stereo through your computer's onboard sound card, which wouldn't make sense since you have the nice Behringer unit with its own optimized ASIO driver. If you do decide to recompile Audacity to add the ASIO functionality, it will then recognize the proper Behringer ASIO driver too. Also worth noting again that your DAW can only address/utilize one sound card/source at a time.

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 29 Sep 2015 6:04 pm

Ian Worley · Post by **Ian Worley** » 29 Sep 2015 11:30 pm

John Macy wrote:I can record 32 tracks in at a time via my Antelope Orion interface at 32 samples of latency via the USB bus...

...therefore... ?

Tim's humble $99 interface is still only going to allow him to record four at once, with less impressive latency stats than a $2k+ unit. The question was simply how to get the DAW to recognize all four of its inputs

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 30 Sep 2015 7:46 am

Success! Ian you were spot on, except that it was fairly easy to configure the Audacity preferences for multi-tracking (see screenshot). I didn't see the Behringer options previously but maybe they appeared when I restarted my computer. Now to find the same settings in Reaper. Thanks to all for your input - especially Ian!

[/img]

Dale Rottacker · Post by **Dale Rottacker** » 30 Sep 2015 9:08 am

I’m recording 3 ins at one time with Presonus FireStudio Project and Studio One 2 Artist without any problems into a Macbook Air, and thinking of adding a mic or two as well.

Ian Worley · Post by **Ian Worley** » 30 Sep 2015 12:43 pm

Tim Whitlock wrote:...it was fairly easy to configure the Audacity preferences for multi-tracking ...

Ahh, I don't use Audacity much except for changing song keys for band practice. My version of was old and didn't have the WASAPI host option in Devices. WASAPI is different from ASIO but provides the same basic function within Windows itself, more latency than ASIO. I just downloaded the newest version of Audacity and that option is available now. Cool, good to know, thanks!