Simultaneous record playback issue -ACID Product Family

Subject:Simultaneous record playback issue Posted by: Slim5819 Date:3/25/2008 7:50:12 PM I didn't know if I should post this in Sound Forge family or Acid, but I decided to place it here. I’ve been asked to help work on a song that a group of children will record as a sound track for a video at a local museum next month. The song was written by a member of a group to which I belong and her daughter wrote the music which she then recorded on her keyboard and sent to me as an MP3 file. Sometime in April I am to use the song as accompaniment for a children’s choir and record the children at a local church singing to the keyboard accompaniment. I had planned to take a portable music player with the keyboard MP3 file along, plug it into the church’s speaker system and record the children with a USB microphone plugged into my laptop computer using Sony Audio Studio 9.0. Someone who knows a lot more about sound and sound recordings than I do said I wouldn’t have to do that. He said the recording would have better quality if I would play the accompaniment on my laptop with Windows Media Player or any digital media player and re-record it at the same time as a WAV or MP3 file with Windows Audio Recorder (which I don’t have) or Sound Forge Recorder but it would depend on my sound card and mixer. He suggested I run a line from the church amp audio out to the laptop line in and use Sound Forge Recorder to record the result. I should get a signal out from the church amp, mixed with both the MP3 music input from my laptop and the children singing at the same time, coming out of the church amplifier line out, with better quality than the method I had in mind. He went on to say that I should be able to set up the audio player on Sound Forge to play and the Sound Forge Recorder to record. I’m really out of my league on this. Is this at all possible? I have Sony Vegas Studio 6.0, Sound Forge Audio Studio 9.0 and that’s it. Would I be able to do what my friend suggested above with either of those programs? I don’t think either of them actually have a mixer function do they? I’m willing to purchase Acid Music Studio if that would help but I can’t justify spending extra money for Acid Pro or Sound Forge Pro since my video and music editing is usually quite simple. If anyone could explain what I could do with one or a combination of Vegas Studio, Acid Studio or Sound Forge Audio or point me in the right direction with some other inexpensive software I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks, Jim
Subject:RE: Simultaneous record playback issue Reply by: Chienworks Date:3/25/2008 8:20:43 PM Sound Forge can't play and record simultaneously. It can do one or the other, but not both at once. Acid and Vegas both can. You could play the MP3 file in media player and then record the combined music and voices in Sound Forge. The biggest problem with that is that you will have to experiment with a few takes in advance to get the balance right. You won't be able to change the balance between the music and the singing after it's recorded. With Acid or Vegas you could place the original MP3 file on one track and record the voices on a separate track, then adjust them individual to your liking afterwards (keeping in mind that the microphone is going to pick up some of the music going through the speakers).
Subject:RE: Simultaneous record playback issue Reply by: Slim5819 Date:3/26/2008 1:50:52 AM Chienworks, as always I'm indebted to you. You've answered more than one question for me. As you said, I can do some experimenting. What I would like to know is when you said Vegas could both play and record at the same time would that mean both Vegas Studio, which I have and Vegas Pro, which I don't? Thanks much.
Subject:RE: Simultaneous record playback issue Reply by: Chienworks Date:3/26/2008 11:37:51 AM I'm pretty sure you can. There's an individual record-enable button for each audio track in all Vegas versions. Turn that on for the track you want to record into, and leave it off on the track containing the MP3 file.
Subject:RE: Simultaneous record playback issue Reply by: Slim5819 Date:3/26/2008 12:05:18 PM Thanks, I'll check it out. Jim

Subject:Simultaneous record playback issue

Posted by: Slim5819

Date:3/25/2008 7:50:12 PM

I didn't know if I should post this in Sound Forge family or Acid, but I decided to place it here.
I’ve been asked to help work on a song that a group of children will record as a sound track for a video at a local museum next month. The song was written by a member of a group to which I belong and her daughter wrote the music which she then recorded on her keyboard and sent to me as an MP3 file. Sometime in April I am to use the song as accompaniment for a children’s choir and record the children at a local church singing to the keyboard accompaniment.
I had planned to take a portable music player with the keyboard MP3 file along, plug it into the church’s speaker system and record the children with a USB microphone plugged into my laptop computer using Sony Audio Studio 9.0.
Someone who knows a lot more about sound and sound recordings than I do said I wouldn’t have to do that. He said the recording would have better quality if I would play the accompaniment on my laptop with Windows Media Player or any digital media player and re-record it at the same time as a WAV or MP3 file with Windows Audio Recorder (which I don’t have) or Sound Forge Recorder but it would depend on my sound card and mixer. He suggested I run a line from the church amp audio out to the laptop line in and use Sound Forge Recorder to record the result. I should get a signal out from the church amp, mixed with both the MP3 music input from my laptop and the children singing at the same time, coming out of the church amplifier line out, with better quality than the method I had in mind.
He went on to say that I should be able to set up the audio player on Sound Forge to play and the Sound Forge Recorder to record.
I’m really out of my league on this. Is this at all possible? I have Sony Vegas Studio 6.0, Sound Forge Audio Studio 9.0 and that’s it. Would I be able to do what my friend suggested above with either of those programs? I don’t think either of them actually have a mixer function do they? I’m willing to purchase Acid Music Studio if that would help but I can’t justify spending extra money for Acid Pro or Sound Forge Pro since my video and music editing is usually quite simple.
If anyone could explain what I could do with one or a combination of Vegas Studio, Acid Studio or Sound Forge Audio or point me in the right direction with some other inexpensive software I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jim

Subject:RE: Simultaneous record playback issue

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:3/25/2008 8:20:43 PM

Sound Forge can't play and record simultaneously. It can do one or the other, but not both at once. Acid and Vegas both can.

You could play the MP3 file in media player and then record the combined music and voices in Sound Forge. The biggest problem with that is that you will have to experiment with a few takes in advance to get the balance right. You won't be able to change the balance between the music and the singing after it's recorded. With Acid or Vegas you could place the original MP3 file on one track and record the voices on a separate track, then adjust them individual to your liking afterwards (keeping in mind that the microphone is going to pick up some of the music going through the speakers).

Subject:RE: Simultaneous record playback issue

Reply by: Slim5819

Date:3/26/2008 1:50:52 AM

Chienworks, as always I'm indebted to you. You've answered more than one question for me.

As you said, I can do some experimenting. What I would like to know is when you said Vegas could both play and record at the same time would that mean both Vegas Studio, which I have and Vegas Pro, which I don't?

Thanks much.

Subject:RE: Simultaneous record playback issue

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:3/26/2008 11:37:51 AM

I'm pretty sure you can. There's an individual record-enable button for each audio track in all Vegas versions. Turn that on for the track you want to record into, and leave it off on the track containing the MP3 file.

Subject:RE: Simultaneous record playback issue

Reply by: Slim5819

Date:3/26/2008 12:05:18 PM

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Jim