Totally Baffled Newbie.

[mayfly]

I am completely new to home recording so I am literally starting from scratch and my brain is about to explode.
The first problem is that I can't watch Kenny Gioia's tutorial videos if I have Reaper open on my computer. They freeze after a few seconds.
If I close Reaper the videos work fine. But this makes it awkward for putting into practice what I've just learnt.
Surely this cant be normal ?

----------------------
Onto the main problem.

I have bought a Behringer Xenyx X1204 USB audio interface/mixer.
On the advice of the guy at gear4music I downloaded Reaper.

So I've got two steep learning curves to get my head around.
After following all the 'start up' instructions in the videos I still haven't managed to record a single note after a week.

I've gone into Preferences - Device - and set my audio to ASIO4ALL.
The inputs are enabled.
Everything from the mixer is connected and set correctly.

One tutorial says I must enable my Audio Interface.' But there is no mention of it anywhere in Devices or in the Track controller. All I have got is Audio Mic 1 & Audio Mic 2.

Just to confuse me more, when I play my keyboard (Yamaha Motif 8) the VU meters react and the track looks as though its recording. But when I play it back the sound is a very faint. I think it has just recorded ambient sound. Even if I unplug the USB cable and clap my hands the VU meters react ????
How ?

I have been able to copy and paste existing songs into a track and they play fine. But I can't record.

So what am I doing wrong ?

Thank you in advance for any advice.
If you don't hear back from me - my brain has exploded.

John.

[toleolu]

First thing, with respect to the videos, are you using the interface for all of your audio playback? In other words, does the audio from Reaper and the audio from the videos all play on the same speakers connected to your interface?

If you do have everything going through your interface, do you have a sound card of some type in your computer, and are you using a desktop or a laptop?

[domzy]

Originally Posted by mayfly

All I have got is Audio Mic 1 & Audio Mic 2.

Just to confuse me more, when I play my keyboard (Yamaha Motif 8) the VU meters react and the track looks as though its recording. But when I play it back the sound is a very faint. I think it has just recorded ambient sound. Even if I unplug the USB cable and clap my hands the VU meters react ????
How ?

sounds like ASIO4all might be set to use onboard audio (are you using a laptop with built-in mic?)
Go in to the ASIO4all control panel and switch it to the behringer

[toleolu]

Originally Posted by mayfly

If you don't hear back from me - my brain has exploded.

John.

Hope he put down a drop cloth.

[mayfly]

Thanks for responding toleolu.

I listen to the tutorial videos via headphones on my Acer laptop.

I also use headphones on the Behringer interface to hear my piano loud and clear - but it doesn't record into Reaper.

[mayfly]

Thanks for your time domzy. Appreciated.

I've gone into Asio Control panel.
There is nothing that says Behringer but it does say USB Audio Codec.
I've clicked everything and have green triangles that mean its active. I think.

Back into preferences - devices and the inputs/outputs have options of USB Audio Codec 1 or 2.

I've tried all variations = still no recording.

[toleolu]

For now I'm trying to see what the deal is with you not being able to use Reaper and watch the online videos at the same time.

I've attached two pics, one is device.jpg that shows my Presonus interfaces as my Asio device. When you pull down on that menu in your device preferences, do you see your Beringer interface listed?

The second is Sound.jpg from the Windows Sound Settings, that shows my SoundBlaster card as my Windows default audio device. Do you see anything in your sound settings that shows anything other than your onboard audio as your Windows default device.

Don't change anything for now, just let me know what you see.

Finally, did a software CD come with that Behringer interface and if so, did you install that software?

[Rick Settle]

Originally Posted by mayfly

Thanks for your time domzy. Appreciated.

I've gone into Asio Control panel.
There is nothing that says Behringer but it does say USB Audio Codec.
I've clicked everything and have green triangles that mean its active. I think.

Back into preferences - devices and the inputs/outputs have options of USB Audio Codec 1 or 2.

I've tried all variations = still no recording.

From my own personal experience using my Behringer interface, you must use the Behringer ASIO driver or else you won't be able to use all your inputs. Whenever I try to use ASIO4ALL, only the first two inputs show up.

[rncwalker]

Both your windows sound settings and Reaper settings should have the "Beringer" as your audio device.

When you want to record audio or midi, you need to arm the track for recording.
Kenny's videos will show you how it's done.

Use Beringer's ASIO driver.
If you bought it used, you can get the driver from their website.


Robert

[mayfly]

Toleolu - Rick - Rncwalker.

Thank you all for your help.

Toleolu - I have included screen grabs of what I'm seeing.
I have seen tutorial videos about installing the CD software that comes with the Behringer. I didn't get anything. Just the mixer & leads.

Rick - I downloaded the Behringer driver - but when I switch to that in my Preferences - Devices - my inputs are blank. (Screengrab)

Rncwalker - Nothing in Windows or Reaper mentions Behringer. I just get 'USB Audio Interface' which is also on one of the tutorial videos I've watched.

Thanks all.

[foxAsteria]

The device needs to be on and connected for ins and outs to show. Sometimes you might need to close the prefs window and hit play to reinitialize the driver. Then you can go back and set the ins and outs.

[Rick Settle]

Originally Posted by mayfly

Toleolu - Rick - Rncwalker.

Thank you all for your help.

Toleolu - I have included screen grabs of what I'm seeing.
I have seen tutorial videos about installing the CD software that comes with the Behringer. I didn't get anything. Just the mixer & leads.

Rick - I downloaded the Behringer driver - but when I switch to that in my Preferences - Devices - my inputs are blank. (Screengrab)

Rncwalker - Nothing in Windows or Reaper mentions Behringer. I just get 'USB Audio Interface' which is also on one of the tutorial videos I've watched.

Thanks all.

I don't know why, sorry. When I open the Reaper preferences and select Audio
Device
I select ASIO and then I select the UMC ASIO Driver. Then I check the
Enable inputs. That gives me all 4 inputs and all 4 outputs.

[toleolu]

For starters, go back into your sound settings and set the RealTek HiDef audio as your default device. If you want to go back and use your interface as your default audio, you can switch that back later. See if setting the RealTek to your default has any effect on the problem with watching the videos while Reaper is open. If you still have the same problem, just go ahead and leave that RealTek as the default for now.

I suspect the overall problem is driver related since usually, when the proper driver for a device is installed, the name of that device will show up in Windows, if Windows doesn't recognize the device, or doesn't know what to do with it, Reaper won't either.

I've attached a pic from Device Manger showing all the sound devices on my computer. Go into your device manager and see if Windows sees your interface as a sound device, I'm not 100% sure but if Windows likes the device, seems to me it should say Behringer somewhere in there, but I'll defer to the people who use Beringer equipment on that.

If Device Manager does not see it under Sound Devices, check under USB Controllers. If it shows up there, but it doesn't say Behringer there either, then the problem might be that Windows basically just sees it as a generic USB device.

Also, while you're in Device Manager, look for any "bangs" (Looks like a yellow yield sign) on any of those devices. That usually indicates that Windows has a problem with either the hardware or drivers for that device.

I think the first thing you need to do is to get Windows to properly see that device. Once Windows is happy with it, then chances are, Reaper is going to be happy with it as well.

[vdubreeze]

Since my internet is mediocre and prone to fits of being less than mediocre, unless I just need to check a short video section and only once, I download them. Much simpler to put anywhere and send audio anywhere, and to refer to later.

[MonochromeChaos]

Following this thread because I've got the same issue, with another Behringer device - in this case the 'Guitar link' audio interface.

Asio4all is installed (the manual that comes with guitarlink actually says to use that as the driver) and is working fine with Guitar rig 5, Bias FX and Presonus Studio One.

But whilst Reaper lets me set the appropriate 'USB Codec' as inputs and outputs, I get neither input to the track (no VU meter activity) and no output (no audio).

Being a complete noob to Reaper, and having the other programmes working, I'm convinced it must be something simple in Reaper that I'm missing - but can anyone suggest what?

[toleolu]

MonochromeChaos, in your case, if you go into Windows, either sound settings or device manager, do you see anything saying Behringer in the description of the device anywhere, or is it pretty much the same as what Mayfly is seeing?

Also, by any chance, are either of you connecting the interface to the computer via a USB hub, or are you able to connect the interface directly to a USB port on your computer/laptop?

[toleolu]

Just looked at a couple of videos on You Tube about installing the Guitar Link and they all showed them installing the Behinger USB and ASIO drivers instead of using ASIO4All.

Not sure if that's the problem, but usually when you're installing a new device, if that device comes with software/drivers from the manufacturer, it's best to install that.

If you haven't done it yet, check out some of the videos on You Tube and see if you see anything in there that might help.

[MonochromeChaos]

Under windows it appears as 'USB audio Codec' - hopefully there's a screengrab attached to this reply.

It's plugged straight into the PC, not via a hub.

[toleolu]

Yes I see the attached pic, and like Mayfly it doesn't say anything about Behrigher, like your other devices that say RealTek or LogiTech, to me that just seems kind of strange. As I said before, I've never worked with the Behringer products so that may be the way they work, but I did recall seeing in one of the You Tube videos where it did say Behringer in the drop down menu when the guy doing the video selected the device.

Usually, but I'm not going to say it's always the case, but usually, when you install a device in Windows the descriptive information regarding that device comes from the drivers. That's why I keep thinking this has might be something driver related, at least with respect to Reaper. It could be that the generic asio4all driver works with Guitar Link, but doesn't provide all the functionality that Reaper requires. Now that I think about it, I believe someone posted something on this thread regarding that.

Did watching any of the You Tube videos help?

[domzy]

Originally Posted by MonochromeChaos

Following this thread because I've got the same issue, with another Behringer device - in this case the 'Guitar link' audio interface.

Asio4all is installed (the manual that comes with guitarlink actually says to use that as the driver) and is working fine with Guitar rig 5, Bias FX and Presonus Studio One.

But whilst Reaper lets me set the appropriate 'USB Codec' as inputs and outputs, I get neither input to the track (no VU meter activity) and no output (no audio).

Being a complete noob to Reaper, and having the other programmes working, I'm convinced it must be something simple in Reaper that I'm missing - but can anyone suggest what?

i think toleolu may be over-complicating things, as you say it's working in other software, i think your driver is probably ok. Are you sure you have enabled the appropriate track for recording and monitoring in Reaper properly? Make sure you follow the steps in the appropriate videos.

https://www.reaper.fm/videos.php#iLC1HjLXLd0

[MonochromeChaos]

Originally Posted by domzy

Are you sure you have enabled the appropriate track for recording and monitoring in Reaper properly? Make sure you follow the steps in the appropriate videos.

https://www.reaper.fm/videos.php#iLC1HjLXLd0

Sorted it, thank you!

Steps I was missing - selecting the 'monitoring' of the track, actually setting the track to record - those two steps got me the input from the guitar, albeit with nothing coming through the headphones - then just re-opening the Audio setup window, setting the output to be USB Audio codec and closing the window (so, not really changing anything, just forcing it to 'look' at the settings again) got me audio to the headphones.

I'll just go watch the rest of those videos now

[toleolu]

Glad you got it working, hope that helps Mayfly.

[mayfly]

Thanks for your help Toleolu.

I gave it a rest for a few days to give my head a chance to clear.

I got in touch with the shop where I bought the Behringer and who advised me to use Reaper.
They advised me to go to the Behringer website and download their recommended driver.
I did that but it recommended ASIO4ALL. - I've already got that installed.

I've checked my Sounds and Devices - there is no mention of Behringer. I just get USB Audio Codec.
I looked in USB Controller - No mention of Behringer. Just USB Composite Device.
No Bangs in there either.

I changed my sounds to Realtek Audio - Playback and Recording. = No difference.

I thought it may just be a problem between Behringer and Reaper so I tried using Audacity. = No good. Exactly the same problem. No recording.

Two things I've tried have puzzled me more.....

* One Beginners Tutorial video I watched, the guy clicks Inputs on the track controller - Input Mono - and 16 channels appear.
I only have two channels. HD Audio Mic Input 1 & 2.

* In my computer Sounds I can test the speakers in playback by right clicking the icon.
The Realtek speakers move the VU meter and I get a musical tone.
The USB Audio Codec move the VU meter but no musical tone.


Thanks again Toleolu. I think I've reached the end of the road. It was easier to use my old ghetto blaster to record !!

[toleolu]

Don't give up yet, it's probably something very simple that's being overlooked.

Take things a step at a time, try not to do too much all at once.

We were trying to figure out the deal with you not being able to watch the Reaper videos while you had Reaper open, that should be a fairly easy fix.

With the Realtek set as your default audio device in Windows, are you still having that same problem?

[toleolu]

I just sent you a PM.

[domzy]

Originally Posted by mayfly

Two things I've tried have puzzled me more.....

* One Beginners Tutorial video I watched, the guy clicks Inputs on the track controller - Input Mono - and 16 channels appear.
I only have two channels. HD Audio Mic Input 1 & 2.

i think your main problem seems like you may not have asio4all set up correctly - can you post a screenshot of your asio4all settings?

with regards to not being able to watch video and hear sound from Reaper, i think you need to get asio4all sorted first, then decide how you want to hear windows sound (ie through the behringer or the realtek) as asio4all may have a bearing on how you want to monitor things.

[toleolu]

Take a look at this video and see if it helps at all:

https://youtu.be/NW0xlLqBJXo

Let us know what, if anything, you see differently in your setup.

[solger]

Two links which might be helpful:

• Using and/or Troubleshooting ASIO4ALL: https://www.image-line.com/support/f...s_asio4all.htm
  
• Windows: Disable Exclusive Mode: https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/art...nd-Preferences

[mayfly]

Thanks everyone for your help.

Domzy - Here is a screenshot. (I hope.)


Solger - Thanks for the links. I've tried quite a few of the instructions - with no effect. i.e. Force WDM Driver. Always resample. Disable exclusive mode. And various combinations. Thanks anyway.

I've discovered that the problem with the videos not playing is with ANY video on YouTube. Not just Reaper tutorials. They play ok until I change window to Reaper. When I return to the video it has frozen with an error message.
This is no big deal. It just makes it awkward to put into practice what I've just watched.
At the moment this is the least of my problems. No recording at all is the big one.

Another discovery - If I unplug the USB cable from my computer, the channel playback doesn't work. No movement at all. Is that normal ?


Thanks again for all your help everyone.
I think I'm going to have a row with the shop who advised me to buy the Behringer and use it with Reaper.
That's looking like bad advice to me.

[JamesPeters]

The screenshot is too small.

Behringer devices are problematic, it seems (from several other threads like this) when it comes to allowing playback of Reaper plus anything else simultaneously.

One possible solution is ensuring your Reaper project's sample rate (and your audio device's sample rate in Reaper) and the sample rate of the audio in your browser are the same. Some audio devices (including Behringer) can't handle two different sample rates at the same time from different applications, or so I'm told (I learned of this recently from a similar thread). Even so that might not help. To know what sample rate the Youtube videos are using, you can right-click on the video and choose "stats for nerds" to see the audio codec and sample rate etc. That might not show sample rate depending on the audio device the browser uses though. You could assume 48 KHz for most Youtube videos. So try using 48 KHz as your project sample rate (and audio device sample rate) in Reaper.

Here's a setting you can use in Reaper. It won't allow Reaper and another application to play audio simultaneously (if your audio drivers won't allow it), but it will provide a good alternative. I use it in Linux, since I use PulseAudio (like "Windows Audio" in a sense, but for Linux) for Firefox and VLC, etc. but I use ALSA for Reaper (sort of like ASIO in a sense: very low latency and "low level").

Preferences -> Audio
In the "Audio Settings" on the right side, at the top, check this option:
"Close audio device when stopped and application is inactive"

This means whenever you select your Internet browser window (or any other application) instead of Reaper--as long as playback is stopped in Reaper--it'll allow the audio device to be used by other applications and even other audio drivers. So you may not be able to play your Reaper project while watching a video, but at least you can switch back and forth easily (no need to close Reaper or your browser; just stop playback of one, then start playback of the other).

[toleolu]

I just sent you a reply back to your PM.

Based on that picture, it looks like your using your laptop sound card for everything. All those devices that say HD are your sound card.

Go back into Preferences Device and under the Enable Inputs check box, change first to USB Audio Codec 1 and change last to USB Audio Codec 2. When you insert a track in Reaper, then check the input device for that track on that pull down menu below the Mute Solo and FX buttons, you should see those two USB devices as available inputs for that track. If your mic or instrument is plugged into Input 1 on the Behringer, then you want to select USB Audio Codec 1 as the input for the track. Same applies if you're plugged into input 2 on the interface, change the track input to USB Audio Codec 2.

Now as far as playback goes, you've got HD Audio Output 1 and 2 selected so that means when you play something back in Reaper, it's going to playback through the sound card in your laptop, not the Behringer. If you have speakers connected to output 1 and 2 on the Behringer, change Output Range First to USB Audio Output 1 and change last to USB Audio Output 2. If you don't have speakers connected to the interface, and if there's no headphone jack on the interface, or it doesn't work for playback, then you'll need to keep your output range as it is and plug speakers or a headphone jack into the audio output port on your laptop.

Let us know if that helps at all. Once we get this knocked out, we can deal with the video problem next.

Good Luck

[mayfly]

Thanks for your help James.

I wish I'd known about Behringer's being problematic before I bought this one.
I would have stuck to my original choice of the much simpler Presonus audio box.

I have overstretched myself with the Behringer.

Anyway - I checked the sample rates as you suggested - they seem to tally.
I also checked the audio settings as suggested - but the box was already ticked.
"Close audio device when stopped and application is inactive"

But the problem may be solved after some instructions from Toleolu on here.
I now have recording audio. Some fine tuning needed, but at least I have sounds.

Thanks again for your time.

Regards John.

[Philbo King]

Originally Posted by mayfly

I am completely new to home recording so I am literally starting from scratch and my brain is about to explode.
The first problem is that I can't watch Kenny Gioia's tutorial videos if I have Reaper open on my computer. They freeze after a few seconds.
If I close Reaper the videos work fine. But this makes it awkward for putting into practice what I've just learnt.
Surely this cant be normal ?

----------------------
Onto the main problem.

I have bought a Behringer Xenyx X1204 USB audio interface/mixer.
On the advice of the guy at gear4music I downloaded Reaper.

So I've got two steep learning curves to get my head around.
After following all the 'start up' instructions in the videos I still haven't managed to record a single note after a week.

I've gone into Preferences - Device - and set my audio to ASIO4ALL.
The inputs are enabled.
Everything from the mixer is connected and set correctly.

One tutorial says I must enable my Audio Interface.' But there is no mention of it anywhere in Devices or in the Track controller. All I have got is Audio Mic 1 & Audio Mic 2.

Just to confuse me more, when I play my keyboard (Yamaha Motif 8) the VU meters react and the track looks as though its recording. But when I play it back the sound is a very faint. I think it has just recorded ambient sound. Even if I unplug the USB cable and clap my hands the VU meters react ????
How ?

I have been able to copy and paste existing songs into a track and they play fine. But I can't record.

So what am I doing wrong ?

Thank you in advance for any advice.
If you don't hear back from me - my brain has exploded.

John.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the X1204 USB is pretty much unusable for recording. It is 16 bit. It has -42 dB noise floor (about the same as a Walmart cassette deck). It will only record or playback the 2 master fader channels at a time. The record/playback fidelity is horrible. I recommend you sell or return it and get one of these instead:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Behring...-Audiophile.gc

I have an X1204 I use as a sideboard mixer, to add a few extra channels to my main mix console. It works okay for that and doesn't sound too bad as long as you keep levels at or below -10 on their level meter. But the digital USB sound is really bad.