[Homeless Recluse]

I bought one of these to transfer to PC, all the bit's and pieces I've saved on mini disc over the years.

Got to say, I'm really disappointed with the quality, specifically the fact that it doesn't actually transfer the tracks accurately and seems to change the mix, from the original. I'm using audacity with it.

Has anyone here used it themselves, got any tips? I'm not the most patient or knowledgeable when it comes to technology.

Cheers

pete

[seriousfun]

Can you supply more info?

What is it doing to the sound? Pitch shifting? Changing tempo? Adding clicks and pops? Adding distortion? Etc....

While Bheringer is not known for producing high end products their stuff does work and this item has had good reviews on the net.  It may be a setup issue with your software so please supply some more descriptive info and someone may be able to assist.

Allan.

[Homeless Recluse]

Hi serious, thanks.

It's changing it to mono I think.


Here's a 30 second clip 

https://soundcloud.com/homelessrecluse/test

The 'wake me up' voice on the original recording is panned to the left and quite loud but on the clip provided, it's in the centre and sounds a lot further away

There's a voice at the end (on the original) that says 'we must go on, 'we have to go on' (again hard panned) and that's totally inaudible. 

Cheers

pete

 

[seriousfun]

There are two things that could be responsible for this.

1. The input is mono. Check the cabling from your mini disc player to the device. You must have a balanced stereo cable(s)

2.  Check that you have the audacity software set to record in stereo. If you are trying to record a stereo signal onto a mono track then you eill only get a mono recording. The audacity manual will describe the steps requiredto ensure that you are set up to record in stereo.


Good luck.

Allan.

[Boydie]

I think SF has nailed it for you

You mentioned not being technically "savvy" and apologies if I am stating the obvious but if you don't already know the following then it may help you track down the issue...

MONO is a SINGLE channel - so in a pro-audio application you are likely to see a single waveform containing all of the audio info

STEREO is made up of 2 channels - a left and right channel - therefore recording a STEREO source within a pro-audio application will normally involve 2 channels (left and right) hard panned accordingly

You therefore need to ensure Audacity is set up with 2 channels - and that you are receiving 2 channels

(some daws/ applications try to help by allowing stereo channels to appear on a single track - which is neater if you understand what is going on but confusing if you don't have the "fundamentals" down!!)

Your mini disc cables should have 2 black bands of plastic on the jack plugs to denote they can handle stereo

This then needs to go to a single STEREO input on your computer/audio interface OR 2 mono inputs with some kind of "Y" lead (stereo jack socket to 2 mono sockets - eg rca plugs)

I would therefore suggest that we walk through the signal chain from source to make sure we maintain STEREO

could you post the exact setup, including cables and jack sockets, and we should get you sorted pretty quickly

[Homeless Recluse]

Cheers guys and no need to apologise Boydie. I appreciate the info and the yourselves taking the time to offer help and advice.

I'm going straight out of my mini disc player's phono output with a stereo phono lead into the phono input on the UCA222. The UCA is plugged into my PC using the USB.... headphones in the headphone socket on the UCA222..and that's about it!

Stereo input is selected in Audacity too

I've just found this on the Behringer website.

The UCA222 features two analog mono inputs for connecting any line-level device, such as a mixer or tape deck, and two analog mono outputs for connecting active speakers or studio monitors. On the digital side, the UCA222 provides USB connectivity and an additional S/PDIF optical output for direct analog-to-digital conversion. The stereo headphone output has a dedicated level control and allows you listen to either the input source or the computer output.

Mono inputs??? Could this be the problem?

[Boydie]

Could be - I will try to look up the unit tomorrow but it sounds like you will need a "y lead" with a stereo jack one end ( for the mini disc player) and 2 mono jacks the other end - one for each mono input on the uca222

I will look it up to confirm for you, hopefully tomorrow

[Boydie]

Just had a quick look

I think this is what you need:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5mm-Jack-Phono-Audio-Cable/dp/B000Q6LSWM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384817815&sr=8-1&keywords=rca+to+3.5mm

and less than a quid!

If you want one straight away Maplins will have them

The jack socket goes in to your mini disc and you connect BOTH rca plugs (for left and right)

If your mini disc socket is not a 3.5mm socket you can get an equivalent lead or adaptor for this lead

Let us know if this sorts it out for you

Boydie

[Homeless Recluse]

Cheers boydie, it's a large mini disc player with no output that fits that cable just phono and a digital in But my bro has a small minidisk player somewhere, so I shall loan his and order that cable. Fingers crossed!!

Thanks again Shall deffo let you know if it works...or not!

[Boydie]

Ah - in that case I think you just need a simple "phono - to - phono" lead:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/RCA-Phono-Plugs-GOLD-1-2/dp/B0007RQY7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384862488&sr=8-1&keywords=phono+to+phono

Unfortunately this comes in at a whopping £1.56  

[Homeless Recluse]

Ah - in that case I think you just need a simple "phono - to - phono" lead:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/RCA-Phono-Plugs-GOLD-1-2/dp/B0007RQY7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384862488&sr=8-1&keywords=phono+to+phono

Unfortunately this comes in at a whopping £1.56  

That's what I used bud, except it's white and red. Swapped them out a few time as I've got more than one. Hmmm it's not looking good is it? Will still try my bro's player and that cable and do a search of the web see if anyone has had the same problem.
It's also just occurred to me that the unit may actually be faulty?

Grrr technology is a serious PITA!

[Boydie]

All is not lost yet...

We have determined your "hook up" is correct so let's move to your PC setup

I think you mentioned you are using Audacity?

I am not familiar with this package so I am sure others will be able to help more but...

If I were to take a stab in the dark I would suggest the following:

 In Audacity (or whatever software you choose) open a blank project and insert 2 audio tracks

You should then be able to select the INPUT for each track individually

When you choose the input you should see options to select EITHER the UA222 Left OR the UA222 Right inputs

I don't know exactly what they will be called but it should be descriptive enough to work out

Set one track as left (and pan it hard left - ie all the way) and set the other as right (and pan it hard right)

This should now record in "stereo" so each track should be slightly different if you had panning going on in your original recording - ie things in the middle will be the same but anything panned left should be louder in the left track etc.

It sounds like you have a good example to test with!

Hopefully this will get you sorted

It would be useful if you could post screen shots of any options boxes you encounter if you get stuck


As a last resort (and depending on how many tracks/discs you have!) you could post them to me and I will "digitize" them in to wav files for you and send them back - I have a mini disc player tucked away somewhere!!!

[Homeless Recluse]

Thanks again! I shall try this at the weekend, bud.
The cable should be here by then too as I still have that to try with my bro's player. I'm also gonna give GAK a ring once all possibilities are exhausted, prob sat after I've tried your suggestion and bro's player...and thrown the unit at the wall!

That's a very, very generous offer bud
There's about 10 full minidiscs of stuff and a few more where I've stuck bit's and pieces at the end of discs. I try to keep everything I come up with when noodling; and the good mix-downs too.
I wouldn't risk sending them in the post though. Anyway, there's some VERY embarrassing singing/warbling on them that I wouldn't want anyone hearing and blackmailing me with!

If all else fails I'll eventually buy a proper audio, recording hub

Thanks again for giving so much of your time over this and the kind offer of transferring them.

[Homeless Recluse]

No luck Boydie.
I've tried everything! It shouldn't be this difficult, I know I said I'm not techy but I ain't that bad!; this is a simple plug in and record device, or rather should be. Same goes for audacity it aint hard to use!

As well as what you've suggested I've even reversed the phono's right for left, left for right. I thought this had solved the problem but all it did was make the quiet voices louder and the louder voices quieter.

I'm convinced it's faulty now so am sending it back.

Thanks for spending you valuable time on this bud, it really is very much appreciated.

[tone]

Audacity is a bit of a strange program - opening two tracks one for L one for R may not be the best way forward. I would suggest a single stereo track http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq_i18n?s=recording&i=stereo