Am I on the right path for budget recording?

[Big Hoss]

The endings of files like
.doc .jpg .png
Some of them can clue you into to what system is being used. When given a hard-drive that has been deleted to hide evidence, one of the first things we look at in our image of it is the files that are marked "deleted" and what extensions they have. If they don't open it's usually because someone renamed a file with the wrong extension to try and throw people off. Like in ProDiscover or FTK, the program gets confused and will take a video file and label it as a word document if it's name ends in .doc

It's rare though because most criminals are terrible about getting rid of evidence. Drug dealers keep phone numbers and sales, pedophiles collect pictures of their victims. Most of the time, they think just deleting the file is enough

When a new version of Fedora comes out, does that mean you have to uninstall the last one and install the new one and start from scratch or is it just a simple update process and you keep all your files?

I read up on CentOS and there were a lot of issues with software (like ardour) and hardware throughout some of the forums I read through. There's also a fear in the community that it might end up like Slackware, where when the few people developing most of Cent go away, the CentOS project would become a wreck. Some people scared me off of it by referring to the install process itself, saying that I could ruin the PC somehow if the wrong options were selected. Aye.

Even as I type this I was partly considering Ubunutu, but taking in all the advise given so far I'm thinking it might be worth it to just pay the $50 a year for Red Hat Enterprise Self Support. That way I'm getting a serviced product, has the tie in to the career field as you said being one of the more found systems in the corporate field, and still not have to download a grab bag of programs I don't need. Being that I'm not in the "black tie" crowd, the only finger I will point hopefully is the one touching the record button.

I hadn't thought about my mics getting in the lighting path. I had thought about buying a drum kick mic and recording from below, but I thought it might no work out well if I was speaking or doing a gear review. Something to ponder and test for sure. I wonder if a wool sock would work well as a dead cat.

I was pulling your leg on the extensions thing to make a point... For the most part, UNIX systems don't give a care about file name extensions, they can be there as a courtesy as it were, to legacy OS users (Windows) but really aren't necessary.

Not going to go into data security / forensics online too much for the reasons of not tipping the hat to the bad guys, but yes, you are on the right track, mostly there. There are other ways around what you are talking about. Your professor, if he's worth half a nickel should cover them for you.

There is always fear that project maintainers go away and a project dies. However CentOS is being supported in partnership directly with Red Hat, I seriously doubt it will go away any time soon.

On the audio issues with RHEL / CentOS, that is exactly why I installed the NUX! desktop repositories, to fill in that gap. EPEL needs to be there before NUX! can go in, once both are in, just install your app like Audacity, or Ardour using yum and all the dependencies get handled for you.

CentOS / RHEL install bricking a system? Possible sure, likely? Hardly. No more likely than a Windows install. CetnOS / RHEL are extremely mature, well tested systems much like Windows, with a proven reliable and safe installer.

Yes, you can pay an annual support for RHEL if you wish. I personally am not going to go that direction at this point...

 

[Boom762]

I'm very close now. All I need is my microphone to finally get here and another trip to Guitar Center. I need to go to GC because the cables that came with my nano patch starter kit aren't what I need. I couldn't even get my mixer to register sound so far. I'm guessing a few adapters and few more cables and I'll be ready to start shooting.

I ended up going with Ubuntu for now. I was studying how to install everything I needed in Centos and felt a bit overwhelmed.

 

[Big Hoss]

I'm very close now. All I need is my microphone to finally get here and another trip to Guitar Center. I need to go to GC because the cables that came with my nano patch starter kit aren't what I need. I couldn't even get my mixer to register sound so far. I'm guessing a few adapters and few more cables and I'll be ready to start shooting.

I ended up going with Ubuntu for now. I was studying how to install everything I needed in Centos and felt a bit overwhelmed.

Too bad Lubbock isn't closer to League City, I'd give you a spare mic to get you started...

Is your mixer hooked up to USB yet and is the driver installed?

 

[Boom762]

Too bad Lubbock isn't closer to League City, I'd give you a spare mic to get you started...

Is your mixer hooked up to USB yet and is the driver installed?

I have everything hooked up. I'm wondering if Linux doesn't have the drivers for the speakers, mixer, or anything else. May be why nothing is working. How would I go about getting the drivers for the mixer on here? The drivers on the Behringer website are for windows and IOS only.

I went to GC and they said I didn't need any more cables. I ended up buying a SansAmp Bass Driver DI to try and bypass the problem but had no luck. I found out I DO need at least one more cable. A female to Female XLR is needed for my Di.

Oh, can I plug my bass into the USB in the 1/4 "Mic" port or do I have to plug the bass into the XLR preamp socket?

 

[Big Hoss]

Why would speakers need a driver?

 

[Boom762]

Why would speakers need a driver?

I dunno. I'm at a loss. I unplugged everything and tried to get each piece to work by itself. The speakers when plugged into the pc by a stereo breakout 3.5mm TRS to dual 1/4 in TS had a terrible static sound coming through them. If I turned them up high enough, under the static I could hear my audio coming through faintly.

The USB mix I plugged into the wall only, plugged in my headphones, and plugged a bass into the Mic 1/4 hold. Pushed every button and slid every slider. I couldn't get a single sound out of it so I don't think it's just a driver situation. So far just nothing works the way I need it to.

 

[Big Hoss]

Let's start with the audio subsystem... Do you get proper sound from the built in speakers on the laptop?

 

[Big Hoss]

As far as the mixer input, I would start with a mic XLR cable and headphones.... I didn't opt for the specific mixer you got. Read the owners manual...

 

[Big Hoss]

Now let's talk about BASIC mixer operation, yours is going to be more complex than mine, but the basics are the same...

Signal incoming to the mixer should be unamplified line level signal. If you are trying to go from an active pre amplified bass you are doing it wrong... Not saying you can't but it's not quite ideal. Doubtless you have seen here at least mention of Line out on amps, and DI boxes, well... This is what that's for. You need a DI, or to come out of your amp with a line cable, in my case, an XLR to 1/4, but in my photos not even that is hooked up. So for the sake of argument, XLR to XLR into my input...

For the sake my my illustration for you, I literally just stripped all my connections except the XLR in, power, and phones. There are NO other cables attached, and remember, my mixer is not USB, my USB is external and connected to the tape in / tape out jacks... Oh and I apologize ahead of time for the dusty mixer pics, it would appear the cat finally found the mixer with whatever dust and cat hair she could leave behind...

Once your line level source is connected, you need to set up a gain to start with. I typically start everything at around 50% and start fiddling with knobs / slides until it sounds right, so let's set that mic / line gain...

Now that the input gain is initially set, you will need to set your level, this is the level for the channel, not overall. Think of it as you are sending to the main mix at this level. Your mixer I believe has slide levels, mine are knobs... Advantage of sliders, easier to control accurately, advantage of knobs, take up less space... I chose space for my application, but I could have gone with sliders...

Now set the output to Phones / Control room. That is sort of like the MAIN on your amp...

Now set your main mix.... In a way this is somewhat like the gain on your amp. It controls what goes through to your phones, but also to your mains... I'll get back to that in a minute...

Now on to those mains...

You don't have any. What you DO have is a pair of monitors... Basically speakers, not sure if yours are powered or passive, I am going to assume powered... Your monitors if I recall correctly SHOULD connect to your CTRL ROOM OUT ports not adapted to your PC... Some mixers allow BOTH phones AND CTRL ROOM OUT to be active at the same time, I have tested mine, and once the phones are plugged in, CTRL ROOM OUT becomes inactive.

You should be getting sound through the input of the mixer, through the channel, and out the main mix and CTRL / Phones circuits. Adjust to your liking from here...

Something I noticed VERY early on using my first XENYX mixer, a XENYX 502, is that they tend to run hot, and have no power switch. I have mine connectxed to a power strip and switch in on / off from there. It works. I also use literally the stand from an old clock that is about 1.25" thick that I use to prop the back end of the mixer up. It allows for greatly improved ventilation and cooling of the electronics, and easier access for me to get to the various controls. I HIGHLY recommend this...

Not sure about anything special with Ubuntu configuration. I had 14.04 set up in a VM, I honestly don't use Ubuntu deeply enough to dedicate hardware to it yet, but anyway, I then installed Audacity, and simply plugged the USB interface in, it came right up as selectable USB Audio Interface (Didn't say Behringer, just USB Audio blah blah...) Same thing with CentOS except I needed to install those added repositories that I mentioned previously...

Just an FYI, the bass amp puts in a mono signal...

Now lastly you got a different model, with different features than mine, so I dug around a little bit and found this little Youtube video to maybe help you with the specifics of YOUR mixer...



And lastly, my dual 1/4 to 3.5mm TRS is not for mic, but phones FROM the PC to input on the mixer. This is for me injecting drum loops or mp3s from the computer to the mixer...

 

[Boom762]

Alright! Making progress.

Able to:
- Play the bass into my headphones
- Play into 1 monitor (couldnt figure out how to get both as only the 1 Aux Sends 1 would allow it.

Unable to:
- Have Audacity detect any signal from my mixer.

My Stereo breakout to 1/4 to 3.5mm is what I was using. Would I need to buy a mono 1/4 to 3.5mm? I tried following all of the methods on how to connect to a phone and such in the video's later parts and was not able to record any sound in Audacity.

Here's a pic of my audacity setup to show I DO have my USB selected as my recording source. My computer's internal speakers work very well for youtube and such.

 

[Big Hoss]

Test your monitors 1 at a time. Connect to control room on mixer.

Do you have a Windows box you can test usb against?

 

[Big Hoss]

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Big Hoss]

I just managed to do something incredibly stupid and blew out my VM image directory with no backup. I will have to rebuild the VMs, and of course... reestablish my Audacity on there... I need a better backup service.

 

[Boom762]

I'm going to call the Behringer support number tomorrow when they are open. I went through a Behringer forum where the guy had the same problem and none of the suggestions they gave him worked for me. One thing they said was that the mixer does not support what they consider "high output" devices and that a Di box was required to be between the mixer and the guitar. That didn't make sense to me because my basses can be heard through the headphones or a monitor.

 

[Big Hoss]

Yeah we are kind of back at the question. Do you have a Windows or Mac box you can test against? Like many manufacturers, I don't think Behringer officially supports Linux with their devices, although they do tend to work with Linux...

Chances are better than a little good that your obstacle is a configuration or setting somehwere. As I mentioned previously, I am more of a Red Hat / CentOS guy because, well that's where my bread is buttered. Ubuntu is supposed to be more user friendly but sadly I am not 100% familiar with all the bells and whistles. I am throwing a test system together to try to help out with this though...

 

[Boom762]

Yeah we are kind of back at the question. Do you have a Windows or Mac box you can test against? Like many manufacturers, I don't think Behringer officially supports Linux with their devices, although they do tend to work with Linux...
..

I plugged it into my laptop when I got home and sure enough, it is running awesome in WIndows, especially with the bass driver. Ran with just the USB plugged in and nothing else. Ill still call them today and see if theres ANYTHING I can do with linux. If I have to revert this computer back to windows, Ill have to call Asus and tell them I took it off and need a new install, plus I was going to use Lightworks for my video editing and I think that is linux only.

 

[Big Hoss]

Alright! Making progress.

Able to:
- Play the bass into my headphones
- Play into 1 monitor (couldnt figure out how to get both as only the 1 Aux Sends 1 would allow it.

If you are connecting your monitors to the AUX sends you are connecting to the wrong place. Connect your monitors to the CTRL ROOM OUT left and right jacks.

Unable to:
- Have Audacity detect any signal from my mixer.

Not sure what is going on here. You happened to get a different mixer from mine, however, I can tell you that Ubuntu IS seeing your mixer, and setting up the driver, although you left the mic configured for the mixer, your audio OUT is configured to your default laptop sound driver so you won't get sound back to say your mixer in this configuration.

Your levels look good from the pic as well.

Not being expert in Ubuntu I can't say for sure, but I would check the default audio mixer panel in the desktop environment to see if something is muted.

My Stereo breakout to 1/4 to 3.5mm is what I was using. Would I need to buy a mono 1/4 to 3.5mm? I tried following all of the methods on how to connect to a phone and such in the video's later parts and was not able to record any sound in Audacity.

Here's a pic of my audacity setup to show I DO have my USB selected as my recording source. My computer's internal speakers work very well for youtube and such.

What I can say for sure, is you have the USB Audio Interface (the XENYX mixer) showing up in Audacity, which means the OS sees it. Your audio input in audacity is set full blast so IF it is being passed the data, you have a problem earlier in the chain...

The possibilities are.

#1. Mixer itself not sending signal. Most likely a button pushed the wrong way, a slider all the way down, level knob not turned up etc...
#2. Ubuntu itself muting the non default inputs in the control panel. I am not a full time Ubuntu user so I am not sure off the bat how to configure that. I am doing a reinstall of both CentOS and Ubuntu to recover my broken VMs and smack myself for not having them backed up before I can work on this again...

Good luck with Behringer, not too many audio companies work with Linux, and I am not sure if Behringer will or won't... However the XENYX USB mixers and UControl Audio Interfaces are well documented and known to work with Linux...

You might have better results using a specialized version of Ubuntu called Ubuntu Studio, it is already pre-configured with a vast array of audio / video / and graphics software, drivers blah blah blah...

 

[Big Hoss]

I plugged it into my laptop when I got home and sure enough, it is running awesome in WIndows, especially with the bass driver. Ran with just the USB plugged in and nothing else. Ill still call them today and see if theres ANYTHING I can do with linux. If I have to revert this computer back to windows, Ill have to call Asus and tell them I took it off and need a new install, plus I was going to use Lightworks for my video editing and I think that is linux only.

Uh. No. I have lightworks on my Windows 8.1 laptop. I prefer PowerDirector, but Lightworks does its thing pretty well...

 

[Boom762]

Uh. No. I have lightworks on my Windows 8.1 laptop. I prefer PowerDirector, but Lightworks does its thing pretty well...

Mission Complete praise Jesus lol. Thank you tremendously. You went above and beyond in helping me out and you deserve a little digital medal next to your avatar. Something else that should be noted is your level of patience with it all. I've seen a lot of people throw a "google it" for some questions. SO, if there's something I can do for you or you find yourself hungry and on my side of Texas, You will be taken care of sir.

Diagnosis:
My PC would not allow audio to be picked with with a 3.5 mm in either of it's ports. The sound was coming straight from the USB chord "I thought it needed both". When I tested the system out on my windows laptop, I forgot to plug in the 3.5mm at first. AFter a small cheer of success in seeing it rise the levels on the laptop, I noticed it and pluged the 3.5 into the laptop. This did nothing.... in either hole.

I then figured maybe it was the XLR and the sansamp that allowed me to record. I took the same config and switched it over to the new PC. It worked with the 3.5 out. I can no record with XLR AND with the Line In. Shazam.

It would get fixed 10 minutes before I call Behringer

 

[Big Hoss]

Awesomeness!

Yeah, making bad decisions in a horror movie, it's what you do, well in this case... patience with users trying to work through technical issues. It's what I do...

I couldn't do my job if I wasn't good at helping people iron out tech problems...

The 3.5mm stereo I was figuring might be problematic, especially if your laptop, like my Lenovo uses a TRRS jack. You are one ring short on that 3.5mm TRS plug and your contacts would be in the wrong place... One of the reasons I kept going back to making sure your stuff was hooked up through the mixer... Laptops can be funny that way...

So yes, put the 3.5mm breakout adapter away. Connect your monitors to the CTRL ROOM OUT of your mixer, and make sure the buttoms / controls point in / out of your USB. Think of the USB that is in your mixer as an external secondary sound card for the PC...

Keep me posted. I admit, I won't be happy until I know you are rockin' and rollin with recording through that rig!