Hearing other tracks when recording

I'm not familiar with the Tascam DP-01 but many multi-track recorders don't commit effects to the track until the mixdown phase. The thinking being that you cannot eliminate a "bad choice" effect once it's down to tape (old school term) and so they allow adding the audio tweaks at the final stages of recording. Here they hope you can appreciate the entire mix and then decide what sweetners to add.

This is a common problem with digital recording. Simply put, it takes some time to convert analog (audio) to digital and then more time to convert it back. So, your playback track goes through conversion and introduces some delay. You don't hear this because you have no zero reference. Your recorded sound goes through the A/D converter and also incurs some delay. When you play them back together, you hear the difference in time from one track to another. Most pro recording programs have some method to minimize or cancel the delay like slipping the tracks so they all start together. Pro Tools just introduced a version that automatically does this. They have always had what it called "low latency" monitoring which attempts to keep the "shortest" digital/analog path so overdubs are close enough that we don't hear any issues. So, since you talk about the mixer but not the recording program, I can't tell you specifics but I'd look into the recording program for time alignment settings and options. If you have a manual for the recording program, try to look up latency.

change the setting in the settings toolbar

Check to make sure all your audio drives are configured. Sometimes the microphone jack isn't configured with the program. No audio comes through. Another suggestion is to, try Audacity. It is a free audio recording program, and it helps to master even some of the hardest studio production software programs.

Think of MIDI like the old time player pianos where you put a roll into it and the punches on the paper roll told the piano what notes to play. MIDI is a way for computers and musical instruments to communicate what is being played. When you plug your keyboard into your computer and enable it in Cakewalk, then Cakewalk records what notes you are playing on your keyboard (makes a piano roll file). Then when you tell Cakewalk to play this file back it communicates to your keyboard and says play these notes just like a person was sitting there playing these notes. The distinction here is you are recording and playing back your performance (which keys you pressed, how hard you struck the keys, how long you held the keys for sustain, etc...). No sound is actually being recorded, just the PERFORMANCE. When you play it back, the keyboard regenerates the sounds on the fly just as if you were actually sitting there performing the music again. Same thing applies to other MIDI enabled instruments (drums, guitar, saxaphone, etc...). This opens up all kinds of possibilities, you can redirect the recorded MIDI file to a completely different sound or instrument. Example... you record MIDI of you playing piano song, then you have Cakewalk play this MIDI back to your keyboard but you change the sound on your keyboard to guitar, it will play the same song, but now you will hear guitar instead of piano. Get it?

Options>Audio>Advanced.......

Select "MME" from the Driver Mode dropdown menu....

this worked fine for me......
let me know if it works...

This model appears to only have a mic input. Which I have on other models used as a aux input. You may have to turn off the mic boost under "Sounds and Audio Devices" And select the Voice (tab). Then click on the Volume button for the mic. Now sliders will appear and that Advanced tab should be the boost toggle.

check the system requirenments of the old program- if made for an earlier version of windows do this:
uninstall it. then reinstall using the program compatability wizard found by hitting start-programs- accessories- program compatability wizrd- this will walk you throught the install and ask what operating system the program was originally intented for and aid you through and incompatability issues.

Sounds like you have a latency problem. This can be for a variety of reasons, something Cakewalk admits. The reason for that could be everything from processor limitations, not enough RAM, your soundcard, or simply that you need to change the latency configuration in the audio settings menu of the program. Considering that that is the cheapest fix, try changing settings first. Be sure to follor the help information in Cakewalk - they can be a little confusing for Cakewalk (I have no idea why they can't seem to explain their programs after all these years) but you will be able to figure out what settings are right for you.

My guess is that when you record, you are listening to the previously recorded track, and playing to it. Then when you play it all back as a mix, they are not in sync as when you were recording them.

If that is not the problem, plesae explain further. You are able to monitor your previously recorded tracks, right? Not just playing each track "blind" and trying to have them match? Hope not. That is rarely possible - if at all.

If you are monitoring your prerecorded tracks while recording on top of them and it sounds different when you play it back, it's definitely latency.

Mark

Sounds to me that the computer is way out of date. Chances are the computer doesn't have enough processing power to support what you're trying to throw at it.

It might help stop/uninstall all other programs running at the same time to give Cakewalk the best chance of working.