setting up an audiobox usb to record in audition

Report · Feb 21, 2017

I'm totally new to using audition....some of my friends and I were looking to record her using a usb mic hooked up through an audiobox which would be hooked into my laptop that runs audition. Is this possible? I imagine it has to be...if it is, is there a solid tutorial someone could point me to to set it up? thanks!

Report · Feb 21, 2017

Sorry to have to say that it's NOT possible to run a USB mic through an Audiobox. The Audiobox is designed to take standard XLR mics or analogue instruments.

If you're dead set on using the USB mic, that'll have to be plugged directly into a USB port on your laptop. To make this the device that gets recorded, go to Edit/Preferences/Audio Hardware. Unless the mic comes with its own driver (unlikely) set the device type to MME then, on the drop down menu find something that looks like the USB mic and select it.

If the mic is one of the few that has a headphone output, select the mic in the playback box as well. If it doesn't have a headphone out, you'll have to use the built in sound card on your laptop for monitoring--probably something like "Realtek HD Audio" or similar.

This is where your problems might start though. You'll be monitoring after a round trip via the computer and using MME drivers rather than ASIO. Added together, this is likely to introduce enough latency to be a problem.

Frankly, if you can use an XLR mic via the Audiobox, things would be easier for you.

Report · Feb 21, 2017

ok, got it. a couple more questions...

Is there a way to record audio via audition by just hooking the usb mic into a usb port in my laptop and get solid audio?

And the other mic that we have access to is a condenser mic which if I'm not mistaken is an xlr mic? How would that get hooked up to record audio via audition?

Thank you!

Report · Feb 22, 2017

Yes, you can record the USB mic directly into Audition. You just have to select it as your Record Device in Edit/Preferences/Audio Hardware. I gave the full steps above.

To record an XLR condenser mic, you need an XLR cable to plug the mic into your Audiobox. Plug the Audiobox into your laptop and, if you haven't done so, download and install the latest drivers from the Presonus site here: Downloads | PreSonus

Again you need to visit Edit/Preferences/Audio Hardware in Audition. I'm pretty sure the Presonus drivers are ASIO so under device type select ASIO. On the Devices drop down menu select the Audiobox.

Something I didn't mention before...once you have the hardware set up, go to File/New/Multitrack session. Set the parameters as you like (probably 16 bit, 44.1kHz sampling for standard audio. Once you're set up this way, one more step...pick the track you want to record in and click on the input menu in the setup box at the left end of the track. Choose mono (because mics are mono) then assign one of the Presonus inputs to the track. If you ever get a second XLR mic, you can do two tracks at a time.

A few notes: if it's a condenser mic, you'll need to turn on 48 volt phantom power on the Audiobox. There's a button on the front panel. You also set your recording level with the knobs on the Audiobox. Finally, there's a knob marked "Mixer". This allows you to select whether you hear the mic you're using (in your headphones), audio coming off the computer (if, for example, you're singing along to a recorded track) or (most useful) a mix of the two.

Let us know how you get on.

Report · Feb 22, 2017

we will be trying it out this weekend. Thank you SO much for your detailed response!

Report · Feb 27, 2017

So I think I might have clicked correct answer alittle too soon, not that what you gave me was INCORRECT, but, we followed all of the steps that you previously outlined. We of course had the mic hooked into the audiobox which was hooked into my laptop. It allowed me to hit the green "play" arrow but the red record button was grayed out. I'm assuming that meant there was something else in the settings that needed to be done. Does it need to somewhere be record enabled or something like that? Any ideas? I tried poking around but to no avail.