[linux-audio-user] I need help recording from soundcard

[Bearcat M. Sandor]

Hey folks,

You all have been great so far at helping me figure out all this audio stuff, 
and I have a new problem that perhaps one of you can solve.  The problem: I 
kinda don't know what I'm doing.  I'm trying to get some material from 
minidisc (remember those) onto my computer as wav files so that i can edit 
them and move them onto CD.  The problem is I can't get a peep into my system 
from my MD player.

I am using the following tools to accomplish this.  A sound Blaster Live card 
and ALSA., KDE, and Cinelerra.  Hopefully one of you has this or a similar 
combo so you can follow along.   I am trying to output from the analog 
outputs of my MD player into the Sound blaster.  I have no pcm digital 
outputs on the MD player or else i would use those.  I have the md player and 
my sound card connected via the analog output of the player to the jack on 
the very top of the back of the sound blaster (that's line in).

I open the Kmix panel and make sure that Gain is high and that the green 
button below the word "iGain" is lit.  Then i make sure that the green button 
below Line is lit and that the volume of that is high and the red button 
below it is lit as well.

I start Cinelerra and choose File..Record.   I choose a file name, the 
"Microsoft WAV" format and check Record audio tracks. I unchecked Record 
Video tracks.. I press OK.

I am given a monitoring window and a recording dialog. In the monitoring 
window the meters are jumping, but i don;t think hight enough and they may be 
reacting to other noise.. I have the md player playing something. 
I hit the record button and let it run for awhile. Then i hit stop, exit the 
program and play what I've done in Xine. If i turn the volume all the way up, 
i can hear what I recorded faintly.  In the recording window there is a text 
box labeled Source. I wold think that it is supposed to have /dev/something 
in it, but I don't; know what. On a sound blaster what is the line-in mapped 
to. I have all these /dev/dsp devices, but i don't know what to look as far 
as a device for the analog in.
 
When i switch the red dot (record input) in kmix to the volume control, my 
meters start jumping a lot, and recording gives me good sound when i play 
back the resulting file.  The devices is still not set in this case, so I 
don;t know whether that matters at all.

Can anyone give me a clue?  I've looked around the web a bit, browsed the ALSA 
archives and have struck out.

Thanx,
 

Bearcat M. Sandor