NYMorningstar

It all depends on how good you want the recording to come out. The most important part of recording is the quality of what you're recording. You need a good room and good instruments before you can get a good sound to record. Once you have that established the next step is to learn how to track, mix and master and what equipment is appropriate for each. If you just need to get an idea recorded and don't care too much about the quality just use a cheap computer mic and the sound recorder that comes with windows. ~ click~ start/programs/entertainment/soundrecorder. For multitracking there is alot of freeware and shareware available following a google search. If you want a better sound for acoustic recording use a condensor mic with a good preamp. To expand your computers recording capabilities look into getting a better soundcard that can multitrack.

To do what you want to do you need a soundcard that will take more than 2 channels at the same time like a Delta 1010.

My guess is your y lead is not stereo or for some reason not working stereo. Make sure that there is 3 rings on the stereo end.