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-- Recording myself . . .

Recording myself . . .

what is the best way to record myself to a computer? What is the minimum of what I need, as far as software, and cords or whatever. Any feedback will be appreciated.

Minimum you will need should be a sound card, (with line in). Depending on what kind of mixer you have, you will need something that converts a master output to stereo mini (Headphone jack size) to go from your mixer to your line in. I use an RCA ---> Stereo mini for my mixer, since mine has a 'Recording' master output.

Something like soundforge would be ideal to record it, you're going to want something that can record at full uncompressed wav form, and extend longer than the standard windows wav recorder which only lets you record I believe it's 60 seconds. Then if you want later you can compress it down to an MP3.

Make sure you get your EQ on your mixer right, there is another recent thread on 'Vinyl to CD'. Check that out for some EQ pointers.

Use feurio software...It's piss easy to handle!

ok, so i have a pioneer djm-500, i'm not sure if it has a record output, i looked on the back, and can't seem to find one. What can I do now?

as for sounds cards, how do i know if i have a good one or even have one? How do I know if I have an "INPUT" line ? That's the cord that hooks my speakers up to my computer right? So I could goto bestbuy or compusa and probably get a cord taht goes from my mixer to my computer right? What would I ask for?

So than if i got software, I could just record myself and burn a cd of my mix? Thanks for all the help.

unless your soundcard is a POS you will have a line input slot on it. probably a 1/8 inch input. so you'll need RCA to 1/8inch.

You use the booth out on your mixer(i assume you have the master out going to your stereo and speakers?)

as for software.... i also suggest something like soundforge (or actually soundforge). there are more steps involved in recording a mix, but if you determined you'll figure it out.

Normally you have 3 jacks in your sounds card. 1 For the speakers(line level), 1 for the mic(input) and 1 for line input. The line input is the one you need. But, you have to make sure, that on sound properties, your line input isn't muted.

Hey TAs.... Im actually havinf similar problems trying to record my first mix. I am trying to record it into my laptop. I went to buy this cable (called Monster Cable) that comes out of my mixer and goes into the input in my laptop where the headphones are suppose to go. I WAS able to record a few seconds of music with th crapy Sound Recorder but the quality really sucks. However, the more I lower the master volume (from my mixer), the better the quality when you play it on the laptop. I guess this means that I need a better sound card and some type of recording program right?

the issue with laptops is setting the right gains. first of all make sure its going into the line in. then mess around with the volume...it helps if you have a meter on your prog or something. i know soundforge does. my experience recording on a laptop has been that it clips easily so turn the volume way down if anything.

^^^^^^

i have found that the best thing to do is, take your loundest record and play it with your EQ and Gain a little higher than you expect to play ... then adjust the out on your mixer accordingly. you want to leave yourself a bit of headroom, but not too much.

Personally I use Total Recorder for recording my mixes. I tried Sound Forge back at version 4.5 and it just wouldn't record reliably more than an hour or so of audio. Not tried the latest version for this task though, mainly because (as I said) I use Total Recorder

soundforge 6.0 is great.

you do need to have a large amount of free space on your comp. though because wave files take up some room

When using my laptop... I don't have a line in so I use the mic in.... So I turn the gain all the way down on the computer....

Turn the master level down on the mixer, but turn the gain up on my amp-and I don't really have a problem...

people people people!

lest we forget the master rule of recording

open up "volume control" (little speaker near the clock)

then go to options, properties
and click on 'recording'

then just check what you want to show up and click okay

then choose which one youre' gonna use
more than likely it'll be the lineinput or stereo mix
i find no idfference between them...though some might use mic if they don't have line in...i ahven't tried this though

keep this window open (recording control), and open up your recording software
i use soundforge 6 and i think its the best thing out there

let your record play and watch the meter and adjust the recording control level so that you aren't anywhere near clipping

in sound forge i tend to stay around 9 to 6, then just raise the volume afterward the recording is done if need be...
always leave some leadway because during mixes the volume is raised and most people have a tendancy to get louder as their set goes on
and keep an eye on the meter to make sure you arent clipping

i also usually keep my eqs around 12 o'clock when recording
i may give a certain eq a little boost, but keep in mind that the way a track sounds coming out of your amp/speakers is different then coming out of your mixer

anyone ever use n-Track studio? I dig it.

I use it with an M-Audio Delta 66 using the ASIO protocol.. makes controlling the channels really easy. Recording in 24/96 is nice, I can feed the 2496 digitally into my amp's S/PDIF input and get some really clean playback

Another advantage of the Delta 66 is it's balanced pro-level inputs. you can hook the delta 66 up to the pro-level TRS or XLR jacks on your mixer and get increased headroom, sn ratio, and reduce cable noise & hum from the computer.

Thanks for the help. I'm probabbly gonna get sound forge 6 as I see its the most recommended but i think i also need a soundcard right? Cuz the only inputs my laptop (Toshiba Sattelite) is the Mic and the headphone input. As I said before I already bought a cable (Monster Cable*) that i connected from my mixer (Pioneer DJM 300S)to the headphone input but i think a sound card is needed to improve the quality right?

usually USB audio is the best way to go with a laptop... there aren't many good PCMCIA solutions, and the good ones get expensive.

Here's a popular USB audio solution.. m-audio makes other USB audio interfaces too..

http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/quattro.php

The MSRP on this other one is half, and it still offers pro-level analog line/mic inputs and USB connectivity.. but doesnt record at 24/96 (16/48khz max, but that's still better than full CD bitrate!) - It's basically a stripped down quatro. It'd do exactly what you want though - make a decent CD-quality recording of your set.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/mobilepre.php

Your laptop's audio interface is likely severly limited - I would assume it'd be really easy to overload with most mixers, and probably doesnt respond to matched beats and other funky signals quite cleanly. I've never had good luck with on-board audio interfaces.

good analog ins or outs on a laptop are seldom available...

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