advice for recording
advice for recording Posted on: 13.10.2009 by Shelby Blancaflor Hi guys I'm wondering which software to use for recording Traktor mixes made with an external mixer.I thought of using an old laptop ( pentium m 1,6 ghz, 500 mb ram) for recording mixes through the record out of the external mixer. I thought that maybe someone who`s into production might have some advice on which good freeware (audacity?) to use and which pitfalls to remember (how do I set the correct level etc.?) THANKS! | |
| Mechelle Duncil 11.11.2009 | When recording out of my mixer |
| Orlando Stadnick 13.10.2009 |
Originally Posted by alien2k
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| Mechelle Duncil 13.10.2009 | I have never question this myself because I just use Traktor |
| Mechelle Duncil 11.11.2009 | When recording out of my mixer |
| Orlando Stadnick 14.10.2009 |
Originally Posted by derjay
So, yes, I believe audacity will feet your needs... just like you said, your REC output from mixer to the input of your 2nd laptop... |
| Orlando Stadnick 13.10.2009 |
Originally Posted by alien2k
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| Mechelle Duncil 13.10.2009 | I have never question this myself because I just use Traktor |
| Shelby Blancaflor 13.10.2009 | Hi guys I'm wondering which software to use for recording Traktor mixes made with an external mixer. I thought of using an old laptop ( pentium m 1,6 ghz, 500 mb ram) for recording mixes through the record out of the external mixer. I thought that maybe someone who`s into production might have some advice on which good freeware (audacity?) to use and which pitfalls to remember (how do I set the correct level etc.?) THANKS! |
| Janeen Grava 20.11.2009 | I just use lame-o audacity XD |
| Shelby Blancaflor 12.11.2009 | nice hint, thank you, I`ll check it toevening . |
| Latia Pfleider 11.11.2009 | about that record level ... on your input did you check the box for "mic boost", in the windows volume slider page its under a show advanced option then a button will be on the input slider. Thats if your in windows using the "microphone" input. I can post a pic if needed |
| Shelby Blancaflor 11.11.2009 | Thanks for the advice, never thought about going the post production route. I've always been cautious about rising Traktor internal level a lot because the clipping starts quite early. However, I still don't entirely get what's happening, because on my mixer the Rec out is very loud (at least when I just connect it to the amp) and the difference between level playing live and the level that the recorded files have is VERY noticeable. ps: i liked the last mix you put up a couple of weeks ago very much, so I'll be very happy to listen to new stuff.... |
| Mechelle Duncil 11.11.2009 | When recording out of my mixer |
| Shelby Blancaflor 11.11.2009 | hey guys, I'm bumping this up 'cause finally I started to record the odd mixtape for friends etc. however, I am having some difficulties to set the record levels. I routed the record out of the Ecler mixer to the record In of an Echo Audiofire. The problem I am facing now is that the recording has a very very low level, ie. Audacity's level meter rarely hits more than -24 db. I converted the result to mp3 to test it in Winamp and the winamp Eq barely showed any response to the audio. So in the end, I had to crank up the volume of pre-amp (virtual) and amp to listen to the file and overall the sound was kind of flat too. (I don't know whether that is related to the gain problem or not) In the Echo Console I set the levels up to maximum but I couldn't see any result on Audacity's level meter. I played around with Audacity's record level too but somehow that didn't change anything either, so I am quite confused. Do you have any idea on how to find the bug (if it is one) and is there any rule of thumb as to which level a recording should reach? Cheers!!! |
| Orlando Stadnick 14.10.2009 |
Originally Posted by derjay
So, yes, I believe audacity will feet your needs... just like you said, your REC output from mixer to the input of your 2nd laptop... |
| Shelby Blancaflor 14.10.2009 | hi guys! thanks for the advice. I thought about using audacity on a second laptop because I use EKS controllers which have a soundcard but no recording input. For sure it would be more comfortable to use the record in on the onboard soundcard but I believe that Traktor only supports one soundcard at a time, at least if you don't do a workaround with Asio4all or something like it and I`de rather prefer to stick with the EKS native driver for paranoia reasons. The recording quality doesn't need to be top notch. I`m not making promos I don`t intend to in the near future, so a bit of compression might be acceptable, for sending a new mix to a couple of friends and put it up for scrutiny at the community here. So the point is rather "idiot proofness" PS: @Alien - is your EP out already? |
| Orlando Stadnick 13.10.2009 |
Originally Posted by alien2k
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| Irene Larner 13.10.2009 | Oh, and about tips and pitfalls: Internal notebook soundcards tend to be on the weak side when used as recording input, so if you can get a cheap and acceptable external card or have one somewhere, use that one. Levelling can be quite tricky. My Wintel Laptops sound card had a tendency to clip, even when it was set to lowest possible input gain. I couldn't really hear distortion, but because the level was always extremely high, the recording sounded like it was squeezed through a limiter that was pumped up to the max. (and no, I didn't use a mic input or used the software preamplification). What I usually do is do a quick mix, play two tracks at the same time, level the recording input on the computer to something around -3 dB peak and record. If you go too low, you lose audio quality. If you go to high, the recording will clip, so keep a good eye on the output levels on your external mixer. What do you plan to do with your recordings? If you only want to listen to them yourself to control your mixing or pass them to your buddies, I wouldn't give much thought about the actual quality of the recording. Just route the mixer output to some computers input and press record in whatever software you have around. Cause in terms of actual recording quality, it's not the software that makes the difference, it's the soundcard you're using. If you plan to use them as Demos or spread them in the web to promote yourself, I would personally go for something more professional than mixer-out to laptop-in, but that's just my opinion. |
| Irene Larner 13.10.2009 | A couple of free programs should fine for this purpose. Audacity for exmple worked well for me in the past, but the last time I used a PC (I'm on mac os now), I used DJdecks for mixing and Audacity for recording on a P4M 2,8 gHz laptop and had to increase latency a little to get flawless recordings. A lot of people I know use Audio Hijack for recording on a mac with good results. I'm sure there's a similar program available for windows. I personally got myself an external sd-card wav recorder for a handful of euros. After all one has to be paranoid about computers, and I am not that much of an Apple Fanboy to believe that macs never ever have problems, so better safe than sorry. |
| Mechelle Duncil 13.10.2009 | I have never question this myself because I just use Traktor |
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