1210 Decks and a Cassette Tape Recorder!
Discussion
I have dusted off my old technic 1210's and spent the last 6 months (no time due to 2 young kids) sorting through my old house vinyl.
Last time I did a mix was about 15 years ago and was put on a tape recorder!
Being a technophobe, I really don't know how to record a mix on my PC
I basically want to record it, but put 'breaks(?) in between each record mix so that when I burn it on a CD, you can skip to each tune (rather than just one very long mix)
I tried something called audacity (free download) and bought a cable to put into the mixer-to pc, but quality not great, and you cant skip each tune. Someone suggested Sound Forge, someone else suggested a USB Turntable but I don't uderstand what they are talking about (I'm still on cassette tapes for christs sake!)
I really have no idea what I'm doing.
Can anyone help? (probably won't do many, so don't want to spend a lot of £)
Last time I did a mix was about 15 years ago and was put on a tape recorder!
Being a technophobe, I really don't know how to record a mix on my PC
I basically want to record it, but put 'breaks(?) in between each record mix so that when I burn it on a CD, you can skip to each tune (rather than just one very long mix)
I tried something called audacity (free download) and bought a cable to put into the mixer-to pc, but quality not great, and you cant skip each tune. Someone suggested Sound Forge, someone else suggested a USB Turntable but I don't uderstand what they are talking about (I'm still on cassette tapes for christs sake!)
I really have no idea what I'm doing.
Can anyone help? (probably won't do many, so don't want to spend a lot of £)
You can use any recording package.
Record the mix as you would have with a tape recorder into the computer programme.
Keep a stopwatch and a log beside the mixer.
Start the stopwatch with the computer recording. Log each new record as you go, against the timeline.
When finished (74min for CD remember), use the log to identify the mix points.
Each recording package has a different way of doing this but you want to edit the audio file at each mix point. You effectively split the audio so that each song becomes an individual file.
You would then import each of these files in the correct order into a CD burning package and ensure there is no gap or crossfade applied (for CD you will need a 2s gap on the first track).
This is a very basic account of the process obviously but it should get you started.
Record the mix as you would have with a tape recorder into the computer programme.
Keep a stopwatch and a log beside the mixer.
Start the stopwatch with the computer recording. Log each new record as you go, against the timeline.
When finished (74min for CD remember), use the log to identify the mix points.
Each recording package has a different way of doing this but you want to edit the audio file at each mix point. You effectively split the audio so that each song becomes an individual file.
You would then import each of these files in the correct order into a CD burning package and ensure there is no gap or crossfade applied (for CD you will need a 2s gap on the first track).
This is a very basic account of the process obviously but it should get you started.
It is one way of doing it but sounds like a lot of buggering about.
Record the mix as above, then use Mix CD Producer (Ejay product) to insert break markers. It will automatically export to a CD burning separate tracks.
Record the mix as above, then use Mix CD Producer (Ejay product) to insert break markers. It will automatically export to a CD burning separate tracks.
Soir said:
thanks for the replies.
Which recording package should I use?
I downloaded something called audacity but sound wasn't great (no stereo)
Have you done this?Which recording package should I use?
I downloaded something called audacity but sound wasn't great (no stereo)
The Manual said:
Make sure your playback and recording device are set. If you're going to record a stereo signal, set the number of channels to record to 2 (Stereo) on the Audio I/O preferences.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorial_basics_4.htmlCzechItOut said:
Soir said:
thanks for the replies.
Which recording package should I use?
I downloaded something called audacity but sound wasn't great (no stereo)
Have you done this?Which recording package should I use?
I downloaded something called audacity but sound wasn't great (no stereo)
The Manual said:
Make sure your playback and recording device are set. If you're going to record a stereo signal, set the number of channels to record to 2 (Stereo) on the Audio I/O preferences.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorial_basics_4.htmlnot as easy as sticking a cassette tape on is it?!
Soir said:
No, it said free audacity doesnt come with stereo (had to pay to upgrade)
not as easy as sticking a cassette tape on is it?!
Utter nonsense (not aimed at you - just wondering if you've downloaded a rogue version?)not as easy as sticking a cassette tape on is it?!
www.audacity.sourceforge.net - it's an awesome bit of software (go for the Beta, not the stable release which is ancient and less stable if anything!)... I do all my mixes on it!
To put 'breaks' in, there are several methods - to be honest, I don't bother any more as once the novelty wore off I found it was too much of a hassle and missed the point of doing a continuous mix!
If you really want to, you can use decent burning software to insert them at the time of buring (I used to use Nero Express), break the recording into chunks using Audacity and then burn them with 0 second gap between each track or use some software to create a '.cue' file which some burning software (Nero for sure) can use to set the tracks up (I think I used something called CDWav IIRC, which was also free!)
As for the USB turntable mentioned - it's not really what you're after, especially when you've already got arguably the best decks ever made!
If you really want to, you can use decent burning software to insert them at the time of buring (I used to use Nero Express), break the recording into chunks using Audacity and then burn them with 0 second gap between each track or use some software to create a '.cue' file which some burning software (Nero for sure) can use to set the tracks up (I think I used something called CDWav IIRC, which was also free!)
As for the USB turntable mentioned - it's not really what you're after, especially when you've already got arguably the best decks ever made!
Bump for update!
Have bought the cd mix producer (deejay) so will download this. And previously downloaded the free version of audacity.
In lame mans terms, I therefore need to:
1) connect cable from pc/microphone to the output in the mixer?
2) do mix as normal and record it on audacity?
3) try to use the cd mix producer software to import the mix from audacity, then try to put 0 breaks in between mixes?
Does this sound about right? (since asked mates and been into dj shop but everyone says different things!)
Have bought the cd mix producer (deejay) so will download this. And previously downloaded the free version of audacity.
In lame mans terms, I therefore need to:
1) connect cable from pc/microphone to the output in the mixer?
2) do mix as normal and record it on audacity?
3) try to use the cd mix producer software to import the mix from audacity, then try to put 0 breaks in between mixes?
Does this sound about right? (since asked mates and been into dj shop but everyone says different things!)
I stopped putting breaks in as I wanted people to listen to the mix as opposed to skipping to the track they wanted so something worth considering.
Audacity/Soundforge etc are all much of a muchness. Not quite Pro Tools but they are more than capable for basic use. If the quality is pants I'd put it down to your cable. Can I assume you're running a phono to jack cable out of your tape deck/stereo/mixer to the mic input on your pc/laptop? If so I'd put money on that being the issue.
Audacity/Soundforge etc are all much of a muchness. Not quite Pro Tools but they are more than capable for basic use. If the quality is pants I'd put it down to your cable. Can I assume you're running a phono to jack cable out of your tape deck/stereo/mixer to the mic input on your pc/laptop? If so I'd put money on that being the issue.
The other thing you'll have to consider is with tape you can record hotter than zero as in you can fun it into the red (within reason) and the top and bottom ends will absorb some of the harshness. With digital recording once your recording goes over zero you get an awful clipping sound. So with that in mind make sure your loudest mix is below the clipping threshold of zero. Depending on the type of mixing you do its worth considering if you're mixing two records in as this will obviously sound louder then playing your loudest record in isolation. Obvious stuff but worth considering when changing from tape to pc.
The only other option would be a recordable CD deck. A mate had one and they were pretty good. I'm sure they'd be cheap enough to pick up now. Would be just like recording to tape (ish).
The only other option would be a recordable CD deck. A mate had one and they were pretty good. I'm sure they'd be cheap enough to pick up now. Would be just like recording to tape (ish).
Edited by Miguel Alvarez on Thursday 5th January 14:04
Really good advice above (although as a house DJ I find that if you're EQing mixes correctly the clipping issue shouldn't be much of a problem - still worth leaving 3-10db of headroom though!)
Soir said:
Someone suggested buying numark stereo io (I have no idea which part of the process this will fix?!)
Also if I plug pc cable into output on mixer, where ate cables to the amplifier going to go?
Depending on your setup, either use the line-out from PC to amp (if there is one) or run a seperate feed from the mixer (if there is one!) or invest in a seperate audio device such as the Numark suggested above (on-board chips seem to have got better in recent years, but a seperate device - even a cheap one - usually gives a significant boost in quality!)Also if I plug pc cable into output on mixer, where ate cables to the amplifier going to go?
Ultuous said:
Really good advice above (although as a house DJ I find that if you're EQing mixes correctly the clipping issue shouldn't be much of a problem - still worth leaving 3-10db of headroom though!)
House DJ's have always been pretty good at this. That's one thing I noticed from friends who mixed house at college. Their mixes were always sonically tight. Miguel Alvarez said:
Had/Confirmed some good news at the weekend so have been celebrating (and panicking a little 
)
Will get on it over the next couple of days.
)Will get on it over the next couple of days.
on the good news!I'd be very interested in seeing this flowchart too. Although my set-up isn't quite so traditional- a Behringer bcd3000 running Traktor 3, with 2 (archaic) Synergy CD decks and a Gemini direct-drive turntable connected to it.
Having finally got it all set back up after moving house it's inspired me to finally get some mixes recorded!
I've just received the Y-splitters I need to split the audio output- one to the amp, one back to the PC and have a copy of Audacity on cd somewhere.
I did some research last week so now have a bit of an idea, but im sure your chart will be of much use!
Cheers bruv. Hopefully my "good news" doesn't do what I did to my dad's stereo when I was its age. Lol.
I only ever use Y splitters for allowing two people to listen to some audio ie a singer and myself when recording vocals. I was always under the impression they weren't that good for recording as you're halving the signal. Never bothered researching it but it made sense at the time. If its wrong I'll hold my hands up.
I would advise recording straight into the PC and then running some wires out of the PC to the amp (assuming there aren't any major latency issues)
ETA depending on your pc soundcard you'll either have a small jack out which would go to your computer speakers and a mic input or if you're lucky you may have two rca's in and two out. Cables are cheap as chips and if they're not being folded all the time and stuffed into a dj bag you can get them for less than £5. You'll be wanting either a rca to rca or rca to small jack x2.
For what it's worth my set up is hardware driven. Decks and Mixer into a Digital Hard Disc Recorder (only because I had one for recording artists vocals and its worth sod all if I sell it now). Rip the wav to Audacity or Pro Tools depends on what I'm doing and then export as a wav or mp3 as required. I've always been an OTB guy as opposed to ITB when messing around with music. Suits me fine although there are probably easier, cheaper and quicker ways of doing mixes.
I only ever use Y splitters for allowing two people to listen to some audio ie a singer and myself when recording vocals. I was always under the impression they weren't that good for recording as you're halving the signal. Never bothered researching it but it made sense at the time. If its wrong I'll hold my hands up.
I would advise recording straight into the PC and then running some wires out of the PC to the amp (assuming there aren't any major latency issues)
ETA depending on your pc soundcard you'll either have a small jack out which would go to your computer speakers and a mic input or if you're lucky you may have two rca's in and two out. Cables are cheap as chips and if they're not being folded all the time and stuffed into a dj bag you can get them for less than £5. You'll be wanting either a rca to rca or rca to small jack x2.
For what it's worth my set up is hardware driven. Decks and Mixer into a Digital Hard Disc Recorder (only because I had one for recording artists vocals and its worth sod all if I sell it now). Rip the wav to Audacity or Pro Tools depends on what I'm doing and then export as a wav or mp3 as required. I've always been an OTB guy as opposed to ITB when messing around with music. Suits me fine although there are probably easier, cheaper and quicker ways of doing mixes.
Edited by Miguel Alvarez on Tuesday 10th January 14:44
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