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introduction : recording decks to pc : editing sound file : recording to minidisc : Recording Decks to PC (analog) So you can beat mix like Slipmatt, scratch like Qbert and beat juggle like DJ Craze. All you need now is a wider audience and for the world to hear you. You've got your tunes and you want to know how to create that demo CD. Lets have a go then... This may look very complicated (and lengthy) but it is only as complicated as the software you use and how complicated you want to make it. This tutorial will show you a very short simple way but then progresses onto creating and editing your CD to get a professional finish. Although while reading this you feel this seems like a long winded effort to do, it is necessary to get a good quality output file and thus a decent quality CD. Also when your equipment and PC is set up correctly you only need do this process once. Stage 1 - Equipment
Depending on where your computer is situated compared to your decks (and also the flexibility of your wallet), will depend on which is best for you. before rushing out and buying the best cable known to man, please be aware that the quality of your soundcard will greatly affect the quality of sound of your final mix. If the soundcard is poor, no matter how good the cable, you will loose quality that way. The more connections/adaptors the sound passes through, the more sound quality you loose at each stage and the poorer the final file will become. "Use the purest audio cable available to you. The quality will only be as good as the weakest part of the lead - i.e. the splitter if you are using one" - Mikedefacto, DJ Source Forums User. Also the outputs on the Mixer will also affect the final sound, the quality of the styli you use but also how clean your records are (remove fingerprints dust etc with a lint free cloth and a squib of lighter fluid - make sure you're in a well vented area if you are cleaning lots at a time!!) If all the equipment you have is average to high quality, gold plated connectors, your soundcard is relatively new (up to 18 months), I recommend option 2 with a similarly gold plated cable. Its well priced, gives excellent results and also gives scope so you don't have to have the PC sitting on top if your mixer within a metre of where you are trying to work and crowding your workspace. This will be adequate for most users. Plus the added advantage of taking off the adaptor leaves you with a good quality lead that you may need when playing out etc! If someone buys you it, or you are the King (or Queen!) of Disposable Income then Option 3 is the way forward. Stage 2 - Choice of Software You should be able to use the software that came with the soundcard to record incoming sound. There are several freeware programs that can help you here if this isn't the case. Check download.com Look for a program that will allow you to record from tape/vinyl (the description doesn't matter - you'll be using decks instead but the input process is the same but both are external to the pc) and also will allow you to save the final recorded track to WAV format. A good cheap program for this is called Cool Edit Pro (which is now not made anymore) but still used by many. I'd recommend it if you can get it as a great budget option. If you are after a freebie try GoldWave which can be found here. Remember to look for an old downloadable version rather than paying for the new one. A bit if searching on the download page will make it easy to find. Try this but as new versions come out this link may become useless gwave_v426 Personally, I favour a program called Soundforge by Sonic Foundry - a pro WAV editor and manipulator. A trail 30 day demo version can be downloaded from their site to try before you invest what is a huge amount of money on something you may never use to its potential. Should this be the case, a cheaper alternative (such as freebie oldwave) will do the job to a high standard equally well on the basic functions needed. Soundforge is in a league of its own though when it comes to the processing and mastering of the finished file. Stage 3 - Setting up the PC Plug the phono leads (one red/one white) into the back of your mixer into the Recording Out channel (not the master outputs which your amp/hifi will already be connected to). Connect the 3.5mm end (of the manufactured lead or the Y-shaped connector) into the "Line In" port of the soundcard. Chances are it will be one of the colour coded holes directly next to where you're PC speakers are plugged in. As an important note to prevent sound glitches as you record you need to close off as many processor hungry applications as you can. The fewer processes running the less the computer is trying to run externally from the programs you want it to be running. This includes disabling as many or all of the following:
Stage 4 - Correctly Setting Up Your Mixer Although while reading this you feel this seems like a long winded effort to do, it is necessary to get a good quality output file. Once set up correctly you only need complete the process once, or until you change part of your setup. Set up your first tune and ensure all levels are set correctly on the mixer. Use the same record to set up Deck 2. If you have two copies of the same record this is the best way to do it as you can monitor them both at the same time and be sure both channels are now outputting at the exact same volume by leaving the fader in the middle. If you are lucky enough to have three decks, then you should purely for this reason have to do some work! Unless of course you have three copies of the same record (maybe someone you know released a record and you felt duty bound to buying three copies!) you can use one record on either Channel 1 or 2, to balance Channel 3 as these should be identical now anyway. Chances are these levels will be no different to your normal settings. I don't change the main set up on my system once it's done. That way every time you come to record it'll all be ready to go. Correctly set, any levels/visuals etc. on the mixer should peak just below the red or the mixer will distort the sound from its source, which is technically known as Clipping. If you have everything set on Full, the gains will show full red bars and the sound will be distorted on the recording - you will get fuzzy bass, distorted treble etc. which will spoil a mix before its even started. Annoying if you do the best hour of mixing in the world and find this out on playback. Boot up the sound recording software on the PC - if you have a Creative Soundcard (and if not the Creative Live 5.1 is adequate for most uses and is relatively cheap approximately£30 at the time of writing , software included) If you use Soundforge or similar programs there may be the option to preview the sound using meters. If this is too high it will show full red on the gauge again showing distorting the input sound. Whilst the sound recorder is open on the computer, minimize this to take you back to the desktop. If you are using Windows 98 go to the Start button, then select Programs, then select Accessories, then select Entertainment then Volume Control. You may find on your PC there is a Sound Recorder option there also which could possibly be used to record the mix but its very basic and isn't advised unless absolutely no other alternative. However in the same Entertainment menu select Volume Control. A window will now appear that looks like this:
Ensure that the "Line In" does not have the Mute box ticked otherwise no sound will go into the PC so you won't be able to record anything. If you can't see a Line In function go to the Options drop down menu at the top and select Advanced Menu. You can then select the Line In to be shown (and hide any others you won't use) By flicking between the sound setup and your sound recorder program (use the two windows in the tray at the bottom of your screen or press left Alt button + Tab to switch) set the levels in the volume control using the vertical slide bar so that they peak just into the red, exactly as you did on the mixer. Depending on your soundcard somewhere between half and three quarters should be sufficient If you are using Soundforge when it opens just click the round red record button at the top left of the screen - all the meters etc now appear - ensure you put a tick in the "monitor" button otherwise it won't show you the input volume or whether the input signal is clipping or not. Trouble Shooting I have no sound feeding into the PC.
I have the sound inputting into my software but there is no sound from the PC speakers
Stage 5 - Recording Quality Just before we go here, these options may be limited depending on your software you are using and will vary from PC to PC so as always, this is a guide only. As with anything the more expensive the package, the better the options. It also very much depends on what you wish to use the final audio file for, whether to stream over the Net for others to listen to or create a CD. However as information (and a lot of trial and error by me) I have worked out the following: There are several options to quality and we will start with the poorest, progressing to the best. Sound quality is measured in hertz or Hz.
Quite simply, the higher the numbers given, the better the quality the final output will be and each, for the sake of this tutorial, the final size of the file doubles in size with each stage. The bigger the final size the higher quality sound you will get. You may notice you also have the added option (on some software) for the frequency rate at which you record. This adds further quality related issues to the final file For CD quality use 44.1Hz, but if you're want to publish to the web to prevent streaming problems I'd recommend dropping this to the next setting - to half of this to half this - 22,050 Hz. Summary to Quality Quite simply an 8-bit, mono recorded at 22.050 Hz will be rubbish. Playback levels will be low and it will sound fuzzy A 16-bit, stereo at 44,100 Hz will sound like a CD. If hard drive space and the power of your PC allows, record your file in the highest setting possible. You can convert it down as a backup to burn to CD (at 44,100 Hz) leaving the original file untouched. If it's a CD demo you want to produce and you can afford the hard drive space, select 44.1Hz, 16 bit stereo. As an estimate a 70 minute mix at this rate will roughly be 700-750mb or if you prefer, approximately 10mb per minute Chances are the software you are using will have this set up as a default setting anyway. If you are wanting to stream the final file over the web, I use16 bit mono at 22,050 Hz and have found this to be sufficiently good quality (it means people who aren't fortunate enough to have broadband can still listen to our mix without their player buffering the whole time and the listener being cut off every five seconds while it loads the next bit.)
So you've sat through all that and everything is running smoothly, your levels are set and you are ready to go. For information, once everything is ready and you have the record button all cued up try to reduce the time between pressing record on the PC and releasing the first vinyl as quickly as possible - this saves a lot of editing time later. However if you get a gap don't worry though. It can be sorted should you want to as is explained later in this guide. Leaving a gap is not necessarily a bad thing as older CD players sometimes have problems registering a CD with absolutely no gap at the beginning of the first track. Some Tips It's a good idea if you can't see the PC from your decks (I have my back to mine when mixing) get a countdown going or have a clock handy so you know when you need to finish - either a 60 minute set for a promotional CD (slots are usually an hour in clubs etc.) to 75 minutes to fill a CD, for other purposes such as playing at home/car etc. This isn't the hard and fast rule but generally speaking is a good guide to timings. 80 minutes is the maximum on recordable CDs but if you go over that limit, it simply won't fit on the CD when you try and burn. All that you'll be able to do is either cut off the end of your mix using your sound editor or only listen to it on your PC so your mix won't be heard by anyone but you! Setting your clock to 75 minutes will ensure this doesn't happen, but also gives you five minutes grace should your last tune slightly over-run. Stage 7 - Finishing and Saving your Mix Once you have finished mixing and you've hit stop on the PC, it might take a moment for the visual representation of the sound file to be shown on your monitor. Be patient here as your PC will have to work overtime to manipulate this sound file (it is a HUGE file and will be in excess of 700mb as previously stated). Once done, immediately save this file to WAV format, using the save function or "Save As" function from the file menu (this is fairly standard with most software packages). This WAV format is a high quality file using no compression, therefore there will be no sound quality loss. You may need to select the drop down menu under where you key in what you want to call the file. WAV format should be the default but if it isn't simply select it from the drop down list under where you typed the new filename. If you use Soundforge it may ask you if you wish to work directly on the file or to create a TEMP one. This is a matter of personal preference but I'd say if you are a beginner to WAV editing and you have the Hard drive space available to create a temp file I would select this option and DON'T fiddle with the DIRECT file. If you chop a bit out in editing that you weren't supposed to on the TEMP file it doesn't matter. You can just close it, don't save the changes and re-open the original.
You have now saved your mix to WAV format and all is well. If you are using a WAV editor that has a "normalize" function this is a process the software performs on your audio file and maps all the peaks and troughs in the sound. Double click on the sound file itself in the centre to highlight both the left and the right channels so it highlights the whole audio track Go to the Edit menu then Select All if your program allows this. Then select the Normalise function and set the % to 98 or if it won't let you and shows a db (decibel) rating set this to -2. This will then perform the peaks and troughs scan, find the maximum recording level point and then will adjust the rest of the peaks in the audio file audio file to suit this highest peak value. The final version is a more consistent sounding mix where clipping will not occur. A process well worth doing if the option is available, but takes a few minutes for the PC to process and complete. The quicker your machine the less time it takes. Please note this will not level out all sound. If one record was originally much quieter than the rest of the mix it will not fix this. Modern software is good but this process of Normalisation is a fine tuning process to boost the loudest peak to the db or percentage level you previously set. Its not a miracle worker! Be warned - using compression can mean you loose a certain audible edge to the mix as it can make it sound a bit "flat". The sound may be what I refer to as manufactured. No louder sections as peaks to bring the listener up and down from mix to mix. If you don't want that then compression is a great, great tool Compression and all other trimming of files etc. should be completed and the sound be totally to your liking before you use the Normalisation function. Otherwise you may instigate clipping onto your final mix which means you will need to start the process all over again. Even worse if you don't have the original WAV file and you've saved changes as you've gone. You may find that there is a gap or the vinyl crackle you sometimes hear at the beginning and/or of your mix. This can be deleted if you wish. Using the mouse on the graphical representation of your file you can click where the sound starts. You will see any abnormalities before this as little peaks. Highlight over them with the mouse and using the Edit menu, click delete. If you can live with this it makes life easier Stage 9 - Burn now or Continue Editing? You have two options now. Option 1: You can now use software such as Ahead's Nero to copy the WAV file straight to CD. The output quality will be excellent and (hopefully!) what you were expecting. However there are several drawbacks with this option. If you burn (sorry, a term for putting any data onto a CD or DVD) now the final audio CD will be one track of 75 minutes (or however long you mixed for!). If the listener can't listen to the whole CD in one go, when they return the next day, if the player doesn't have a "Resume from last Playback" option, to continue listening they will have to manually fast forward what they've heard to get to what they haven't. There are no track markers so if you do an inlay people not used to DJing or listening for mixes may not be able to distinguish between the tracks (ultimately for you as a DJ that's a good thing!), so a track listing will be not a lot of use. If the CD is sectioned then its far easier for them to identify what's what. Option 2: We carry on and sort it out for you! turntablism, scratch guide, Recording decks to pc, scratching tutorials, beatmixing tutorials, beatmatching tutorials, CDJs tutorials, turntable tutorials, vinyl, vinyl care, vinyl storage, technics, vestax, flares tutorials, skratchin, sxratching, dj mixers, free dj tutorials, turntablism tutorials, dj tutorials, download dnb mp3s, drum and bass, dnb download, mixes, dj glossary, calibrating needles, deck setup, hifi wiring, monitoring, speakers tutorials |
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