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Forum Post: Recording Your Mixes with Audacity

February 15th, 2009 | Author:

I just recorded my mix on audacity. Im on a mac, and I used my m-audio mobile pre to record. When I was listening back I heard a couple of pops during my mix. Does anybody know what that can be from?
I also wanted to know how i can make my mix loud in audacity?

benlogoSo this post is a wealth of beginner DJ/producer knowledge! Let’s begin!

First of all, here’s what I think the poster is trying to say: he was recording a mix (probably two CDJs and a mixer, for the sake of this post, we’ll say its a Xone) onto his MacBook.

It’s fairly easy to record a mix, under this scenario, onto your MacBook. Using the Xone, you can either take the Mix Out (two XLRs) or the Record Out (two RCAs). I’d recommend using the record out as you’d want to listen to your mix while performing it, right?

To record your mix from the Record Out, you’ll need an RCA to mini 1/4″ Y-cable (something like this). Plug the RCA into the Record Outs and plug the mini your Mac’s line-in.

Next, you’ll need to setup Audacity to record.

picture-11

Recording options in preferences

1. Go to your Preferences (Cmd+,) in Audacity
2. Change your recording input

3. Exit the preferences; on the main window (Arrangement window), make sure it says “Line In.” This means Audacity will now record your line input.picture-22

4. Notice the microphone to the left of Line In. This is your input gain. The more you turn it closer to +, the louder your mix will be. If you’re mixing, you know that peaking your music/other audio is not a good thing. It can (and usually will) result in harsh clipping that is NOT nice to listen to, so keep this in mind while adjusting the gain. Your meters should be in the green/yellow area. The occasional peak may not ruin a performance, but if you’re spending the time to record, why take the chance?

5. Hit record and start your mix. You should be good!

***

Why shouldn’t you use an interface like the M-Audio MobilePre? Well, the short answer is this: preamps, like the MobilePre, are made for microphones (low impedance) and instruments like guitars (high impedance). You can control the gain on the preamp to get the levels right so you can record into the selected DAW. Your Xone (or other DJ mixers) are putting out a line-level signal. Your MacBook accepts line-level signals, therefore you don’t need a preamp to record anything. Adding a pre in this scenario will only add more bullshit to deal with while recording.

So, in short:

- If you’re recording a guitar or mic, you need a preamp
- If you’re recording the outs of your DJ mixer into your MacBook, you do NOT need a preamp

The pops and cracks the poster is talking about is most likely him/her driving the preamp too hard. Clipping a preamp will NEVER make your stuff sound good. It will clip and your shit will pop, crackle, and distort.

***

Conclusion:

- If you’re doing a DJ mix from your mixer to your laptop, use Audacity and skip the preamp.
- Do some research before using a preamp. They’re not hard to use but do require some fundamental signal flow knowledge in order to use them correctly.
- On that note, learn something about gain staging! I’ll write more about that later.

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Posted in Big Red Button - Recording, Tutorials | Tags: , , , , , , ,

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