BEST Audio Recording Program

[Kraig]

Okay... so now that I have a new PC, I want to record DJ sets to my computer.

An FYI I am running:
XP Pro OS
1GB of memory
Sound Blaster Audigy Sound Card

All of you mass audio heads, let me know:
- the best program to record sets at the highest possible quality
- the best way to plug my mixer in to my sound card so I get that high quality sound and take advantage of the audio processing on the sound card.
- a list of cables I require

Thanks!

[Max Lazarus]

Sound Forge 6.0
Double RCA to 1/8" stereo phone jack (AKA 1/8" TRS connector) cable, or double 1/4" phone jack to 1/8" stereo jack if your mixer has 1/4" outs. With an Audigy Platinum it's just 2x RCA to 2x RCA. Take your main outs on the mixer straight to the computer if you can, and then run the computer to the amp, or just use aux outs if you have some.

If you happen to have XLR outputs on the mixer, you can make your sound quality a bit better but really it's not worth it.

IMHO.

[Kraig]

Originally Posted by Max Lazarus

Sound Forge 6.0
Double RCA to 1/8" stereo phone jack (AKA 1/8" TRS connector) cable, or double 1/4" phone jack to 1/8" stereo jack if your mixer has 1/4" outs. With an Audigy Platinum it's just 2x RCA to 2x RCA. Take your main outs on the mixer straight to the computer if you can, and then run the computer to the amp, or just use aux outs if you have some.

If you happen to have XLR outputs on the mixer, you can make your sound quality a bit better but really it's not worth it.

IMHO.

In looking at the Audigy, it doesn't have RCA connections directly on it. It has the jacks that are the size of what you plug your walkman's headphones in which is 1/8" as you mentioned... So I assume then I would need 2 x 1/8" cables to RCA to plug into my main outs on my mixer?

Actually screw that as the 600 I have has Record out which is perfect!

[Max Lazarus]

Double 1/4" or RCA to single 1/8" stereo jack, depening on your record out.

[Max Lazarus]

Or:

[Kraig]

Originally Posted by Max Lazarus

Double 1/4" or RCA to single 1/8" stereo jack.

Kew... thanks for that.

In looking at the back of the sound card though, there are a total of 6 of those 1/8" jacks on the back... I gotta figure out what each of these mothers do!

[dSl-DuDe]

blue= linein <--- the one you need to plug the cable into

[PokemonMasta]

all u need

[Kraig]

Okay... I found out what they do as I have the Audigy 2 Sound Card:

SB1394/FireWire Port
- connects to an external firewire device like a camcorder or camera

Line-Out Jack 3
- connects to Center, Subwoofer and Rear Centre Out of powered analog speakers or an external amplifier for audio output.

Line Out Jack 2
- connects to rear left/right out of powered analog speakers or an external amplifier for audio output.

Line Out Jack 1
- connects to Front Lef/Right out of powered analog speakears or an external amplified for audio output. Also supports headphones.

Microphone In Jack
- Connects to an external microphone for voice input.

Line In Jack
- Connects to an external device (such as a cassette, DAT or MiniDisc player)

Digital out Jack
- 6 channel or compressed AC-3 SPDIF output for connection to external digital divices or digital speaker systems.

[Kraig]

Originally Posted by dSl-DuDe

blue= linein <--- the one you need to plug the cable into

Nice try cowboy... mine is green!

[dSl-DuDe]

wow, they must have changed the standard... blue always used to be line in

green always was speaker output :S

anyways, you connect it via Line In

[Locky]

I used Acid Pro, but thats for guitar tracks

[ppcock]

i use wavelab.

[ebbomega]

If you don't want to drop the cash on Soundforge and don't feel like pirating it, Audacity does a decent job of doing the same thing on the most part.

[Séguin]

Soundforge does the trick for me. Whether its recording mixes, other wav files, or my guitar :D

[tvmann]

I have the Audigy 2 sound card and it works pretty well for audio, and is also excellent for capturing DV video on the 1394 port. This card is sneared at by some, I'd like to try one like an M-Audio sometime to see if they are better.

Besides software like Sound Forge etc, you can use the card's Creative WaveStudio software to record and then edit your mix. I've only used it a few times for this (to record vinyl to WAV) but it worked without a hitch on whole sides of records, about 15 minutes, and I think it would work OK for an hour or more. WaveStudio can do a fair bit but other software is probably better if you want to spend a lot of time fine-tuning the mix.
:Merlin:
The card is supposed to be capable of 24 bit / 96 KHz recording but I'm not sure how to set it to that mode - I just used the default 16 bit / 44.1 KHz and that was good. WaveStudio Options/Preferences menu sets the recording mode. WaveStudio can be used after recording to remove stuff from the ends of your mix or chop it into smaller segements.

WaveStudio can save your editted mix in WAV or MP3 format. Personally I save it in WAV and make the MP3 in Exact Audio Copy because I like the "Lame" VBR MP3 encoder that EAC uses - produces high quality but small MP3 files.

You might want to use the Creative Surround Mixer program to switch off unused inputs when recording your mix and you can also tweak the input level.

[Pegasus]

Originally Posted by tvmann

I have the Audigy 2 sound card and it works pretty well for audio, and is also excellent for capturing DV video on the 1394 port. This card is sneared at by some, I'd like to try one like an M-Audio sometime to see if they are better.

of course M-Audio is better. its like the difference between old gemini's and brand new technics.

anyways kraig, sound forge just came out with version 7, i havent used it tho so i dont know how it compares to version 6.
right now i'm using wavelab, to check it out and see how it compares to soundforge. just ask me and i can give u more info (i dont wanna flood this post)

as for the cables, i would personally NOT go with basic radio shack cables. they are pretty shitty quality to record with, although they're fine for playback.
in any case, i would get a monster cable. they are guaranteed for life (i think) and they're awwwwwesome quality.

then all u gotta do is plug the rca's to the record out, and you -must- plug the 1/8" into the line in.
and of course you have to go into the sound properties and select the input you want to use (line in)

:hair:

[Pegasus]

btw i saw a monster cable at future shop (in the cd/mp3 player section) thats actually supposed to be for iPod.. and it's 8' long or something
which is exactly what you want, and you probably won't find another monster cable like that in the cables section that's any longer than 3'.

[shift]

The A to D converters and the word clock in your sound card are going to make a way bigger difference than what program you use to record with, and unfortunately soundblaster sound cards are pretty assmar in that department. (M-Audio or MOTU are better choices for consumer level audio cards) Pretty much any program will do the same thing, so soundforge, acid, cubase whatever will all work fine.

Also, much better to use balenced cables (trs 1/4") which will cut down on RFI noise in your signal, but since your soundcard doesn't have balenced inputs you're screwed there as well. Because it's you're only option do the RCA to 1/8" thing mentioned earlier in the thread.

Last, but definately not least, the sample rate/bit depth set in you're recording preferences will have an impact on the sound quality as well. The higher the sample rate/bit depth the better, BUT when you burn to cd you have to convert to cd standard which is 44.1 khz/16 bit. While you will get better quality sound recording at a higher rate/depth when converting you need to use a process called dithering conversion to eleminate distortion caused by foldover frequencies.

[Kraig]

This is awesome... thanks for the all the info peeps as I am learning a TON.

I had a long chat with Christian Alvarez as well today who is currently using the same sound card so it's all good.

What does everyone think of Cool Edit Pro (before it was purchased by Adobe) vs. Sound Forge?

[Dj G-Style]

Sound Forge is good but for actually recording then producing the final track you should be using Q Base. It's a bit of a pain to learn but it's way better starting out with the real thing rather than learning something that's going to get you by then having to learn new software once you have surpassed it's use. Learn Q-Base kraig you'll thank me in a couple of years.
G

[matéo]

for what youre doing I say grab a pirated version of cool edit see how it is and buy if you want. Its so simple, and for what you're doing (recording mixes etc) thats really all you need.

[ƒORM]

The new sound forge 7.0 is built by Sony..(previous versions by Sonic Foundry)

I guess they were bought out..

I suggest 1/4" jacks out of the mixer (master) into the line-in of sound card..

Adjust your volume settings in ctrl panel for devices and also in the Sound Forge program for clipping...press record, save as wav file and edit any hiss or sound drops...normalize it...

[Dj G-Style]

Originally Posted by Dj G-Style

Sound Forge is good but for actually recording then producing the final track you should be using Q Base. It's a bit of a pain to learn but it's way better starting out with the real thing rather than learning something that's going to get you by then having to learn new software once you have surpassed it's use. Learn Q-Base kraig you'll thank me in a couple of years.
G

CUBASE Trust Me!
http://www.steinberg.net/Category_sb..._id=7&Family=0

[Max Lazarus]

Why would you use Cubase for recording a DJ mix? All he wants is 2-track mastering and editing abilities, Soundforge is great for non-linear editing and EQing, compression, and many other effects, and it's a cinch to edit sounds right down to the sample, to get rid of clicks and pops. Cubase is a tool designed for a multitrack MIDI/audio environment at relatively inflexible tempos, and has an inferior selection of mastering tools. Unless you plan to sync audio to other sources such as MIDI gear or plan to cheat like hell on your mixing Cubase/Nuendo etc. is quite unnecessary.