WinCue - PC Recording Tutorial

Introduction
This tutorial explains how to record audio from an outside source (i.e. DJ mixer/turntables, CD-player, MD-player, etc.) to your PC. The tutorial is specifically aimed towards DJs who want to record their live mixes to PC, but most of the information explained here is common to all types of recording.

What You Need
You will of course need a PC with a soundcard and something to you want to record from. Most PCs these days come with a built-in soundcard, and if you're reading this tutorial you probably have both a PC and something to record from.. ;) In addition to this, you need the correct cables and software for your PC. This is covered in the following sections

HookIng It Up
Even though there are several ways to connect an audio source to your PC, the principle is the same. It's just a matter of what you plug into what, and what cables you need to do it.

Connectors & Cables
Most DJ mixers, CD-players and MD-players use dual RCA/phono connectors for output. RCA/phono connectors are those red & white (or red & black) plugs used with most home audio equpment. You will most probably need a cable with two RCA plugs in one end. What you will need in the other end depends on your PC/soundcard. If you have RCA connectors on your PC's line in (as found on some more epxensive sound cards like the Game Theatre XP, Sound Blaster, etc.), you will need a cable with RCA plugs in both ends. If you have mini-jack input on your PC (maybe the most common one, at least on built-in soundcards), you will need a cable with a mini-jack plug in the other end. Both cables are shown below.

RCA to RCA cable

Mini-jack to RCA cable

Identifying what type of cable you need is rather simple. It's just a matter of looking at the connectors on your mixer/CD-player/MD-player/whatever, and look at the connectors on your PC. Pictures of the various connectors (RCA and mini-jack) are shown below.

The red & white connectors to the left, labeled main/front, are RCA connectors. The little one above them is a mini-jack connector.

Connecting To A Mixer
Most (DJ) mixers have two outputs for the main mix. These are usually labeled line out/master out and rec out. They both send the same signal, but there are two important differences between them. The rec out is not affected by the master volume, while the line out/master out is. The master out/line out might also have a higher output volume than rec out. This varies between mixers though, so the fact that rec out is independent of master volume is the most important difference. This is useful when doing recordings, since you can control your listening/monitoring volume without affecting the recording.

Even though rec out is meant for recording, that doesn't mean line out or master out won't work just as well. However, when using line out or master out for recording, you must be careful not to change your master volume during the mix, as these volume changes will also be recorded.

The Vestax PCV-175 mixer has both line out and rec out outputs.

Connecting To A PC
You should connect to the line in input on your PC for recording. This will usually be a set of RCA connectors or a mini-jack labeled line in. On newer soundcards (with mini-jack connector) this input is usually color coded in black.

Using the microphone input (color coded red) is not recommended. This input is made for a signal with much lower volume than what mixers and other audio equipment will output. Also the microphone input is only mono, so it will probably not work very well. (I haven't even bothered to try this myself.)

A soundcard with headphones output (blue), microphone input (red), speaker output (green) and line input (black).

Preparing To Record
The following sections cover various preparations needed before recording can start.

Selecting Input Source
In order to get the computer to record the correct signal (or any signal), you need to select which input source you want to record from. On Windows this is done by selecting the desired input source (i.e. line in) from the Recording Control dialog. The Recording Control dialog is accessed through the standard Windows volume control.

The Windows volume control is accessed by double clicking the speaker icon in the system tray (right next to the clock).

To bring up the Recording Control dialog, select Properties from the Options menu. In The Properties dialog, select Recording from the Adjust volume for radio button menu and press OK.

Selecting Recording and pressing OK will bring up the Recording Control dialog.

In the Recording Control dialog you can select input source and adjust input volume for your recording. (i.e. if you have your mixer plugged into line in on your computer, you should select line in as your input source.)

Check the Select checkbox for the input source you want to record from.

Adjusting Input Volume
Before starting to record, it is very important to check and adjust the input volume on your PC. If this is not properly set, you will either get recordings which are very low in volume, and may contain a lot of noise, or you will get distorted recordings (because input volume is too high).

The best thing is to monitor the input volume visually and then adjust the PC's line in volume so you get the loudest possible signal without clipping. Clipping occurs when the input signal is louder than what the line input on the PC can handle. This will sound very bad and distorted. Most software supporting recording also presents the user with some method of monitoring the input signal.

In Sound Forge, monitoring the input signal is easily accomplished by looking at the input meters on the recording dialog. You should make sure the signal is as loud as possible without causing "red" on the meter. (Sound Forge even prints "clip" in red abve the meters if the signal is too loud.)

The Sound Forge 4.0 recording dialog. The two meters show the input signal.

It is recommended to set the input level a bit lower than maximum if your input source is not very predictable. (i.e. Turntables are not very predictable, and unless you are really skilled in mixing, I would recommned at least a 3dB headroom when recording your mixes.) This is to prevent clipping if the volume changes during the recording.

Audio Recording Software
In order to be able to record anything on your PC, you need a program to record with. You do not need an advanced audio editor to record your DJ mixes, so any software capable of recording two channel (stereo) audio will do. However, it may be nice to be able to do some basic editing of the recording afterwards. This way you can crop down the mix so any unwanted sound before or after the recording is taken away, and you may also wish to make a fade-out in the end or something.

Having said that, I personally prefer using Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge for this kind of thing. I have also used Steinberg WaveLab. Both these software packages are professional audio editing tools, and are therefore rather expensive. If you're looking for a cheaper deal, you should have a look at Cool Edit, which is shareware. I haven't used Cool Edit since Cool Edit '96 was the thing, but it worked great back then, so I guess it's still quite good.

I recently came across a freeware program called AudaCity which seemed quite good aswell. AudaCity is a opensource freeware project and can be found at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/. I haven't used the software myself, but it seems like a solid package. Also the fact that it's available for multiple platforms makes it worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing.

Burning The Recording To A CD
When you are done with your recording you may want to burn it out on a CD so you can listen to it on your stereo, send it away to some friends, clubs, record companies or whatever. Accomplysing this is rather simple. All you need is a CD-burner and some CD-burning software. Many CD-burners comes bundled with software, but if not, you'll have to get a CD-burning program.

Again, nothing advanced or special is required here either. All you need is a program capable of burning an audio file (i.e. a .wav file) out as an audio CD. I don't have a full overview of all CD-burning programs out there, but my personal preference is Nero Burning ROM. Other good packages are Easy CD Creator, WinOnCD, CDRWin and Toast (Mac) from Roxio.

Unfortunantly I don't know of any freeware or shareware CD-burning programs.