OMG WTF

[Maroe]

Hey..

Not trying to do anything rocket science here..
I'm trying to record a DJ mix on turntables onto my computer.
Also trying to record some mixes on my laptop (using traktor)

I have pro tools. I have all the wires you could want.
I can connect Line TRS with the mbox and get only left ear.
I don't know how to get SPDIF to work but that looks like a better idea.

I can recored the turntables on audacity fine enough.
BUT audacity will not then record the sounds I make on my internal sound card.
You can't switch it from default source..

I was trying to do a mix for a birthday gift - Birthday is tomorrow.
I'm going to start kicking stuff. grr.

Help please. :(

[max cooper]

Do you have an RIAA phono preamp?

what's the turntable?

What's the phono preamp if any?

What exactly are you trying to record?

songs? turntable acrobatics?

S/PDIF is a digital input. Use it only if you've got a source sending out digital.

[Maroe]

Whoa. Maybe my problem is that I am stupid and don't know what these things are.
I don't have a RIAA phono preamp. I don't have any preamp. Unless mbox acts as one.

I am just trying to record me spinning some stuff on my turntable onto my powerbook.
Then record me mixing some stuff on my powerbook in traktor.

Turntable is a junk gemini.


I can get audio to come into pro tools on DI but its only the Left - cant get stereo.

[KingDaddyO]

In a previous era (vinyl)... stereo units came with a preamp, power amp, tuner, aux input, phono input, and tape input sections. But the phono section (and possibly the tape section too for all I know) has largely dissappeared, since the marketing dweebs have determined that there aren't enough of us vinyl people out there, to continue to build this old school circuit into a modern stereo preamplifier.

So you have two options -
a) Insert a stereo phono preamp (Radio Shack probably still has an inexpensive one) between the RCA outputs from your turntable, and the Line Inputs of your recording device.

b) Use a turntable with a digital output (like the Stanton T80, there are other models too) directly into your digital recording devices S/PDIF input -- voila - no conversion necessary! This is kind of the way you are trying to record now, with your cable connected directly to your laptop... but missing the preamplifier, your phono signal is just too feeble and noisy to be of use. S/PDIF by the way, is a single RCA type cable at both ends.

Good Luck, Happy Birthday

[Maroe]

humm..well I only havea few hours to do this. I have these 2 way audio video selector switches. I had those all going.. but the sound sounded like I was recording in a hallway.

I can get it to record, and sound ok from the headphone hole on my mixer to my microphone hole on my powerbook.. but i lose the headphone option which um..hello. really sucks.

This is the only way I have been able to get anything out of it tonight.

[Reptil]

records=mixer=soundcard/breakoutbox=computer

records=mixer=kaputt

check output mixer (Is your main out gain knob open??)
check cables
check input level soundcard/breakoutbox

mic input can be used, so, if the soundcard/breakoutbox acts up choose that in the software as input as before.
trs cables are not trs-into double ts I hope (that is an insert cable)

elementary mr. watson
good luck

[PoorGlory]

If he has a DJ mixer he has an RIAA preamp.

I can get it to record, and sound ok from the headphone hole on my mixer to my microphone hole on my powerbook.. but i lose the headphone option which um..hello. really sucks.

If you plug a TRS cable into a line in on the Mbox, you're only gonna get one mono channel. It sounds like you're only using one cable to go into the Mbox. To get a stereo tracks you need two inputs. A TRS plug does NOT mean stereo. Don't use the headphone jack on the mixer, use the stereo line outs.

Sorry if I got your situation totally wrong, but I think this is whats going on.

[Maroe]

ugh. I am very new.

I have an mbox2, pro tools, 2 cd player/tables and one turntable and one mixer.

All I want is to record whats coming out of the speakers onto my dumb computer to make my girlfriend a cd.

My other issue of recording whats playing on my coputer is secondary and probably easier.

There has to be an easy way to do this..
I have my master out from my mixer.
I have my mbox.. now what?

*cries*

[Reptil]

connect jack (tip sleeve) cable from output into input of breakoutbox (mbox2)
make sure that it is line level (not microphone) inputs that you are plugging into.

whatever you hear on your speakers you can route that into the breakoutbox too.
(if the main outs don't work)

so
records=mixer (main outs)=breakoutbox (see checklist above post)
or
records=mixer (monitor outs)=amplifier=speaker
------------------------------------------------=breakoutbox (use the tape out on amplifier)

[Reptil]

did it work?

[Maroe]

coming out of the mixer microphone jack and going into Line TRS and DI give me nothing.

Connecting the master out spdif straight to the mbox gives me nothing because there's no amp.

The only thing that works is headphone out jack. That gives me one headphone recording and I cant use my headphones, WTF. :(

[Reptil]

ok maroe what is your mixer ? kind model etc.?

you have to use the OUTPUT of the mixer.
not the headphone output, or the microphone input.

find 2 jack cables. or rca whatever the format of the output plug
NOT TRS use mono first tip sleeve - 1 ring on the plug, not 2
plug those cables in the master out of your mixer.
now on the other side of the cable there is the same plug
put this into the line input of the mbox2
then make some noise.check the gain fader or gain knob for the main output
check the output level on the mixer
if that is fine you should see the leds do something
then check if the signal is coming into the mbox 2
don't know if it has any control light that'll be helpful
ok if not, then, go to your software choose the line input as your input
hit record, and check if there is level
tadaaa

happy birthday

[Maroe]

gemini pmx 02 *runs and hides* I have such garbage.

[Reptil]

c'mon I started with an alecto (no eq nothing)
if it does the job...

k going to check maybe I can help you better when I know wtf

[Maroe]

Awesome, Thank you!

[Reptil]

k fair enough it's a battle mixer
no monitor out, that is a pity, but...
there is hope

now connect a cable from the master out of the gemini to the line input 1 and 2 on the mbox 2. DO NOT use the spdif input of the mbox2. that looks like the same plug but is something completely different.

soooo... you need a cable with on one end the rca plug (the same as your record player) and on the other end a jack plug. Now the mbox can accept a balanced signal in the form of the trs plug, but for now that is not your concern. you can use an unbalanced plug just fine. the main out of the mixer is unbalanced anyway.
there are little plugs that fit on top of the rca cable and make it into a jack (ts) on one end, just like you want. if not available, you can take off the rca plug, and solder a jack plug on it. more simple than it sounds, and more reliable.

ok that done you check the signals coming out of the mixer and going into the mbox2 now select in your software an input 1 and 2 hit record. you will see that your audio is being recorded. now you can't hear anything yet..

so select on the track that you are recording the output 1 and 2 of the mbox 2 as your output. now take a cable and connect the output of your mbox2 with the input of the amplifier of your speakers...
whenever you are recording, you will hear something. and you will hear exactly that what you are recording.... to avoid unnecesary surprises.
adjust volume always on the speakers, not in the mixer or software. that won't work, because then you will record a less loud signal.
there is a delay between the sound on the speakers and what you hear in the headphones. if that is so annoying that you cannot make tight mixes anymore, then there is......

PLAN B
if, and only if you have a tape out on your amplifier of your speakers, you can go from the mixer to that amplifier, and then with the tape out to your mbox2 inputs 1 and 2 like before. you route the same signal then one step further.
if your amplifier doesn't have a tape out or something like that there is...

PLAN C
now this is getting a bit more complicated. you need a cable that splits the signal coming out of the mixer into A. a signal to route to your mbox2 to record and B. to your amplifier of your speakers to use as monitor, to be able to make a live mix.
you need
a soldering iron
solder
4 rca phono plugs.
some instrument cable, not too thick
2 jack plugs
a pair of pliers
some clamp to hold the cable and/or plug when you are working

now open up the jack plugs, you can see 2 points where you can solder something onto. strip the wire on one end, to be able to take the outside (sleeve) and the wire on the inside (hot) and solder that on the sleeve and tip of the jack plug. K now repeat with another piece of wire, on the SAME jack plug). now take the RCA plugs and solder them the same way on all 4 ends of the two wires. plug in the RCA into the master out of the mixer, then plug the jack into the input of the Mbox2 and plug the other RCA into the amplifier of the speakers. If the amplifier of the speakers has a jack plug input like the mbox has, you have to solder a jack plug (in that case you need 4 jack and 2 RCA plugs)
you will now be able to monitor what you are doing and record at the same time. you can also wire the 2 wires to the RCA plug that goes into the master output of the mixer, but soldering 2 wires on 1 RCA plug is a pain, the jack simply has more space inside and it will be more reliable)

PLAN D
sell the gemini to your best friend and get a mixer with a seperate monitor out, preferrably with a seperate volume knob. to avoid everything in plan A B or C)

[Maroe]

ugh. My speakers dont have that tape out.

I certainly dont have a sodering tool kit. I dont have those little plugs to go over the rcas. I have these plugs that bring an 1/8 to a 1/4 but thats all.

I guess I have to give up - I wasted my day, and I have no gift :(

Could I have done this if I bought one of those pre amp boxes they sell at like guitar center?

thanks for all of your help honestly. Very much.

[Reptil]

problem 1 is the cable going from rca to jack
easy to fix with those little plugs

problem 2 may be the delay that you hear, if you go for solution A (I'd try that first anyway) so you will go crazy when trying to beatmatch headphones and monitor speaker sound.

source of the problem is that your mixer has only one output, on a different kind of plug. really try to find a mixer with extra monitor out.

only one day wasted is not that bad...
you just have to find a present.. mmm maybe she likes a gemini mixer??

it was an interesting puzzle, cheers,
Reptil

[KingDaddyO]

Hey Maroe...

Just print this thread out and give it to her, trust me... the tenacious & sincere effort you put into trying to do this for her, should (and will) mean much more to her than any CD you could have just handed to her.

And Reptil... you get the newly minted 'on the spot' award for die hard above and beyond the call of duty technical support.

[Maroe]

HAA HAA daddy you are correct!!

I'm printing this for sure.

Thank you again for all of your hard efforts. I have learned a lot.

[Reptil]

[Jules]

http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=85570

[Reptil]

NOW you tell me! LOL
looks like a nice mixer with ALL the bells and whistles.

how about...........this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Urei-1620-DJ-Mix...QQcmdZViewItem

[Maroe]

The birthday girl's dad lended me his Numark CM 200.

This one has three master outs. (this says to me that this mixer kicks my other mixers ass?) I took rcas from one master out to one input 1 line, and one input 2 line on my mbox2. I had stereo. it was beautiful. I had left and right ears. The sound had static, and was very low.. and then I got this:

CNeoloBlock.cpp,line164 Error on protools.
I can't save a new pro tools project at all it just bombs out and gives me this error.

I havn't searched it out yet on google or anything.. Just wondering if you guys have seen that before. I guess I'll research it, then uninstall/reinstall pro tools.

This mixer should work better huh?

Thanks for alllllll of your help!!
Angel

[Geert van den Berg]

According to the Digidesign support page on their website...

The error you're getting is from a corrupt digidesign database file on your harddisk.

You have to 'trash' the database. It's in the root of the disk, in the folder Digidesign databases... you can just as easily trash the whole folder. This does nothing to any audio and PT session you might have saved, unless they are in that folder offcourse.

On startup PT will generate a new empty database file. The database is used to rapidly find audio on your harddisk, if PT records new audio it will automatically add the data to the database. If you've got a lot of audio on your disk, and you have trashed the database file, you can let PT scan the disk first to build up a new database, but it's not necessary.

A tip: always make sure your 'disk allocation' is set to the session you're recording in, you don't want files to wander of and get accidently deleted. Also make sure you 'copy' files from other PT sessions if you'd like to use its files, don't just 'add' them (which basically means borrowing), because if you'd delete the other session, some sessions can become incomplete.

[Maroe]

That worked. You're a genius, and you saved me a ton of time!!

this seems to be working ok. There is some static on certain records. I'm assuming that they are dirty, fingerprinted, etc and thats why. New ones seem to sound ok.

Thanks so much for everything. Besides the static.. It seems ok.

[max cooper]

Actually it's surface noise. Sometimes it can be cleaned off, sometimes not.

It sometimes bothers me, but usually I like it, but I find it's especially nice when you've transferred LP's to your iPod or CD's and you're listening in the car. It reminds me of dirty records on the radio in the 'olden' days.

[Maroe]

I am not in love with it.

I tried to clean off the album doing it the worst and it didn't get better. The album sounds fine through my speakers. This is major annoying. Its all static coming out of my mbox. It's a new record. what the hell.... Is there a way to avoid this?

i cant win. haa.

[Reptil]

is the earth wire of your record players connected tight? (to the little screw on the mixer)
if it's not, check the cables connecting to the mbox2
(probably is also an earthing problem then but in a different cable connection)

you're really new to this aren't you? LOL
fresh as the green grass

[BeerHunter]

Reptil,

You deserve mega karma points! WTG!

BH