DJ seeking advice on recording and such..

[djasmooth]

First off, let me introduce myself.. My name is DJ A-Smooth, I've been DJing/recording mixes for 3.5 years.. I am 17 years old and recently got a nightclub spot on Saturdays!

You can check out my stuff out on MySpace or YouTube!

http://myspace.com/djasmooth
http://youtube.com/djasmooth

I use Technics 1200s and a Rane TTM57sl mixer with Serato and a Apple MacBook Pro running Serato.. I also have a HP dv6000 laptop with Vista (totally sucks)

I am trying to do away with the HP and just use my Mac for everything...

The MacBook Pro has:
2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2 Gigs of Ram
120GB HDD

I like to multitrack to do my CDs and this leads me to maybe needing more Ram? 4GB maybe? Should I do it, is it easy to install?

Right now when I record, I use my PC.. And like I said before, I am trying to just use one computer.. I use Adobe Audition 1.5.. It's cool but it wouldn't work on my Mac.. So I'm thinking I should use Ableton and Record with that or is there something that would sound better than Ableton for Mac?

Recording Interfaces:
So here is where I really need all of your help.

I need an interface that I can get the lowest latency possible for under 350 dollars.. Is firewire the best option.. Or is USB ok? The only thing with USB is that I use both of them on my Mac.. One for Serato's Interface and the other for my Ext. HD with my music and such! But I am possibly looking to go Firewire with my Ext. HD. I have a USB Hub but it would be easier for me not to use it. With Firewire I only have one port so once I use it, I can't use another one.. But again I can get a Hub for that.. So really I might need to use a hub anyway..

I have to look at my longterm options.. Would Firewire give me a lower latency?

Here are some of the Audio I/O's I have been looking at, if you have any suggestions, please fill me in:

Echo AudioFire 2 or 4 (Not sure why I should get one over the other_
M-Audio FastTrack Pro
M-Audio Firewire 410

Also, I currently use a TransitUSB with only the Line In, and I think I get crappy sound out of it.. Would any of the options I posted above do better than this?

Sorry for the long post and all the questions,
DJ A-Smooth

[djasmooth]

anyone?

[FAT]

Sell the decks and buy some keyboards and drum machines.

DJing is SOOO 90's.

[trapper]

Originally Posted by FAT

Sell the decks and buy some keyboards and drum machines.

DJing is SOOO 90's.

i'm assuming u're being ironic

djasmooth, interesting vid. i'm not quite understanding what u mean by "multitrack to do ur CDs". are u simply looking to record the output from ur mixer? if so, u can get by on a fairly modest setup. a cheap (£100-150) audio interface will give u good enough results and u'll get a lot of mileage out of it for the price. i haven't used the interfaces u've mentioned but I have used m-audio products many moons ago and tbh for the price i couldn't really complain. in the bargain-basement category u pretty much get what u pay for, but this will be a step up from the trashy consumer gear (ac97 etc.). i'm afraid i've never used a mac so have absolutely no idea what quality the stock soundcard is.

ur PC/Mac specs don't need to be shit-hot but u will need a stable system (i.e. reliable) to get any serious productivity.

software-wise, it really depends on how much u wish to edit the mixes after they've been recorded. if it's simply housework like trimming the starts and ends and burning to a CD then u can get along with pretty much any recording software (I believe some are even free). the quality really shouldn't differ between softwar such as wavelab, soundforge, etc. but what u're paying for is features/functionality.

hope that helps

[djasmooth]

thanks for the reply..

what i mean by multitracking my cds is having each tracks on a seperate track in the software... it would be nice to have each track layered down by just using a different turntable instead of me doing it manually.. i don't think that is possible tho..

what audio interfaces do you have in mind..?

thanks

[rackdude]

Can't your mixer already to that? It has 2 stereo records that it sends to the computer. Hook that up into cubase or something and you have two stereo tracks going. I assume you have cd decks, why doesn't that work?

If you do want a better sound, the next thing is just a better converter then. Any 4 input converter would work I believe, 4 mono = 2 stereo.

[djasmooth]

hey, yes i use turntables.. can you explain the converter thing?

[trapper]

a converter converts an analogue signal to a digital signal and visa versa. basically, any audio input/output in ur computer/sound card is a converter. all are not equal, and as such are a large factor when determining the price and quality of a soundcard/audio interface. for what u wish to do u won't need to go overboard with regards to soundcard, but the onboard sound cards in PCs tend to be utter shite so anything better (not a difficult feat) is a step in the right direction

[djasmooth]

hmm.. i rather use an interface to be honest.. i dont want to take anything out of my computer...

[rackdude]

An interface is a converter...

You just want a firewire converter. The easy answer is you will need 4 mono inputs that don't have a preamp on them. I would recommend the Echo Audiofire 8 which has 6 and 2 preamps. You'll be cumfy with that.

The small audiofires only have 2 inputs non-preamped. The M-audios you have there are all preamped. From what I can tell, you will just be running your decks in from your mixer, and so that's a big no no.