Your first online mix

I remember really struggling for a good couple of years to record mixes, trying different software and cables but somehow they always sounded like I had recorded them inside a packet of crisps. I finally sussed it about 10/11 years back so this was the first mix I finally got online that sounded ok…ish sound quality wise. Well as ok as Mixcloud allows.

Follow me (Into The Strange Wilderness) by GP Deep House Mix | Mixcloud

I did find some mixtapes from 25 years ago when moving house a few years back and thankfully they were not my first online mixes as some of them were awful. Tapes were filed in the bin.

Let’s hear yours please.

Dammit just remembered I can’t post Mixcloud links via my phone so will have to edit it later when home.

Only just started digitally recording my mixes in the last few months & they always end up with the volume too low even though i have it set to maximum on the recorder.
I am a luddite tho.

What are you using to record?

If it’s something like Ableton you can stick a compressor or limiter on the quiet tracks, or on the whole mix, for extra gain.

I use one of these

Back in the early/mid 00’s when I first started putting my mixes online, I had a Sony Hi-Fi that had a mini disc recorder built into it and would record on that via the aux, which the DJ mixer was plugged into.

That recording was great quality and was good for making tapes for people etc… but to get it online I used to have to line in the minidisc player to the PC and use goldwave or some other sound recorder software, which would then decrease the quality a fair bit.

It did always sound a bit better doing it that way than going straight from the mixer to the PC, which was always tinny. I don’t think the PC soundcard could handle the output of the mixer very well.

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I have absolutely no idea where all my old tapes are from the early to mid-90’s and , as you say, that’s probably a good thing :slight_smile:

I stopped playing between 1997 and 2015. Here’s one I recorded having dusted off the old decks about 5 years ago. All vinyl, and through an old Numark mixer recorded straight into Audacity.

Out of Retirement Mix

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Wow, that looks very smart.

I have no idea how to make it louder on there though. I have used a minidisk recorder previously and I can’t remember exactly but never had problems with levels.

I live in a terrace house & i’m a bit worried about the neighbours if i bang out the volume so I haven’t had the volume on my mixer at ‘full ASBO’ yet when ive recorded so it’s most likely that.

These days I use a Tascam DR-05 which does the job perfectly well. My mixer is so bloody loud though, that I have to have the recording level set to 1, and can only go up to 5 on the mixer dials… :rofl:

Right, so you need separate levels for listening and recording. Does your mixer go through an amplifier? If so can you turn up the mixer level so you get a loud signal to the recorder but turn down your amplifier volume? If you connect powered speakers directly to mixer, then you should have volume knobs on the back of the speakers.

I think i need a new mixer, its just a budget Numark M101, goes thru an amp, no ability to set record volume & my speakers are just Hi Fi ones connected to the amp.
Equipment upgrade needed i think.
Need to stop buying records & save my pennies.

Was thinking about getting one of these after getting fed up with Audacity. Could never get the hang of it!

the issue isn’t your mixer, it’s that the DR-05 input isn’t a standard line in, it’s a mic in. It’s expecting a low level input so boosts it way too much for line level recording. An attenuator cable will fix the problem: Koma Elektronik Attenuator Cable at Juno Records.

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Ah, nice one. Will go hunting for one - cheers :smiley:

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I enjoyed that. A nice way to come out of retirement

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Cheers. I was completely clattered when I did it, tbh. Was done at 8am after getting in from a Faith boat party and after-party…:rofl:

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I sold my record collection in the late 2000s and went digital, completely regretted this almost immediately, and when I moved to a larger house in 2015 started rebuying back most things I had sold. This was the first mix I did once my collection had attained core mass again.
https://www.mixcloud.com/joeblackcircles/languid-sensual-dream/

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Makes it sound all the better ha

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I think this was probably the first mix I actually figured out how to upload onto soundcloud. Switched it to mixcloud when I ditched the premium subscription.

Originally recorded onto minidisc from vinyl in 2008 and then onto audacity. It’s years since I managed to find the time to record anything new but I will probably still use my minidisc when I get the chance. Old faithful and all that.

Mixcloud

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