6 things you need to know about home recording (3of 6) 

2/2019👍 your video is still helping others. Thank you!

I would highly recommend an Audio Interface of some sort, or use the "line in" socket instead of a "mic in" socket that I used in the video, if your pc has one. The Audio interface will also help with any latency issues that may arise from using the standard on-bard audio device and it's driver, so it's by far a better idea. If you have an audio interface you probably will not need a mixer. Although mixers do come in handy sometime when you have to patch the signal in certain ways.

Very well done for a newbie. Great ongoing commentary and explanations. I appreciate all the evident work that you put into this episode and the entire series. Value also is that it is timeless.

Wow, this is the best tutorial I have seen. I will go to your website, and I will donate something when I get paid. Thanks All the way, your incredible

Have you considered a USB audio interface? I have a couple of videos in my channel about the topic. Perhaps they might help.

Being in front of the laptop, gives me a clue as to what might be happening. It might be that audacity might be using the internal microphone of the laptop. Maybe you can look a the settings of Audacity to see which device it is using for recording. I don't have a clear picture of what you have connected, your descriptions are very disjointed. So it is difficult to help. You mentioned FireWire, this is news to me... What is connected via FireWire to your laptop? Or what do you think should be?

omg!!! thank you that's just what I'll do, im in love with the program all of a sudden. lol and if i have anymore questions I'll be back. your helpful indeed.

Thank u so much for the detailed tutorial. This is the best tutorial I have watched. I have been looking for a tutorial that I can easily understand. More videos sir! I just subscribed.

LOL indeed, I can't remember what that was, but if it was worth downloading then it portably made me LOL a fair bit.

I have studio master ER 31/EM31/EL31 (The Studiomaster Professional ER 31 series is a high quality duet VHF microphone system designed to suit the needs of various professional applications.) set in my university and i want to insert the cable with the connector converter into CPU (3.5 mm) to record voice for youtube videos is it possible to record ? help me please its urgent

That's fantastic! How did you do you latency calculations? And how did you measure your latency. I'm sure people would love to know.

Thank you, What a great tutorial, great technical insight!

wow thank u sir this is very useful.

Can mixer is instead of audio interface

TY!!! so much! you have the best video about setting mixer to record on your pcTY

Absolutely loving the "How It's Made" (the show) style of your videos. I'm not sure if this is what you were going for but either way it's a pretty spot on imitation and it's awesome.

I just subscribed!! Ur video is helpful

very good videos.

awesome!! this been very helpful, thanks!!!

,,for guitar,,recording ,,what could be best?,,,a behringer xenyx 502q,,which is a usb mixer or a behringer u phoria which a audio interface?

i loved it when u said "the female end of the mic" lol

2020 still relevant🙏

Thanks man. This is really helpful. Great tutorial!

@segythagreat Is the sound continuous, or at the peak of you syllables? Can you send me an MP3 so I have have a listen to it?

Thanx for making the tutorial....i have a query though. I understand you have a laptop with 2 ports for audio and microphone.. My laptop has a single port...then where/how to attach the 2 cables in the laptop?

Hi! I did all of the stept in the video but my laptop still uses the build-in mic to record, which is very low quality.

@shylonxy Probably a good start for you would be an audio interface. Most of the functions that a mixer does internally can be replicated in software. Just make sure that the audio interface has the +48V phantom power available for your microphone. I'm taking a guess here but your microphone may need this in order to work correctly. you need to be more specific as to brands and models of microphone to get a more definite answer here.

Great work.. 👍👍👍 I was searching for this type of video... Tq guys

Hey.. I would like to record my voice and guitar with quality and I already have a mic. What else do I need? Interface?

what cables did you use to plug the mixer with the laptop?

YOU ARE THE ANGEL I WASH WISHING ! OMG ! OF ALL THE VIDEOS THAT IVE WATCH HERE AT RU-vid ABOUT SETTING UP RECORDING STUDIO AT HOME. I ONLY LEARN ON YOUR VIDEOS !! SIMPLE BUT EASY TO UNDERSTAND.

Thanks! If I turn the levels down too much on the mixer I get a hiss background sound later when I mix and bring the volume up to proper levels. If I turn the mixer up to much than its distorted. Its a really fine line, at least for my setup. REALLY liked your videos on home recording! Great production!

lets get this guy to 1,0000 subs

Who is still watching in 2019? 👍👇

This info is brief but very beneficial... Thanks for all of your uploads.. Now I can start my home studio recording!

First of all, thank you for your awesome videos and tutorials!.. I recently bought an eurorack like the one on the video and also an mxl 770, I have also bought an allen & heath xone 22. I notice that in 3:25 you say "this is not the best way to connect into the computer", I agree, though I would like to know which would be the best way to take out the most of my equipment?... thank you!

It's 2018

The music put me off watching this.

tqsm brother for this tutorial.... very good explanation

Finally someone delivering clear concise useful info. Ty

Whos watching in 2017

What's with the porn music ???

finally an answer to my queston! good job!

@TeeDjayyy Good question, Yes there is a possibility that this could happen, however in my situation I was able to turn off the play thru inside of my software, therefore cutting the loop. The return cable is not really necessary, I used it because I needed a way to record from the speaker out, because I was not able to patch it in the software.

Sounds good. Thanks for the help. Really appreciate it.

very informative series! liked it.

This wat i was looking for two weeks now thanks

Very nice way to guide sir,thank.just a question, would we make track record and mixed in laptop in this way ?

great tutorial mate, very nicely done

Agreed... plus the usual stuff like interconnection cables, computer and a decent set of headphones.

Hello, Thanks for the great videos. What do you mean by, "Riding the Fader down"? Are you adjusting the level on the mixer to reduce ambient noise? If so which one, the channel level or main mix level? Or are you adjusting the level on audacity. Thank you

Hi there! I'm bout to get a small 4 channel mixer just to record voices. My question is: Is it possible (and advisable) to use the USB connection for recording, or do I have to plug an additional cable from the mixer to the PC's mic input? Thanks!

Indeed. I actually used it on this video series since I had a noisy recording environment. However the best efforts should be made for every recording to improve the signal to noise ratio prior to recordings.It is true that gates are handy, but gates can create a some distracting effects if someone is using straight spoken voice. Usually the trick is to mask it with backing music or use a frequency dependent downward expander.

@McRf I'm going to have a bit of a guess here since I'm not familiar with your mixer and how it is interconnected with your Sound Card. A basic setup you would probably monitor from your Sound Card output. Also make sure that your software is set to play back the tracks already recorded. As far as latency is concerned, that will depend on the sound card you are using and the speed of your computer. If you are having latency issues PM me there is not enough room here to respond properly.

Love ur video.... Am a beginner never recorded...the video is quite helpful

All of those channels would most likely be mono, unless specified otherwise. "Line Level" is actually referring to the voltage level that the input is designed to take. However if you pan the output in centre the level will be distributed evenly between the left and right hand Line Level output on the mixer. There wouldn't be any stereo components to the signal. If you are connecting a stereo source to you mixer you need to use 2 channels and pan each away from the centre in opposite directions.

This is an excellent point you brought up. Dynamic microphones a less sensitive than condenser microphones, making them ideal for certain applications. I have a video in my channel that does a comparison between a dynamic and a condenser microphone to show the differences. The benefit of a condenser microphone, which is essentially it's dynamic range and sensitivity can also become a problem when recording in a noisy environment.

@TheSkandas With drums you will need one track per microphone as you suggested. So you will need to find an audio interface that can record that many tracks in one go. You can go directly into an interface, you should not need a mixer style interface. In fact this is how I now record drums, basically mic stright into my Audio Interface. So it's up to you to decide how many microphones you end up recording with and make sure your Audio Interface is capable of handling that.

I am setting up my home studio. Learned from watching this video!

thanks for sharing, it really helps...

The driver varies depending which hardware I use. Drivers are usually asociated with hardware. Realtek is a driver is usually associated with the motherboard chip set. I do not use it for audio work. Standard motherboard drivers usually have a fairly long latency, which can cause problems when creating multi-track recordings. If you are still using a Realtek driver and have these issues you can try ASIO4ALL, this can sometime solve latency issues.

Most computer will have a "sound card" built in, they are usually part of the motherboard. However as you are probably eluding to a dedicated sound device which will do a much better job. It is also true that you can replace the mixer in the setup shown in the video. The most effective solution would be some sort of USB audio interface.

@jdocey The XLR is a microphone input on this mixer, however if you have a device that has a line output, you can definitely use the line in. If you plug in a microphone into a line in it may not work, because the level of the microphone is too low. Mic inputs have amplification stages in them to bring up the low levels.

@miguelirra I think the issue with the gear that you bought, is that none of the gear is not designed fora mic input. It's all line level. This is probably why you cannot hear the microphone. Can you return the MX400 and maybe look at a Xenyx302 or at leas something with a mic input. The device you need is something that has a microphone per-amplifier built in. This is required to get the mic level to a level that the Audio Interface is happy with. This is all just a guess.

thanks for the tips it helps a lot

Great video! Thanks. you mentioned to get a "condenser" microphone. I wonder if the "dynamic" microphone would eliminate ambient noise since it picks up only from close range. This would apply to both recording guitar amp and vocal (singing), would it not? What other benefit, then, a condenser mic has for home recording?

In your situation I would look to Audio interfaces that are recommended by the software manufacturers. Have a look at the FL Studio and Albeton forums and ask there. Some devices support special Albeton functionality, so maybe you can take advantage of that. Other then that get the best you can afford. I cant make suggestions as to which you should get, since I have not used these software packages. You should as people who have.

18/08/2020 at least 10years ago your video is help some people thanks so much sir

@losoutlaw Sure - First I set the gain and the channel volume knob for the microphone input so when I spoke into it loudly, the little green LED was blinking or lighting up, but the red was not. Then, using the main output level knob, I set the level so that my recording software was showing good level on the meter bars, but not clipping. Hope it helps - if you need more info let me know.

this is nice tutorials thank you

Yes, I am adjusting the level on the mixer. Either the channel or the main mix will do the same job since they are both in the channel path. Just choose one. I do not adjust the level in Audacity.

@c3arts321 Not only a quick question but a very good one at that. I was actually wondering myself why I actually did that. Most of the time you could just use the headphones like you suggested. But the reason why I make this connection is because it allows me to bring the output of the computer back though the mixer and then I can route it to the AUX or use EQ on it. Also it allows me to pull audio from other programs that you cannot patch internally though windows.

Thank you , much appreciated!

thank you so much for sharing these

Perhaps you do, can you describe how you are connecting your system together at the moment?

Congratz with 8k subs!

Hi Helen, yes it should be very simple to do this. Which program did you use to record your voice. I need to know this so I can instruct you on how to turn this "mono" file into a pseudo stereo file that plays out of both speakers. Essentially the process is to copy the file to the right channel link it as a stereo pair and export it as a stereo file.

The BCF is a controller that is used to control functions of a software mixer in your recording software. It uses MIDI "code" to communicate with this software. It's similar to a mouse controlling a cursor on the screen, you move the mouse and the arrow moves on your screen. On the BCF2000 you move a slider or knob and the corresponding thing moves on the screen.

nice very clear n cool presentation dear

@segythagreat It sound like an earthing problem or an gain structure problem. unfortuantely It's something that can arise when you use the mic input of a laptop as your recording input on your PC. It's difficult for me to diagnose the actual problem without being there. However your plans to get a proper audio interface could solve this problem. Again it's difficult to say but it's a good start.

The UFX1204 is a hybrid mixer/fx processor/audio interface. It would most likely be used for live performances, because of it's FX capabilities. However it does have USB connectivity which carries audio signals, so it can be used as an Audio Interface too. Which may be handy for the live performance if the artist wants to record their performance.

@CKS5000 Yes you could, but why not have a clean signal in the first place. Which tool do you intend to use for noise reduction?

Indeed, Focusrite make some great stuff. The main difference that the Saffire Pro 14 has is it's conectivity. It uses a Fire Wire connection. You need to make sure your computer has such a connection available, it sometimes goes by the name as IEEE1394. I believe you can still buy PCI IEEE1934 card for destops, but I've noticed that laptops are not coming out with this port as much as they used to. FYI my main audio interface uses a IEE1394 connection.

I recently got Behringer Q802 USB mixer for so I could do a dual PC streaming/podcast setup. My audio setup is as follows: Main PC>Audioengine D1 DAC>Behringer Q802 USB>Behringer UCA222>Streaming PC. I have to use the Behringer UCA222 because for some reason when I have my capture card (which duplicates my main screen onto my streaming PC) and mixer plugged into the same PC, it creates a very annoying buzzing sound. The Mic I am using for this setup is the Audio Technica AT2020 XLR version, which is also connected to the mixer. The problem I am having is that I can't use a noise gate to eliminate ambient noise, because all of my other audio is being pulled through the mixer as well. I know it would have been easier to get a USB mic, but I wear closed back headphones, and I needed a way to monitor my own voice as well. Is there any way I can separate my mic and line in channels, while still being able to monitor my voice through my headset?

Sir great video. I try to record my song with karaoke track but the voice and music recorded mixed up on same track what should I do?

Great tutorial I’m about to start a podcast this info was very helpful

@LucahJohnson Yes exactly why I did this. I actually was dubbing music from my PC back into it. Since Windows Vista and onwards it has been a little tricky to record whats coming out of you speaker port back into you PC. Back in XP day you could just select Stereo Mix as your recording option and be done. I have other ways of doing it now but back then this was the quick easy fix.

The music in this video came from Cinescore 1.0, it is a plugin app for an early Sony Vegas. Unfortunately the product has been discontinued. The way the app worked is it allowed you to make music out of predefined loops. I think the Acid family of software might have something similar. If you want I can check what the name of the loop was perhaps you can find it somewhere.

It's an earlier version of the Rode NT1, made in the 90's.

The explanation is SO clear, I LOL-ed at "The first step is to unfold your microphone stand."

@dominicakadc I connected the little mixer to my computer via a cable I made up. but you should be able to find one already made. It was a 1/8" TRS stereo to 1/4" TRS mono jack cable. If you put that description into amazon search it will show you what it was.

If your desktops has a speaker output then I would suggest using that, it is usually the green port on the back. However if you are connecting to an amplifier rather than speakers directly then the blue "line output" would me more suited for that application.

Yes, most PC connections have a stereo line input.

Can you tell me which Sound King microphone you have. What's the model number? I'm trying to establish whether it is a powered or passive microphone. This will determine which additional devices, if any, you will need.

It is most likely that the sound coming from your processor is still changed by the amplifier circuit in your amp. Additional factors would also be the amp cabinet and speaker size. It sounds to me like those factors are what is missing from your recording. This is why guitarists still prefer to use microphones in front of their amp and capture that sound rather than a direct line level sound out of the amp. Others get around this problem using software cabinet and mic emulators in their DAW.

@Gunbardo The mixer is neither. It is a device that is used to blend sound sources together and direct them to different outputs. There are small amplification stages on the mixer channels as well as EQ, but it's not like a power amplifier. Some mixers do have compressors built in, but this is not that common.

Thank you so much!!!!

Usually used to record the sound from the computer back into itself. This is not necessary for recording, but does come in handy sometimes. Naturally you have to disable the play-though feature in your software to avoid a feedback loop.

@bewnet Hey Guys, thanks for helping Pedro out, I'm not quite sure if I managed to help him out yet. It's great to see other people helping out.

Yes, a keyboard is one of the basic instruments used to make a beat, you can use MIDI to "write" a beat sequence. You might want to look at some synth software. I hear a lot of people use FL studio to make beats, but I have not used it myself. Personally I use Propellerheads Reason for my music production, it is entirely up to you what you decide to use, there a many options. Perhaps you can look at some examples on you tube for different software that allows you to construct beats.