Hiss when recording mix in Audacity with CDJ2000 + DJM2000

Watch the video(s) in this thread.

As for the hiss, it could be something else in your setup -- you didn't note how everything is connected so it's hard to tell.

Hey Pulse. Thanks a lot for your message. Yes, I set it up just as you suggested in your video.

I have the djm and both cdjs connected through usb to my computer, and they are also linked through ethernet. All of the other normal connections. 

Set up the djm at -5db too. Still don't understand why the mix ends up being so low. And the hiss is even louder than my mix sometimes.

Thanks a lot. I would really like to solve this issue so that I can record high quality mixes.

F

You don't happen to have the whitenoise engaged do you?

No, it is not engaged. But when I use it, it goes insanely high! 

I remember reading in other threads that people were also experimenting a low volume on their recorded mixes in audacity, but there was never a clear answer, so I decided to start a new thread that deals with this, but also with the hiss... did not read anything about the hiss... and also if you could talk a little bit about amplification - does it alter the song in any way?? Thanks a lot Pulse. You're great, as I've seen in the other threads

You should have your channels all zeroing on the meters, both channel and master.  Do you have anything like turntables or a mic plugged in?

No, I do not have anything else connected. I could in theory crank up the trim/gain on the channels to make it zero, but that could mess up my djm right? I always keep my gains on green, and rarely they go to red, mainly when I use the oscillators of the djm. So I don't know... there has to be another way of cranking up the volume of the final mix right? w/o amplifying the final mix. 

The zero marker is still in the green; you don't need to red-line the mixer in order to get a decent level recording in your software; provided you have set the output to -5dB, you'll get a -5dB recording.

I got confused there for a second. Yes, I have my gain/trim knobs at zero or higher, but avoid getting red. I mixed like this last night, and recorded it on audacity, and the volume was super low and the annoying hiss was there, so I think it may be something else? It looks like the signal that the mixer is sending to audacity may be too low or something? even at -5dB the volume is low. Do you have other thoughts? I know other people have had this problem before, but there wasn't a clear consensus, as the thread shifted to talking about recording from the booth, etc. 

Did you match the bitrate and frequency settings within Audacity?

Hi Pulse:

Yes, I did it exactly as you showed in the video. 96000 khz and 16-bit. 

Do you have the problem with any other recording devices (do you have any other soundcards to test with)?  Do you have hiss on any other output from the mixer?

I've recorded many many times using my previous gear - VCI-300mkII - and those were always hiss-free, sounded really good actually. That is the only other gear I have.

Could the hiss be due to audacity?

Thanks again Pulse

It's possible; do you have another software you could try a recording with?

And to go back to my previous question - do any of the other outputs hiss?

I have been trying for ages to set up traktor pro 2.0 w/ my cdj 2000s and djm 2000s - I can get the cdj 2000s working properly, but not the djm 2000 - should I open a separate new thread for this??? 

Anyway, the other software I would like to be able to record on is on traktor, and I haven't been able to set it up.

Nevertheless, audacity is more attractive for me because I really don't want to use my computer too much, and since the waveforms and some other visual stuff is lost when using the cdjs in traktor, i would prefer audacity, but im having those problems.

Any other software suggestion?

How could I test other outputs? sorry for my ignorance here; i'm still learning all the bells and whistles of this new pioneer gear 

I recorded another mix last night, and again I had to amplify the track in audacity, and the hiss was there again... 

Let me just review my connections real quick:

All 3 pieces of equipment through USB to my mac

Both cdjs linked by ethernet to the djm

run rekordbox in the background to get my tracks and audacity at the same time

all matched bitrates and frequencies

followed your tutorial step by step

sorry for re-posting, but really the hiss is annoying, but the most annoying thing is probably the low volume of the final mix - if i could fix this, it would be great

Also, what are other options for recording? I guess I could use an external recording interface? Any recommendations there for some good ones so that I can get really high quality recordings?

Thanks again Pulse

Hey Pulse: I think we can close this up. I went ahead and bought a focusrite scarlett 8i6, in part for recording purposes. Have you had any experience with this? I'll be setting it up tonight to see how it goes. Thanks a lot Pulse

Actually, I had to re-open this! The scarlett interface is a pain to install and use, and I do not find it useful for my needs at all. Thus, I still have my problems since I plan to use audacity while I do more research on recording interfaces. Pulse! Can you please help me!?

Were you not able to get the Scarlett setup at all?

I was able to set it up, but honestly the software that comes bundled with it wasn't very good and I think overall for my needs right now (just recording my mixes when playing in my 2000 set up) the scarlett is overkill. So I just returned it to my local GC store. 

What I ended up trying however was garage band for recording my mixes out of the 2000 set up and it worked surprisingly well!!!

No hiss at all! I don't know why there was such a huge difference between audacity and garage band (or if its even software-specific) but all I can say is that it worked very very well. Have you tried it Pulse? Or anyone else?

Hi Francisco. Did you get to the bottom of the problem and find a fix for the annoying hiss?  I have the same thing using Traktor Pro 2 on Audio 6 into Audacity on my macbook and the only way I can fix it, is by turning up the volume / levels through my mixer. Not working for me these days though, with a small baby and toddler...  Anyone know if Audi 10 is the solution?

@Andrew > Why are you recording into Audacity if you have Traktor running?  It can record directly through the software.

Hi , im having a gig and will record my mix but i dont want to record the microphone Mcing inside my set what can i do ?

@lucaetb > What gear do you have? Will you also be using a DJM + CDJ 2000 setup? How do you intend to record the set?

DJM 800 + cdjs pioneer 200 ... Record set by laptop using audicity or acoustica mp3 

any way to not record the microphone mcing and talks ? 

There are two ways to record the set without the mic:

1) Use an external mixer and pass the master output of the 2000 into that mixer where the mic is added, thus allowing you to record by the rec output, or the USB output.

2) Use the booth-out to record with the "no mic to the booth" setting enabled (see the club setup menu to change that setting).