Numark Portable/Serato Question
hogginthefogg
6,098 Posts
Basic question: I'm considering recording vinyl from my Numark PT01 skraight into my laptop (SoundForge) then converting to MP3 for Serato purposes. Would the sound quality be "passable" for club gigs? I usually encode at 256, but I'll play 192kbps stuff. And yes, I know that it's preferable to record from a Technics 1200 with better needles, but I'm considering doing this because I could do it from work. Thanks.
Comments
I'd strongly suggest no, even at the bitrate. Stick to using a good turntable, it makes a big difference.
All I know is that I record from my Vestax portable using the stereo out lines into a microphone jack but it's all in mono. I can't tell if it's the portable, the y-line adapter or the mic input. I suspect it's the portable though.
I don't know if I understand your technique, but my money is on the Y-adapter. The purpose of a "normal" Y adapter is to sum two (stereo) signals into a singular (mono) signal. You would need a balanced/stereo adapter to keep a true signal.
If the single end of your adapter is balanced/stereo (you can tell because it's Tip-Ring-Sleeve), then it would convert in stereo, if it's only Tip-Sleeve, then it's summing to mono.
Cheap belt drive = Not a good sound
it's most likely the mic input. i had the same problem with my old laptop (it only recorded in mono) .. when i got a new soundcard with a line-in it recorded in stereo.
http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--IONITTUSB
By the looks of the tonearm and cart, yes. But a digital out is not a bad thing. Probalby more useful on a mixer - is that possible?
i saw this the other day as well and was wondering the real shcoop on it.
as for a mixer, yes
Has anyone used anything from this brand? I believe this is the brand that (T)urban Outfitters sells.
If so, a few months back they had buy-one-get-one-free portables of this brand for $99, to the best of my recollection. I would be wary of the quality.
Someone told me that Urban Outfitters had stacks of cheap turntables to get rid of because they thought that the number of record bags sold meant people would need turntables. Not sure if it was a crappy quality issue or not.
DUDE only $60?? thank you!
please to report back with pm or thread regarding how it works, i need to know the truth!
These must be flying off the shelves:
but if i have the tapedeck play through the mixer into my computer through the usb, do you guys think i will still have this problem? i think the problem is my input jack.
They make the Mackie Onyx series with an optional firewire card for interfacing with computer audio software now. Those look like hot little mixers in fact, I'm thinking of picking up a 1220 for the studio.
Not to stray too far, but does anybody know anything about the Mackie Onyx series? Is the 1220 worth $500? These are line mixers BTW, not DJ. Sorry If I'm way off topic.
To hop back on topic, I would agree that if you have any regard for the quality of your recording, I would not record from any portable turntable. You're better off using a sturdy, full sized turntable with a quality tone arm (preferably curved if I remember correctly) and cartridge.
what he said, plus make sure the sound card you're recording into is quality. most onboard stock sound cards suk.
you should definitely try testing it different ways. try running the tape deck through something first (mixer, receiver, etc) and then into your computer, then try running say, a cd player or portable turntable into your computer and see if the same sound is resulting from each test. if so, that would insinuate that your input was screwed up, or your computer's recording properties have changed. i remember back when I used to use the regular stock computer soundcard and microsoft sound mapper, i had to mess with muting certain ins and outs in order for the sound to come in clean without any feedback loops or anything like that. you really have to experiement. another test you can do is try going in through the mic in as opposed to the line in and see if that has any effect. if you have mic and line in, that is. if you PM me (or respond to my PM i sent you even), i'd be glad to help you more, i have several years of experience with computer audio and hardware. peace.
b
i just picked up a new cartridge for recording and shit sounds great. i have no idea why i spent all the time recording shit on my old needles but after school is out im going to have to rerecord a bunch of shit now.