I'm a long-time college radio DJ, used to working in an air studio broadcasting live. Pandemic has the studio shut down and many of us are producing ~3 hour music-with-mic-breaks shows at home, one way or another. So far, I've mostly been cloning MP3 recordings of shows I did within the last couple years, editing mic breaks, adding a song here and there, using Audacity on the PC.
I want to expand and create more new content instead of just re-doing old shows. I therefore bought a USB turntable and a USB condenser microphone. In the same room where I'm working I have a couple of daisy-chained 301 disc CD players.
In creating shows it is best to have as close to a live show generation scenario as possible, so you don't have to futz with equipment, settings in software, etc. but instead work smoothly, efficiently and with as little adjustment as possible as the process enfolds. IOW, the show creation process should be as close to live in-the-moment as it was in the air studio as possible.
I figure I can maybe facilitate this with an audio interface. A couple of our DJs have Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 audio interfaces and are using them to create their new shows. I see that Behringer makes competing products (such as the Behringer U-Phoria UMC202) and Focusrite has other models.
Do I need an audio interface? Will it really help me or is it really unnecessary?
I figure I can run line out from the CD players into a USB soundcard I already have, being the Behringer UCA202. If I do that, I have 3 USB sound sources:
1. mic
2. TT
3. CD
Will Audacity sort that without difficulty or will an audio interface make the process of generating shows easier? If so, would a more complex interface be better, i.e. with 3 sources? Suggestions, explanations appreciated, I've never had or used an audio interface.
I want to expand and create more new content instead of just re-doing old shows. I therefore bought a USB turntable and a USB condenser microphone. In the same room where I'm working I have a couple of daisy-chained 301 disc CD players.
In creating shows it is best to have as close to a live show generation scenario as possible, so you don't have to futz with equipment, settings in software, etc. but instead work smoothly, efficiently and with as little adjustment as possible as the process enfolds. IOW, the show creation process should be as close to live in-the-moment as it was in the air studio as possible.
I figure I can maybe facilitate this with an audio interface. A couple of our DJs have Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 audio interfaces and are using them to create their new shows. I see that Behringer makes competing products (such as the Behringer U-Phoria UMC202) and Focusrite has other models.
Do I need an audio interface? Will it really help me or is it really unnecessary?
I figure I can run line out from the CD players into a USB soundcard I already have, being the Behringer UCA202. If I do that, I have 3 USB sound sources:
1. mic
2. TT
3. CD
Will Audacity sort that without difficulty or will an audio interface make the process of generating shows easier? If so, would a more complex interface be better, i.e. with 3 sources? Suggestions, explanations appreciated, I've never had or used an audio interface.
I believe Audacity has trouble working with multiple USB sources. Reaper software has advantages on this front but will have more of a learning curve. So provided your workstation has sufficient USB ports you don't need anything more.
How not take a look at some disco DJ software ?
Virtual DJ is worth a look but there are many more.
Virtual DJ is worth a look but there are many more.
USB is very poor for audio, generally speaking. Because it is host-driven instead of interface-driven, as you stack sources the latency will add up. If you get an interface it is generally wiser to hook up your sources to the interface, and then use the interface drivers to get audio into your DAW.
Your present gear is driven by convenience, which is great but the bigger picture demands outsourcing host processes to dedicated hardware. Speaking of, Behringer generally has very poor drivers overall and now that even the little "German" they had is gone forever, I would trust them even less. Focusrite has a competent driver team but the entry-level interfaces come with some limitations such as I/O. Still, would be a lot better than the UCA202 (which is technically a super-cheap and basic interface).
If you feel daunted by software, you can look at a high-quality USB mixer, which basically gives you controls in hardware and a USB interface. This would be pretty close to the feel of producing live.
Access to this page has been denied.
Access to this page has been denied.
Access to this page has been denied.
Your present gear is driven by convenience, which is great but the bigger picture demands outsourcing host processes to dedicated hardware. Speaking of, Behringer generally has very poor drivers overall and now that even the little "German" they had is gone forever, I would trust them even less. Focusrite has a competent driver team but the entry-level interfaces come with some limitations such as I/O. Still, would be a lot better than the UCA202 (which is technically a super-cheap and basic interface).
If you feel daunted by software, you can look at a high-quality USB mixer, which basically gives you controls in hardware and a USB interface. This would be pretty close to the feel of producing live.
Access to this page has been denied.
Access to this page has been denied.
Access to this page has been denied.