Record from Decks to PC
This tutorial is aimed at the DJ who wants to learn how to connect their decks, also known as turntables, to their computer or laptop. You may wish to burn a mix CD to distribute as a promotion tool, or simply as a method of digital storage so that you can use your mix as an online promotion tool (posting your mix to forums / messageboards / myspace etc.)
First you need to buy a 3.5mm Jack to 2 x RCA (Phono) Cable, these inexpensive cables can be bought from sites such as eBay or from recognised online Dj Equipment sellers as well as most DJ stores. I personally recommend purchasing gold tipped cables if possible becasue of the superior sound quality they can achieve.
Audio Cable
Once you have the required cable you need to plug the 3.5mm Jack connector into the "Line In" socket on your computer/laptop or you can use the microphone socket. However, using the microphone socket can produce lower quality recordings, especially if your soundcard is low quality. You may indeed be stuck with just the "mic in" option, as some budget soundcards include a "line in" socket.
Next, you need to plug the 2 RCA (phono) connectors into the "Output - Rec" on the back of your mixer, this may have a different name on your mixer, for example on certain Behringer mixers it may be called "Tape Out / Monitor Out etc.", as long as it is an output socket then you should be fine.
When you have connected the lead you are ready to record! There are many freeware (free) and paid programs available, but personally I use my sequencer (cubase / pro tools) and record directly into the sequence window. This gives me instant access to my recordings (no other importing / exporting or conversions to be done) and also provides (generally) a much higher recording quality than other programs. I have listed some recommended sound recording programs below. Each program will have its own way of operating, but generally the programs should install ready to use.
Freeware recording software
