PART 1. Using USB Mixer with a Computer
Universal Serial Bus Mixers
The USB mixer is equipped with either one or two USB ports that allow you to play and record audio directly from your
computer! Just hook up a USB cable, and the software drivers will automatically install. You can then play MP3, WMA,
WAV or any other audio format that your computer is capable of, through your mixer. Or, you can record your
performance from your mixer to your computer’s hard drive and burn it to a CD later. Each USB port can record and
play at the same time.
The USB interface on your mixer works with your computer just like a standard USB sound card. Therefore, you can
use almost any audio software on the market to play and record from your computer to your mixer. No lengthy
installation process or custom drivers are necessary. Simply plug it in and go!
Recommended system requirements:
- Current processor (as of 1 GHz)
- 512 MB RAM
- PC running Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, or XP Professional, with at least one USB port. Or, a Mac running OS 9.1
or X with at least one USB port. The USB port can be USB 1.1 or greater.
PC Connection
1. Boot your computer (Mac/PC) and wait until everything has loaded completely, then turn on your USB mixer.
2. Connect your mixer to your computer using a USB cable.
3. Windows will immediately recognize the mixer as a “USB Audio Device” or “USB Audio CODEC” and automatically
install the drivers if necessary.
4. The first time you do this, your mixer will de automatically assigned as the Default (or “preferred”) Device for sound
playback on your computer .All of your computer’s sounds will be sent to the mixer via the USB cable.
5. You can now open any media players or recorders on your computer and they should play and record through your
mixer. This includes Windows Media player and almost any other audio player that works on your PC. To prevent
your computers system sounds (bleeps and bells) from going to your mixer, you may want to disable your
computer’s sounds or redirect them to your computer’s speakers (see below for how to do this).
(Note, for Windows 98SE, you may need to insert your need to insert your original Windows 98SE CD ROM during
the installation process.)
Changing Your PC’s Default (or preferred Sound Playback Device)
If you are not hearing sound from your mixer, you may need to tell your computer to send audio to your mixer instead of
another sound card or the computer’s onboard speakers. Here’s how to do that:
1. Click Start, Settings, and Control Panel and double-click the Multimedia icon (Windows 98); click Start, Settings,
and Control Panel and double-click Sounds And Multimedia (Windows Me/2000); or click Start and Control
Panel, select the Sound, Speech, And Audio Devices link, and then click Sound And Audio Devices (Windows
XP).
2. In the Sounds and Multimedia Properties dialog box, click the Audio tab.
3. Grab the pull-down selections under “Sound playback”. The
mixer should appear as a “USB Audio Device” or “USB Audio
CODEC”.
(If you already have another USB Audio Device attached to you
computer, then the mixer will appear as “USB Audio Device
(2)or USB Audio CODEC (2)”.) Select the desired playback
device.
4. Similarly, under the “Sound Recording” pull-down, select the
desired recording device.
5. Make sure the “Use Only Preferred Devices” box is not
checked.
6. Click Apply or OK.
7. While using your computer with your mixer, it is a good idea to
keep the “Sounds and Multimedia” box open in the background,
since you will need to access this often.
Note, some programs, like Windows Sound Recorder, give you
quick access to the “Sounds and Multimedia” box. In Windows
Sound Recorder, click under the “Edit” menu item and select “Audio
Properties”. The box will pop up and allow you to change the
preferred Audio Devices.
Playing and Recording
Once you have performed the above steps, you can immediately use your favorite playback or recording programs
with your mixer! If you don’t have any special DJ playback or recording programs, you can use Windows Media player
and Sound Recorder, which come with Windows. Normally, Windows Media player starts when you double-click on an
MP3 or other audio file.
Using Both USB Ports at the Same Time (For Mixers with 2USB ports Only)
If you USB mixer has two USB jacks (like the DJ-10 USB, for example), you can attach a different computer to each
USB Jack. Or, you can connect both jacks to a single computer. Each USB jack on the mixer will appear as a separate
USB audio device to your computer. You can play two audio files simultaneously from one computer and send both of
those audio streams to separate channels of your mixer by using two USB cables.
If you do this, we suggest using one of the many commercially available software programs that support multiple sound
cards.
However, if you don’t have software like that, you can use two separate software media players instead. To do this you
need to Start the first media player, then change the preferred Audio Device to the second USB port, then start your
second media player.
Note that some applications (like Windows Media Player) will not allow you to have multiple instances running
simultaneously. When you try to open a second file, the first one will stop playing and the second file will be loaded. TO
get around this, you can use different players to play the second file. For example, use Windows Media player to play
channel 1, and Musicmatch Juke Box player for channel 2.
Also, not all will “remember” what sound card they were using at the time of launch.
Mac Connection
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Turn on your computer and mixer.
Connect a USB cable from your mixer and to your computer’s USB port.
Click on the APPLE logo in the upper left corner of the screen.
Select “System preferences”.
Click on the “Sound” icon.
Select the “Output” box (or “Input” box if you want to record to your computer).
Adjust the volume and balance.
Now, you’ll need to re-direct your system sound effects to your computer’s speakers so they won’t go through your
mixer. It is easy to do that on a Mac. Here’s how:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Follow steps 1-4 above.
Click on the “Sound” icon.
Click on the “Sound Effects” box.
Choose “Play alers and sound effects through:”
Select” Internal Speakers”.
Troubleshooting
Problem: The computer did mot recognize and automatically install my miser.
‧ The mixer is not turned on. Turn on your mixer.
‧ The USB cable is not connected. Connect the USB cable to your computer and mixer.
‧ You have already installed a USB Audio Device before. In that case, your mixer should work without any
installation process. Just plug it in .You may have to change your computer’s Default Sound playback Device,
however.
‧ You don’t have the proper version of Windows or Mac OS. Make sure your OS is one that is compatible with this
mixer. (For example, Windows 95 does not support USB, and will not work with this mixer).
Problem: The recording quality is poor.
‧ The word length and sample rate are not set to CD-quality in your recording software. Change the word length to
16-bit and sample rate to 44.1kHz for CD-quality results.
‧ The audio is distorting. Turn down the gain on your mixer to reduce the audio level.
‧ The audio level is too low. Increase the level until you see activity in the meter LEDs.
Problem: I’m trying to play one song into channel 1 and the other into channel 2, but they both bet mixed
together into only one channel.
‧ The Sound playback Device was not set properly for one of your audio applications. Close one of the playback
applications, then change your preferred Sound playback Device as described above, then re-open the
application. Note that this technique will not work with all media players like, for example, Real player.
‧ Use a dedicated audio program that supports 2 sound cards.
Problem: The sound is coming out of my computer speakers instead of going to my mixer.
‧ The Sound playback Device was not properly set. Close your audio playback application, then change your
preferred Sound Playback Device as described above, then re-open the application.
Problem: My computer’s system sounds (beeps and bells) are going into my mixer.
‧ The Sound Playback Device is still set to your mixer. Change the Preferred Sound playback Device as described
above.
‧ Silence your computer’s system sounds altogether by doing the following: Select Sounds and Audio Devices in the
Control Panel and switch to the Sounds tab. Under Sound Scheme, Choose the No Sounds option and click OK.
‧ If you have a Mac, you didn’t select “Play alerts and sound effects through Internal Speakers”. See the Mac setup
section for how to do this.
PART 2. Help with Windows Sound Recorder
‧
Help with Windows Sound Recorder
Setting up for Simple Voice Recordings
Windows Sound Recorder is a simple audio recording utility included with all versions of the Microsoft
Windows Operating System published since 1995. It hasn't changed over the years, so this tutorial should
be accurate no matter what version of Windows you are running.
After installing Sound Recorder, use it to record your voice for Distance Learning courses, such as Spanish
101 and Spanish 102. You can save the recorded files and send them as e-mail attachments. To do this,
your computer must have a sound card (most do) and a you'll need a headset/microphone to plug into your
computer.
Other features of Sound Recorder include simple editing, mixing, and adding effects to sound files with
ease. Let your imagination and creativity loose to create your own sound effects.
Launching Sound Recorder
•
•
•
In Windows XP, navigate to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound
Recorder.
In Windows 98 (Win98) or Win2000, navigate to Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment
> Sound Recorder.
In Win95 or WinNT 4.0, navigate to Start > Programs > Accessories > Multimedia > Sound
Recorder.
When the Sound Recorder pops on-screen, you’ll notice
that it looks a bit like a tape recorder front panel.
• In the center of the window is a flat, green line. As
the sound plays or records, this green line oscillates
to visually represent the sound.
• To the left is the Position indicator, represented in
hundredths of a second.
• To the right is the Length indicator, showing the
total duration of the sound file.
• Below these features is a Slide Bar indicator that shows where the sound file is playing, relative to
its overall length. You can use the scroll bar to move through the sound file. The bar moves by either
sliding it with the mouse or clicking on the right or left arrows.
• Finally, located below the Slide Bar, you’ll see the universal symbols (from left to right) for Rewind
, Fast Forward
, Play
, Stop
, and Record
.
Now that you’re familiar with Sound Recorder, we’ll walk you through some tasks.
Playing a Sound
To play a sound, open the file and click on the Play button.
1. On the File menu, click Open. A dialog box will
appear.
2. Navigate to the folder containing the sound file you
want to play, select the file and then click Open.
3. Click the play button to start playing the sound.
4. Click the stop button to stop playing the sound.
Navigating a File
When working with long sound files, you’ll want to move through them as quickly as possible.
• To move forward or backward, use the Sound Recorder scroll bar, or the keyboard left & right arrow
keys.
• To move to the end of a file, click the Fast Forward button
, move the scroll bar to the right or
press END on the keyboard.
To move to the beginning, click Rewind
, move the scroll bar to the left or press HOME on the
keyboard.
• To play part of the sound file, slide the scroll bar to any point in the file and click Play
.
Note that the Rewind and Fast Forward buttons work instantly; one click takes you immediately to the
beginning or the end.
•
Setting the Recording Format
High quality recordings create large sound files. This could cause problems if you try to send those files as
e-mail attachments. To avoid this, set the recording format in Windows Sound Recorder to create files that
are of good quality but not so large as to choke your e-mail service.
Step 1
In the File menu, click Properties. A dialog box will
appear.
Step 2
Use the Choose from: pull-down menu to select
Recording formats, and click Convert Now...
Step 3
In the "Sound Selection" window, use the Attributes:
pull-down menu to choose 8.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Mono, 15
kb/sec. This will change the settings to create a recording
that sounds comparable to a good cell phone call. A one
minute sound recording should be just under 1 MB
(megabyte) in size.
To compare, an audio CD uses ten times as much data:
44.1 kHz/16 Bit/Stereo, for a file size of 1 minute = 10 MB.
Step 4
To save these settings, click the Save As... button. A
pop-up will prompt you to "save this format as." Type in a
name you'll remember, such as "Audio E-Mail," and click
OK.
Step 5
You'll return to the "Properties for Sound" window. Click
OK on this window, then OK on the Properties window,
and your next sounds will be recorded at the 8 kHz/16
bit/Mono format.
If you've already recorded your voice at high-quality, you probably ended up with some large files. To
reduce the file size of existing recordings:
1.
Open the previously recorded sound, then click the File menu, and Properties.
2.
3.
Use the Choose from: pull-down menu to select Playback formats, and click Convert Now...
On the next dialog box, use the Name: pull-down menu to select Audio E-Mail, the name of the
quality level you created above.
4.
Click OK on this window, then OK on the Properties window, and save your file with a new name.
5.
Compare the original file with the new file saved at lower quality. The new file size should be much
smaller.
Here are 3 files created from the same recording, saved at different recording settings. Compare sound
quality vs. file size.
File
Length
Quality
(kHz/bits/channels)
File Size
A
8.65 seconds
CD
(44/16/stereo)
1,491 kb
B
8.65 seconds
Radio
(16/16/mono)
271 kb
C
8.65 seconds
Cellphone
(8/16/mono)
136 kb
Setting the Microphone Record
Level
To record and play audio, you'll need a
sound card, a microphone, and speakers
or headphones. If your record button
can be activated, your PC is equipped to
record. To record your voice, hook the
microphone into the audio-in jack on your
computer's sound card. Before you begin
recording, check your microphone settings
for a proper volume level.
1. After starting Sound Recorder,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
click on Edit>Audio Properties.
In the Audio Properties dialogue
box, under the Sound recording
section, check to see that your
sound card is the Default device
(change this if necessary).
Below the Default device, click on
Volume.
In the Recording Control dialogue
box, be sure the microphone is the
selected recording source, and
turn its volume up full.
Close this dialogue box and return
to the Audio Properties box.
Click OK.
You have successfully turned your
microphone level up to record your voice
at a proper volume level.
Recording a Sound
To record and play audio, you'll need a sound card, a microphone and speakers or headphones. If your
record button
can be activated, your PC is equipped to record. To record your voice, hook the
microphone into the audio-in jack on your computer's sound card. (see above to set the microphone record
level.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Make sure you have a microphone connected to your computer.
On the File menu, click New.
To begin recording, click
To stop recording, click
and speak into the microphone.
.
To continue recording, click
When finished, click
and speak into the microphone again.
to stop recording.
On the File menu, click Save As. Type a new name for your file, select the location where it will be
saved, and Click the Save button.
You can specify the default sound quality before you record a sound (see above>>)
Editing a File
The editing tools are located in Sound Recorder’s Edit menu. After you edit a file, click Play to listen to
your changes. If you like what you hear, save the file. (You’ll probably want to change the name.) If you
don’t approve of the new sound, and you haven’t saved the file, choose Revert from the File menu to
restore the file to its previous state.
The editing options are:
Insert File
This inserts an entire sound file anywhere in the current file.
An inserted file will increase the sound file’s length.
To insert Ding.wav into Chord.wav, you:
• Scroll to the desired location in the Chord.wav file.
• Select Insert File from the Edit menu. The Insert File
dialog box appears.
• Select Ding.wav.
• Click OK.
To listen, click Play.
Remember, if you want to save the file, change the name. (You don’t want to write over the original
Chord.wav file.)
Mix With File
This mixes a second file with the original file. The sounds in the files will play simultaneously..
To mix the Chord.wav file with the Chimes.wav file:
• 1) Scroll to the desired position in the Chord.wav file.
• 2) Select Mix With File from the Edit menu. This brings up a dialog box.
• 3) Select Chimes.wav.
• 4) Click OK.
Delete Before Cursor Position
This deletes information from the beginning of the file to the current position in the file.
Delete After Current Position
This deletes information from the current position to the end of the file.
Adding Effects
To give your file a little extra flavor, you can add special effects. These effects are available in the Effects
menu and they manipulate the entire sound file. So if you only want a portion of the file to have a special
effect, you’ll have to copy the sound file, cut it into portions, apply the effect a portion at a time and then
combine them again.
The effects in Sound Recorder are:
Increase Volume
This increases the volume by 25%. (However, you can select this
option twice for a 50% increase, three times for a 75% increase,
and so on.)
Decrease Volume
This decreases the volume by 25%.
Increase Speed
This doubles the rate of a sound’s playback.
Decrease Speed
This slows the rate of a sound’s playback by 50%.
Add Echo
This adds an audio reverb.
Reverse
This reverses the sound so it can be played backward.
Increasing The Maximum Recording Time
Sound Recorder included with Windows 95 and Windows 98 has a default maximum time of 60 seconds of
continuous recording. If you stop recording at any point before reaching the 60 second limit, you can then
continue recording and have another 60 seconds of continuous time before Sound Recorder automatically
stops. You can repeat this start-stop routine indefinitely if you need to record a long passage as one file.
Here's an alternate method to increase the maximum recording time in Sound Recorder:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Make sure your microphone is muted so it will not pick up sound.
Click Record, and then let Sound Recorder run for 60 seconds (recording silence).
After Sound Recorder stops recording, click Save As on the File menu, and name the file Blank.wav.
To increase the maximum recording time in Sound Recorder, click Insert File on the Edit menu, and
then insert the Blank.wav file that you saved in step 3. When you do this, the maximum recording
time is increased by 60 seconds. You can repeat this step once for each additional minute of
recording time that you want to add. For example, for a 5-minute recording time, insert the
Blank.wav file five times.
More Information
Installation - If the Sound Recorder (sndrec32.exe) is not already installed on your system, you will find
instructions for its installation by clicking Start>Help, then choosing the Index tab and typing "Sound
Recorder". Display the instruction by double clicking on Installation. Also, install the Windows 95 volume
control by placing a check in the volume control box when checking the Sound Recorder box during the
Sound Recorder installation process.
Microphone - To record sound, any inexpensive microphone with a mini plug that fits into your sound card
microphone jack on your computer will do. An inexpensive stand microphone that you can buy in a
computer store is nice, since it frees your hands for keyboarding. A slightly more expensive
headset/microphone allows you to also listen in privacy without disturbing others around you.