Traktor and Xone 92 Mixer Setup Question

[minuseven]

Hey everyone!

Currently in the transition process of learning my new setup, going from the S4 hardware to the Xone 92 Mixer with Kontrol x1. Everything is off to a great start (or so I think) but I have a couple of questions.

I’m noticing that my “Hi” and “MidHi” eq’s are a lot stronger than the S4. While mixing, it’s honestly noticeable that the “Hi’s” stand out. I know this is a professional club mixer, or just perhaps I have something set up wrong. In the settings of Traktor I have “Eq Type” set to “Xone” and with the newest update, I noticed that “Match to connected NI hardware mixers” is checked. Could the built in filters have something to do with this? The levels for these eq's never get pass 0.


My next question refers to “Mix Recorder”. The output “Record” on the Xone is running directly to the Audio 10 main input on the front. When I do record a set, the sound quality is very low. It’s almost as half the volume is cut. Here is a link to a pic showing the waveform. Top is recorded mix and bottom track is a normal 320 mp3. My settings for this are:

Source: External
External Input: Input FX Send(Ext)


My complete build is:

Macbook Pro
Traktor 2.7.1 - Scratch Pro
Traktor Audio 10
Xone 92 Mixer
Kontrol x1
Sennheiser HD 25-II Headphones
2 - Pioneer S-DJ50X Monitors


Thanks!

-A

[Stewe]

Thread moved to the hardware sub forum.

[mostapha]

What do you mean by "stronger" EQs? Traktor's EQ models are....well...not great. The curve is different from the real mixer, and it just takes a little getting used to.

As for the mix recorder, the biggest thing is setting the levels right. I'm not sure where the 92's rec out taps the signal, but it probably follows the master output level, which (on that mixer) should probably bet set pretty high....I'm 90% sure it's like the xone:62 (which I used to own) and unity gain for the master output is with the control set all the way up. Traktor's record meter should peak at about halfway up when you're playing at full volume, and I don't think I've ever used it's software gain adjustment...you need to get it right going into the sound card. After that, it should be a little quiet, so you just normalize it.

[minuseven]

What do you mean by "stronger" EQs? Traktor's EQ models are....well...not great. The curve is different from the real mixer, and it just takes a little getting used to.

As for the mix recorder, the biggest thing is setting the levels right. I'm not sure where the 92's rec out taps the signal, but it probably follows the master output level, which (on that mixer) should probably bet set pretty high....I'm 90% sure it's like the xone:62 (which I used to own) and unity gain for the master output is with the control set all the way up. Traktor's record meter should peak at about halfway up when you're playing at full volume, and I don't think I've ever used it's software gain adjustment...you need to get it right going into the sound card. After that, it should be a little quiet, so you just normalize it.

Thanks for the reply!

Should I have the EQ settings in Traktor set to something else besides Xone?? Can't really explain it except that they seem to be a lot louder and overpowering when the eq is only half way up. I love using 4 band eq's though (hence the reason for the xone92)

I'll check out the manual for the recording audio. Thanks!!
Update:
So I checked out the manual and it says this about the output:

"RECORD output. RCA phono. This provides a music only output not affected by the main mix fader. Connect to a stereo recorder such as MD, DAT or cassette to record the show. Use CABLE with or without adapters, or a custom cable, depending on the recorder connector type."

I'm just using the standard RCA cables that came with the A10

[mostapha]

That really should work.

I'm also confused about this:

Should I have the EQ settings in Traktor set to something else besides Xone?? Can't really explain it except that they seem to be a lot louder and overpowering when the eq is only half way up.

Doesn't make any sense to me.

Can you post a picture of your mixer that shows what you mean, preferably showing the level meters and EQ knobs....basically just the whole face of it.

[kooper1980]

If you are mixing externally I'm pretty sure it makes no difference what setting you use for the internal EQ. setting Traktor EQ to Xone only matters if you mix internally as with your s4 set up.

[mostapha]

No, the traktor EQs are still active no matter what you do...you can hide them, you can mix externally...it doesn't make a difference.

And they still color the sound even with all the knobs set to unity.

It's probably my biggest pet peeve about Traktor.

[Nicky H]

No, the traktor EQs are still active no matter what you do...you can hide them, you can mix externally...it doesn't make a difference.

And they still color the sound even with all the knobs set to unity.

It's probably my biggest pet peeve about Traktor.

I didn't know that!
That's insane, why the heck would NI do that? (I don't doubt what you're saying btw mostapha)

[kooper1980]

Same here. Thats 100% true?? If it is its insane! I just assumed that the mixer section within Traktor was deactivated if external mixing was chosen.

[minuseven]

That really should work.

I'm also confused about this:



Doesn't make any sense to me.

Can you post a picture of your mixer that shows what you mean, preferably showing the level meters and EQ knobs....basically just the whole face of it.

Here is a picture of the mixer. Besides the "Lo" being all the way up, I still get the same results when it records.