Need HELP! Got technical difficulties with my turntables...

[sonicjunglist]

Okay before I explain what's going on I just want to say I am NOT an expert on this subject.. I only started DJing about 5 months ago and I only really know the basics... Im no sound engineer

first off here's my setup

~ Two KAM 00X750 Direct Drive vinyl Turntables
~ Numark M101 mixer
~ an old HITACHI HA-250 Stereo amplifier
~ Behinger UCA22 U-Control USB audio interface
~ One QTX Sound QT8-PA Speaker (so yes I am mono not stereo)
~ Sony MDR-ZX100 Headphones
~ and a Prosound YU-33 600 Microphone

Playing out in my bedroom is no problem. Even though my single passive speaker on a fat old amp the mix seems fine and well leveled.

HOWEVER.

When recording onto my laptop with my USB audio interface. whever it be with audacity or when im Livestreaming. My right turntable seems be be much lower in volume than my left one. This is on occasion however it seems as sometimes it plays absolutely fine. (I also record out of my amp. NOT my mixer as it seems I get much better audio quality from my amp) Anyway I noticed it the first time when someone in the chatbox on my livestream pointed out that he could barely hear one of the tunes being played on my right deck. The mix untill that point had been perfect but then it suddenly got alot quieter. Though my speaker however it remained at normal volume so as you could imagine I was very very confused. It stayed that way through the rest of my mix and when I played it back it was pretty evident I had a huge technical problem.
This continually happened in more livestreams.. starting off fine (for about half an hour) then the right deck suddenly dropping in volume. As I said before I ""could NOT"" hear this loss though my speaker. everything sounded fine to me in my room it was just acting up when put through my laptop

At first I thought it might have been my mixer so I switched it round with my mates one and I still had the same problem. I even tried simply just unplugging everything then re-wiring it all back up. It played fine for about 20 minutes then the volume loss came again.. Tried fiddling with the amp.. nothing there it seems... very frustrating...

I fear either my right deck is broken or my audio interface is acting up... But if it was my turntable then why would it sound absolutely fine and at full volume when played off my speaker?? and if it was my audio interface why is it only effecting that deck??? It could be the amp.. but then that still doesn't explain the playback on my speaker being normal.

So yeah... No idea what to do... Not even sure what im asking for really.. maybe I should just get a new set of turntables.. (that's what I get for buying a dodgy second hand pair off ebay lol)

im Done venting. and Thanks for reading

~ Jack

 

[Agent Smith]

hmmm sounds interesting...
Certainly a few things I would check.
1. Earths which go from your turntables to mixer, make sure these are well connected in the back of your mixer.
2.RCA's from your decks to your mixer (Red/White) which plug into the channels on your mixer, I actually had a dodgy RCA on my turntables that caused myself problems when recording, they could need replacing? I'd check the connections as well, could just be loose.
3. If all the above returns ok it may be to do with your usb soundcard. I fiddled about with the settings on my computer for my soundcard once & it changed the volume for 1 of my decks...just a thought, probably worth checking it out if its only causing issues when recording or livestreaming.

If I was to have a stab in the dark I reckon its one of the above causing the issue, a loose connection, or something to do with the internal controls of your soundcard. Obviously without actually seeing it firsthand I have zero idea, but certainly from previous experience this is what I would do.