Two things to remember here.

1) Make sure you have a tape recorder that works, and you know how to work and
2) Know your mixer.

There's possibly nothing less appealing than a badly made tape. Remember, know matter who you give the tape to, a friend, relative, Paul Oakenfold, it's going to reflect on you no matter what. If it's badly recorded, you've instantly lost points, you are officially unprofessional! I had a bust stereo for a while and I gave a few friends some tapes I made on it. They were polite enough about it, but one day I was at a friends house, and I noticed there was Sellotape over the tabs that I had taken out to prevent recording. When challenged, he said that he listened to about half of it, but coz it was so badly recorded, he figured he'd rather have a tape of Pete Tong instead. So I stress, make good recordings. It's pretty simple:

If your stereo has a record level indicator, then you're off to a great start. The meter should be laid out so that anything over a certain level (Normally when it hits +3dB's) makes the indicator flash red. This is where you want the maximum level to be. At a pinch, let it go into the +5dB mark - briefly. Anything more than this and you're risking some heavy distortion. So play the loudest thing you've gonna play, make sure it doesn't exceed +5dB and you should be all right. Also make sure it doesn't go too low either. (This is where it starts to get tricky.) Anything too low and you'll end up getting tape hiss - as unwanted as distortion - in tekky terms this is the SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO.Therefore, it may be an idea to keep the tape recorder next to your decks, so you can keep an eye on it and ride the levels a bit. Remember, as I said some makes of tapes can handle a lot more signal strength than others. Check the documentation on the wrapper to see how much it can take, and record at those levels.

If your mixer has a reference tone on it, use it. The process is as follows:-

Turn on the tone (It should be a 1Khz tone, that if you leave on long enough, will really get on your tits!!) and send it out of your mixer at 0dB (the meter on the mixer reads 0dB). Now set the tape recorder level, so that it receives the tone at a recording level of 0dB (the meter on the tape recorder reads 0dB). From now on, whatever level you send from your mixer, the tape recorder will receive identically.

If you have a stereo that you can not adjust the record input level, you're just going to have to trust it, experiment with how much it can take before it distorts, and pray it doesn't have a built in limiter, which can suddenly kill the level of your recording. Limiters can get really frustrating, so I recommend buying a separate tape recorder with a record level adjustment.

Of course, if you have access to either Mini Disc or a D.A.T. recorder, you're going to have a hand up. Remember that though these things will not produce tape hiss (so you don't have to worry about a low level recording) digital distortion is real ugly, so make sure it's not too high. (The personal MD recorder pictured is the one that I have. Pretty, isn't it!!)

The next thing you have to work on is making sure that there isn't a noticeable drop in volume when you mix between two tracks. To do this, you have to ensure that the strength of the signal is matched for the two tunes your mixing between. The best way to check this is by using the metering that most good mixers have on them.

There are a few forms that this takes, but I'll just mention a few so that you know what I'm on about. The Gemini PS-626 has a button on the LED display which when pressed indicates the strength of the signals on channel 1 and on channel 2. The PS-700 has a button which shows the strength of the cued signal next to the display of the strength of the Master signal. Most Numark mixers have three LED meter 'lines'. The first two are for the left and right channels of the master output, and the third is the strength of signal for the cued signal.

So, the best way to make sure the volumes of the two tunes will match is to use the gain control (which most good mixers have) to adjust the strength of the signals so that they both flash into the +3dB area of the meter (like where you want the master to be at). Now, by working out where the channel faders should be set to give an output of just under +3dB, you can match the signals by setting the gains to +3dB, then putting the fader to the point where you'll get +3dB coming out of the mixer (the master output). When both channels are set like this, you should get a constant +3dB coming out all the time (apart from when the two are playing together, in which case you'll have to adjust the channel faders or Eq's to keep the level at +3dB.

Of course, if you don't have any of these references or gain controls, watch the LED display like a hawk when going through the mix.


It's pretty strange setting up the mixer. Do you use Record out or Master out when recording your mixes? Record out. There is a small difference in the output voltage of the mixer for both of these outputs, even as small as 20mV. But it can affect the recording. Check out the specifications of your mixer, and of the stereo, and you'll see what one is best. Just remember that the level on Record out is controlled by the channel faders only, the master control will not affect the level going to the recorder. Very few record outputs are controlled by the master. My advice on this is:
As the output is controlled by the channel faders on record out, set the fader to its optimum position (normally marked 7 or 8 on a DJ mixer) in respect to the record level of your stereo. (Making sure there's no distortion or bad hiss). With your channel faders at that optimum set level, turn the master control up or down, so that the visual display reads a maximum of 5dB. Though this does not effect the output level to the record out, it will visually help you with the adjustment of the channel faders; anything over 5dB on the display, you now is going to start to distort, and anything well below that, you know there'll be tape hiss.

As for the content itself; your mum (?), girlfriend, friends, boss, Pete Tong, anyone could listen to it. I posted a tape to a friend in Holland, and it got 'lost' in the post. So, if it WAS stolen, someone is listening to my work. Therefore it has to be perfect in your eyes. Never EVER utter the words "That'll do". If you want to be a bedroom DJ for the rest of your life, then fine, it probably will do. But if you have even a pinch of ambition in you, bin it. Even if you miss out one beat, or something as picky as a problem with the levels, re-do it. To error is acceptable, to not get better, fix them and learn from them is unacceptable. Again, officially unprofessional.

If the tape is for submission to a competition, or a job, remember that you are up against tens of thousands of budding Dj's nowadays. Decks are now outselling guitars, EVERYONE wants to be a DJ. Now do you get how important it is that you are perfect? (On tape at least).

Work on a set that you can keep going for the length of tape you're using. (If you have auto reverse on your stereo, then you'll have to keep it up, if not, it means you can go to the toilet after 45mins.!!) Make sure everything goes together, that you know where to mix the tunes and that you know when to adjust audio levels and EQ controls. Basically know your mix inside and out.

Have all the records you're about to play, in order, sitting where you can get to them easily. Wiping off the dust from the records, and checking for any build up on the needles is also a good idea, you don't want to be half way through the mix and suddenly see a fluff ball tracking in front of your needles!

Go to the toilet. As DJ Lighty says, you're going to be tied up for an hour and a half in the mix, jumping up and down coz you need to pee is going to make your records jump (Yes, I know, I'm paraphrasing)

Press record, let the tape run for about 5 seconds, take a deep breath, and press start. An hour and a half later, you've either got gold dust or fertiliser sitting in the tape deck. If it's the latter, make a cup of coffee, compose yourself, and do it again, and again, and again - Until you get it right. Don't get too pissed off when you mess up, remember that all the big Dj's spend weeks in the studio perfecting their CD's and half of them use computers to fix their errors anyway! Why should you be any different in perfection, they're the professionals after all.

When you finish the masterpiece. Obviously you are going to listen to it to make sure it's Ok. Don't fall into the trap that I always do. I listen to my tapes as a DJ, and we're a picky lot. In addition to this, because you know where the mix occurs, you are prepared to analyse it with maximum criticism. I bet you that if you listened to the same tape a few months later, you'd like it a damn sight more than you do right after recording. Not everyone is going to be picking at the mixes for the full hour and a half. Be fair on yourself, just because you heard the mix happen, it doesn't make it bad (unless it was a bad mix). Just try to be objective.

Things to look out for though are any noticeable drops in signal strength through the mixes, any distortion on the tape, any galloping horse bass drum beats when beat-matching, any really noticeable pitch bends of the tune when you're trying to get it back in time, Hi-hat patterns clashing with each other, in fact, really noticeable timing errors are the biggest thing to worry about.

One last point, try to have something to eat before you start. An empty stomach can help to flare up your frustration - low blood sugar has broken a lot of records! I used to keep a bag of Jelly Babies next to my decks for such a moment. But then I noticed how much weight I'd put on...............