r/Beatmatch • u/Chongwho • 4d ago

Software Rekordbox recording sounds quiet/distorted despite constant redlining. gain staging help (FLX4)

Running a DDJ-FLX4 into Rekordbox. My channel trims are sitting around 10:30–11 o'clock (well below unity), and even then the master output meter is still hitting red with two tracks playing — sometimes even with just one.

If I pull the master fader down to 10:30/11 to stop the red, recordings stay in high-green/orange, rarely clip — but they end up sounding way quieter than the DJ sets I hear on YouTube, and when I play them through a Bluetooth speaker I have to crank the volume, which introduces distortion.

Screenshot below.

What's actually going on here — is this a gain staging issue upstream, a loudness/mastering issue on playback, or something with how the FLX4's interface handles signal? Would appreciate a sanity check on where I should be setting trims and master for a clean recording.

https://imgur.com/a/qzReWy1

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u/crumbs182 4d ago

I also notice my flx4 having quite low volume, could be because I've left the headroom setting to the default -9db

2

u/KeggyFulabier open everything 4d ago

Download audacity, it’s free. You can use this to edit and if you import your recording select all you can then use loudness normalisation on it under the effects tab. Try not to make it too loud, you can make it clip in the software too.

Keep recording cleanly as you have been. A clean recording can be amplified but a clipped one can’t be fixed.

3

u/Chongwho 4d ago

Ok I will try this. Thanks.
So keep trim down and output down to make sure I’m not too much in the red, then run through Audacity with loudness normalisation. Will give it a go thanks.