Have used Audacity for years with my Audio Technica (AT) for converting LPs to iMusic. Never had this problem before. It also occurs for Line-in audio, so it isn’t an AT problem. Please help!
I assume that turntable has USB?
Make sure to directly select the USB device (or line-in) as your Make sure you’ve selected the correct Recording Device. (Don’t select anything that says “loopback”, “stereo mix” or “What-U-Hear”.)
Yes, my AT connects to the iMac with a USB, but the same occurs with a Griffin mini-plug to USB converter for cassette tapes. Both worked fine for years until now. Attached is a short sample.
I don’t know… And I didn’t read MacOS… I’m a Windows guy…
Does the turntable sound OK plugged-into your stereo? I don’t actually think the turntable is the problem, but “you never know what the problem is until it’s fixed.”
Can’t be the AT turntable, because the same problem occurs with a separate line-in source. Also, nothing in the menu for Loopback nor Stereo-mix has been checked, and I couldn’t find What-U-Hear.
If you have a “Line-in”, your Mac must be rather old. I have not seen a recent Mac model with a line-in connector. There were Mac models where you could switch the connector between inpunt and output.
Some versions of macOS had problems with sould via USB when using a Griffin iMic device (also very old), but macOS 15 (Sequoia) seems to work again with it.
So I think you should tell us a bit more:
what Mac model (see “about this Mac” in the menu - where in my case it says “Mac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)”)?
what operating system version is running on the Mac?
what conversion device between turntable and Mac (if any)?
are you going from line-out of your stereo amplifier to the Mac?
or has your turntable a USB output for recording?
…?
Yeah, sorry… I don’t THINK the Mac has any of those… On Windows those are settings to record whatever is coming OUT of the soundcard and with certain settings you can get an internal feedback loop that creates echo and distortion.
You are right. It says “Mac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)”. It was purchased in January 2016. OS = Version 12.7.6
OS still gets updates, but the version is the last before Ventura, which is not compatible with this iMac.
Not sure what a “conversion device” is, so I likely don’t use it.
My stereo amp is in a differs room. My line-in is just for cassettes, iPhone, etc.
My AT, with Audacity included, was purchased two months after the iMac, which has been connected with a USB from the beginning.
OBTW: my audio distortion still occurred with the most recent Audacity update. However, I still use Version 3.3.3, because “Export selected audio” doesn’t appear to be available in subsequent versions. ( I use that to select individual cuts from the fully recorded LP.)
I’d be surprised it the current version fixes your problem but on the Export page there are options-
Export Range:
Entire Project
Multiple Files
Current Selection
I’ll try the latest version one more time, and then follow the Export routine that you just cited. Maybe it was the latest iMac OS update that is causing the problem.
Have been looking into a new iMac recently. Just found out this morning that TurboTax 2024 requires the Ventura OS or later. So it looks like I have no choice now.
Thanks for your help. But if you find a "miracle cure’, please let me know. Signing off.
I upgraded to Windows 7 for the same reason several years ago!
But it was closer to “tax time” and I didn’t want to upgrade my OS and work on my taxes at the same time so I quickly picked-up a cheap $300 laptop. Later, I regretted not getting a better laptop with HDMI. Now, I have two laptops, both with HDMI and 4TB SSDs with LOTS of audio/video files.
Just ran Audacity 3.6.4, but the distorted sound persisted. I did find your multiple files menu, but will wait to execute it until later. Thank you!
So we have the same computer and the same macOS version. You can install a higher macOS version on such a computer using “Open Core Legacy Patcher” - but I wouldn’t recommend it, and it wouldn’t solve your problems…
It is in most cases called “external soundcard” and converts sound coming from the Line-out of your stereo system into USB which can be used by a computer. A turntable has no Line-out. You’d need a phono pre-amplifier to get reasonable sound (most amplifiers have this built-in when they have “phono”-connectors). Some turntables may have a USB-out which you can connect directly to your computer.
There is no Line-in on your computer.
Again: how exactly is the turntable connected to the computer? What kind of cable?
This very much sounds like you do not have a phono pre-amp, or you have deactivated it. It is very likely not an Audacity problem.
You’re probably doing the splitting of the pieces wrong. Set labels at the start of every song, then select “Export” and in the dialog select export multiple files based on labels.
I won’t help if the computer doesn’t have line-in but all USB turntables have a built-in preamp (for the ADC) and almost always line-outputs. Most AT USB turntables have a switch on the back or bottom to switch the RCA connections between a direct phono connection and line-ouit.
Open QuickTime Player. Your version should have the capability to record audio. File > New Audio Recording. Record a short segment and play it back. If it sounds bad the problem is with the turntable. If it sounds good we’ll have to track down what’s wrong with your Audacity settings.
Have a look at this tutorial for a quick way to split a recording of an album into separate tracks.
PS: I may be the only one here who would recognize that sample as the song “Today” from Surrealistic Pillow.