newbie-connecting to turntable

Special Interest Groups Recording Techniques
1

New to the forum and this software…
Have a questiona bout connecting my turntable to my laptop for recording.
bought a Audio Technica AT-PL120, has built in pre-amp and phono out switch. Also has red/white RCA phono leads out the back
which I currently have connected through my stereo, replacing my old junk Denon turntable.
Couldn’t be happier with the turn table by the way, solid piece of equiment

My problem is, my Toshiba laptop computer has only a mic in port and no line in port for a mini-jack. I am pretty sure from reading this forum and other places that i need to access my computer sound card with a line in port, by connecting my RCA plugs from the turntable to the line in jack on the computer. Since I don’t have a line in port, is there a way i can connect thru the USB port? Is there an adapter for RCA plugs to USB? Will my sound card automatically recognize the audio input or are there some setting s i have to access?

Any help will be appreciated…thanks

2

I think I must need something like this:
http://www.usb-ware.com/ads-instant-music.htm

Is that right?

3

Similar thing, different make:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_ucontrol_uca_202.htm

4

thanks for the reply…

I am not a computer person at all, but am learning !!!
after doing some more reading, I am thinking i need to get an external add-on sound card to replace
the crappy built-in card on the motherboard

Am looking at the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS, its a PCMCIA card, looks good…any other recommendations?
thanks

5

M-AUDIO DELTA AUDIOPHILE 2496
It’s a high quality and reasonably inexpensive sound card - but you will need to check compatibility both with your hardware, and with Audacity.

Note that Audacity does not support ASIO due to licensing restrictions.

6

I use the Edirol UA-1EX external soundcard with consistently good results. RCA input to the Edirol USB out to the computer.

WC

7

Uh, that looks like an internal sound card, I need something that works with a laptop

8

Oh sorry, I thought it was a different question, but since it’s for your laptop, I’ll go back to my first answer.

9

I connected my turntable AR 77 xb to a (yamaha cr-620) amplifier, then using output with a Y converter to audio wires to computer audio wire and sending in my Line-In.

Its always a good idea to tell your turntable model when asking such questions.
If its a modern model it probably got a usb connection integrated.

You definitly will need to buy a strreo cable (red-white) Y connector (stereo format plug for line in (blue sound input of laptop)),
also any signal from a turntable to a computer will need to be amplified, via something with an amplifier (sound systems, receivers, tuners, amplifier, even computer speakers but you’ll need a female-female adapter in your plugs).

Then u select Line In in record in Audacity.

Note that the computer wont control the turntable and its amplifier, unless its a modern USB turntable.

PS Look at some Turntable plugins to audacity to get some turntable effects. (the effects wont modify recording)

I heavily suggest you to carefully Noise sample and Noise remove, and Click remove on a Duplicate of your raw recording.
Usually I Export my raw recording with very hight quality before I Noise remove from carefully Noise Sampling.
Then I remove clics which is easiest thing to do.

You’ll have to set your amplifier volume so that you dont loose too much pitch (my sound card line in limit to +/-1 db and audacity limit to +/- 2 db, a good turn table give quality to +/-3 db and more).