Recording from Spotify

Special Interest Groups Recording Techniques
1

I can record from Spotify with audacity but the quality is poor. Seems to be limited frquency response.
Is it possible to improve this :question:
I guess they don’t really want you to record so is it a restriction that they have introduced :question:
Don
Bristol UK

2

When recording sounds playing on your computer you need to set your sound system to record from “Stereo Mix” (if available on your computer). Many laptop computers will default to to recording from the in built microphone and that will produce very low quality. The Microphone input should be muted.
See here: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Recording_audio_playing_on_the_computer

3

Thanks for the response.
This on a desktop PC with Vista 64 and Audacity 1.3.8. Microphone not plugged in.
Seems complete lack of bass response.
tried varous options but nothing changes, no better no worse.
Recording via Windows is just the same.
I used a trial version of some different software and all was ok but that’s expired now.
Audacity seems fine in other aspects.
Don

4

You may be able to get round the issue by using a stereo audio cable to connect the line output of your sound card to the line input and record that way. This requires that you have a sound card that has both a line level input and a line level output. Almost all PCI sound cards have this though many “on-board” sound cards do not. When using Windows Vista I use this method with a Behringer UCA 202 USB sound card.

5

I tried this method when experimenting on my wife’s new laptop with Vista (Ultimate) with my Edirol UA-1EX USB soundcard. I was suprised to see that while the Vista machine recognized the USB card as an output device - it did not recognize it as an input device. So I was unable to record streaming audio this way… (Nor was “Stereo Mix” available as an input source - again scuppering any attempt at recording streaming audio).

Any thoughts?

WC

6

I presume that you’ve tried the usual thing of showing disabled devices in the Control Panel?
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Mixer_Toolbar_Issues#Using_the_Control_Panel

7

No I’d forgotten about that, thanks for reminding me Steve. It may be the weekend before she lets me have access to the Vuista laptop again …

WC