Recording Vinyl from Audio Technica LP-120

Audacity 3 Help Forum macOS
1

Hello! My spouse and I have been trying to make this work for days and we cannot seem to figure out where we are going wrong. Hopefully someone can help.

I have an Audio Technica LP-120 turntable that connects to a Sony preamp and am using a 2015 Macbook with the latest Audacity (3.0.5?). I have plugged the USB cord into the turntable and my computer, ensured that USB Audio Codec is the input and built-in speakers are the output, and ensured that my settings are correct and the device is listed as an input device under sound settings.

I have tried every single setting, including double checking the Audio Midi settings, and they all appear to be correct as far as the step by step that Audacity offers and that YouTubers have demonstrated. I have restarted my computer, unplugged and replugged the USB cord, and tried both USB ports on the computer.

However, when I attempt to record using the turntable, nothing at all comes up. When I first hit record, I see a flash of green in the monitor, and then nothing. The sound plays through the speakers connected to the preamp, and the preamp is set to Phono. I tried using every setting on that as well and no dice.

I don’t care if I feel dumb, I just want to record a vinyl that a friend cannot find digitized and I would really appreciate some help!

2

What version of macOS are you running?

Let’s make sure that sound is getting into your Macbook.

Go to Apple (menu) > System Preferences > Sound > Input.
Click on “USB Audio CODEC”.
Pay a record.
Does the input level meter in the system preferences window bounce?

– Bill

3

I’m a Windows guy so I can’t help with the details…

The sound plays through the speakers connected to the preamp, and the preamp is set to Phono. I tried using every setting on that as well and no dice.

If you’re using the USB to the computer the preamp isn’t involved (unless you’re taking about the preamp built-into the turntable which is fed internally to the USB via the analog-to-digital converter).

But if you’re getting analog sound of the preamp that proves 90% of the turntable is working!

BTW - Once you get this working… The LP-120 has a reputation of low (digital) output, but digital levels aren’t critical and you can run the Amplify or Normalize effect after recording to bring-up the levels. It also has a reputation of being a good turntable and a good value. If I was in the market for a new turntable that one would be at the top of my list…