I have been using my windows 7 laptop (hp) with heaps of free space to successfully record music from my old records for some time now, using a usb turntable. Now when I select stereo, as soon as I start recording a second stereo window appears below the first and a loud oscillating sound can be heard and seen in that second window. There does not appear to be any recording taking place other than that noise. I have tried returning to earlier settings but with the same results. Could it be that I have inadvertantly changed the settings somehow or is it due to a glitch in the program?
Check what input you are recording from in Device Toolbar. Choose USB Audio Codec or similar. If you are recording from stereo mix (computer playback) or the internal microphone it may cause this problem.
Gale
Thanks Gale, I thought I had Audacity 2.x but apparently not, so wasn’t able to follow your instructions to the letter. However your information was quite helpful. I’m certain my problem lay in the fact I had disconnected the USB while Audacity was still open as I noted in the link you referred to; i.e. (If you attach or disconnect an external device while Audacity is open, use Transport > Rescan Audio Devices to update the device lists before playing or recording) - I was able to do that through preferences in the edit section… Now my only problem is the recording distorting because of the high input levels. My recording levels are at their lowest possible setting. I may need to get a different stylus. Thanks again Tom
I suggest you check your version at Help > About Audacity.
If you don’t have the latest 2.0.2, please download it here:
http://audacityteam.org/download/windows .
You can also try turning down the input levels of the USB Audio Codec in the Windows Control Panel, or some turntables have a gain slider hidden under the bottom of the chassis.
If your turntable has a ceramic cartridge (common on less expensive turntables) these normally produce a higher output (and lower quality) than magnetic cartridges.
Gale
I downloaded 2.2. and its made a heap of difference. The levels from the turntable were still high but the new program handled it ok without any apparent distortion. Unfortunately my turntable doesn’t have a gains slider but I was able to adjust the USB input from the Windows Control Panel. It was already down to setting 2 but setting 1 seems to be fine. Once again thanks for your help. Tom
OK.
Just to clarify, the gain control some turntables have is usually a knob rather than a slider, though I have seen sliders too.
Gale