When recording from vinyl I get a very low level of sound
Cant find how to boost this
Help please
Well first you’ll have to help us out a bit: computer and Windows version - USB Turntable or standard one (make and model no.) - pre-amp 
Oh and the exact version of Audacity will be useful …
See the pink panel at the top of the page
Audacity1.2.6 but have now updated to 2.0.3
Windows 10 on Acer laptop
Prolix USB turntable
Sorry Haven’t used you before so a bit naive
don’t know what pre-amp is
Will update make difference?
Charlie N
The latest version is 2.1.1 (2.0.3 is very old and no longer supported - 1.2.6 is ancient)
A pre-amp is a liitle amplifier that takes the tiny signal from your cartridge and boosts is to a line-level signal to feed to an amplifier. Most older amplifiers had a phono input which had a pre-amp stage before feeding the signal on to the main amplification - but don’t worry there will be a pre-amp in your Prolix USB turntable.
So next question is there a gain control (volune control) on you Prolix USB turntable? Sometimes thay are hidden underneat or at the back.
I tried searching for “Prolix USB turntable” on t’interweb but without any luck - have you got the name right?
WC
No volume control on turntable
Misread maker
Prolectrix
Are you selecting the correct USB input device in Device Toolbar ?
When you have done that, have you turned the input volume up in Mixer Toolbar?
Gale
When recording from vinyl I get a very low level of sound
Let’s see how low… Go to Effect → Amplify. Audacity has already scanned your file and the amplify effect will default to whatever gain is needed for maximized/normalized (0dB) peaks. Make a note of the default amplification. If it defaults to around +6dB (50%), that means your current peaks are -6dB and that’s OK. Just click OK and the volume will be maximized/normalized.
If Amplify defaults to +12dB or more, or if it just doesn’t sound right, there’s probably something wrong.
And, different records will have different volumes.
When there’s no analog volume/gain control it’s actually good to have a somewhat low recording level. Otherwise, some “loud” records might try to push the analog-to-digital converter over its 0dB maximum and you’ll get clipping (distortion).
It’s also normal for digitized vinyl to sound a little quieter than a CD or MP3 (even when they are both normalized). Two things contribute to this - Older records were often more dynamic than modern “loudness war” constantly-loud releases. And, the vinyl production/playback process makes dynamically-compressed vinyl “mathematically” more dynamic (without making them sound more dynamic).
Correct settings
Cant access Effect/Amplify as it is “greyed” out!
Meant to add
Volume level range on mike is only fro 0—1
Effects are not available while Audacity is in Play, Record or Pause mode. Click the “Stop” button to take it out of Play/Record mode, then try again.
OK I’ve stumbled into some area where low level playback stiil appears and the moniotoring level has changd from red to green
Don’t know how I did this but I did get into Effect etc and chaned from 1.94 to 19
You did say some old vinyl does play back at low level so I’ll try burning disc to check
One major feature I think I discovered is that the microphone seems to be ON and is picking up sounds from immediate vicinity eg coughs from me and passing traffic
Should it not be limited to the actual LP being recorded?
Again tried to find a way to do this but I am not proficient enough to discover the answer
As previously explained, you need to select the correct recording device in Audacity’s Device Toolbar.
- Host: MME is usually best to start out with.
- Recording Device: - Choose the turntable’s USB Audio CODEC. It may be called “Prolix USB Audio CODEC” or similar. We cannot tell you what it will be called exactly. If you do not see any such device in Audacity, use Transport > Rescan Audio Devices at the top of Audacity.
- Recording Channels: Choose mono or stereo as you wish. If you choose stereo, see the green box here Audacity Manual for how to make sure Windows has the turntable set to stereo recording.
- Playback Device: Choose your computer speakers. Do not choose the turntable USB Audio CODEC.
You should have a good read of this: Recording with USB turntables or USB cassette decks - Audacity Manual.
Gale
Thought I had already sent this but not appearing in page
I got amplify to alter to c19 but no apparent effect
I did notice however that the system is picking up extrernal sounds eg coughing and passing traffic?
Does this indicate the “mike” is not limited to internal transfer
I looked for a method to reser but couldn’t find anything
Did you read the answer you were given? Take your computer mouse and click on this link (in blue) https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/volume/40549/12 .
Gale
Thanks I missed last post Will try again Have been away for some time