Waveforms 'flatlining'

I am a complete newbie to Audacity
I am recording vinyl to computer
I’m using version 2.3.3
Windows 10 Pro
Using a turntable attached via usb to laptop
I’m having no trouble recording, splitting, exporting etc.
Everything fine

The problem is that when the music is recording the waveform goes no higher than about 0.3 and no lower than about -0.3.
Everything is clipped above or below those figures

Have I inadvertently put a restriction on?

Many thanks

Using a turntable attached via usb to laptop

Do you have a USB turntable or a turntable plugged into a USB interface?

Everything is clipped above or below those figures

Is it actually [u]clipped[/u] (distorted) or is it just low-level?

Hi there
Thanks for coming back

I’m using a USB turntable

This is screenshot of waveforms:
Waveforms.png

It does appear to be clipped but you might need to zoom-in to see the waveform detail.

If the sound quality is OK the levels are not a problem and you can simply use the Amplify effect after recording.

I’m using a USB turntable

That’s bad news because the clipping is probably happening inside the turntable. What turntable do you have?

If there is an unamplified analog output you might be able to use that with a phono preamp and the line input on a regular soundcard, or some other hardware. The amplified (line-level) analog output probably matches what you’re seeing digitally so you’d need to bypass the internal electronics.

Hi there
Once again, many thanks

It’s a PROlectrix turntable which came with Audacity supplied
I’ve used it many times with Roxio Creator with no problems.
After upgrading to Windows 10 I found that Roxio was incompatible so decided to try Audacity

Check in the Windows Sound settings and ensure the USB turntable is set to record 2 channel stereo.