Audacity Forum

I'm trying to make recordings of my cassette tapes using a boom box connected to my computer's Line In jack. When I play the tape, it sounds great on the computer - until I actually launch Audacity and press the Record button. Then the sound goes muddy. Blue waveform looks about half the size it should, even though I've turned the input level all the way up. If I stop the recording but keep playing the tape, the tape still sounds bad - until I I hit the stop button on the boom box. The I hit the boom box play button again - presto! Good sound again.

It's like my boom box knows I'm trying to record something and refuses to play nice... >:(

So the problem is not with the quality of the tape, as far as I can tell, since it plays through OK when not recording. It's a commercial tape, not a homemade one.

In fact, if I start playing the tape, THEN launch Audacity and hit record, I get a good recording with a good waveform - but of course I miss the beginning of the song! So I could record all but the first song on the tape this way, but of course the best song is usually the first one!

Cable is going from the headphone jack of the boom box to the blue line in jack at the back of my computer.

Using Windows Vista with a RealTek sound card. I've checked as many setting preferences as I can find both in Audacity and in Windows, but I feel like I'm missing something.

One clue is that recordings used to work before I upgraded my drivers a couple of weeks ago. However, I had to check the "Play through when recording" box in Audacity to hear anything before the upgrade, and now I don't - sound plays through the line in jack and I have to UNcheck the play through box, or I get two different play-throughs with a slight echo. So I have play-through unchecked.

Please help - I've been Googling this topic like mad and can't seem to find anything similar! Not to mention I'm a middle-aged fossil with a rather large collection of cassettes!

If I stop the recording but keep playing the tape, the tape still sounds bad - until I I hit the stop button on the boom box. The I hit the boom box play button again - presto! Good sound again.

Seeming insanity like that could be caused by Windows trying to "help you."

Newer Windows machines have settings for auto level setting (and more) to assist in conferencing and Skype-type services.

Windows Enhanced Sound
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 79&start=0

The boombox doesn't care what happens in the outside world, but Windows might be trying to set levels.


Do you like recording from the internet? That can cause problems. Recording from "Mix-Out" instead of an actual, physical connection (like Line-In) can cause all sorts of feedback, echo, and level problems.

Do you use Skype? Skype can leave your machine in odd configurations.

Koz

Thanks, Koz - I agree; I think this might be something Windows is doing behind the scenes. I just can't seem to find it.

Regarding recording directly, I've made most of my attempts using the Line In as my recording input, but before I posted I had tried changing my recording input from Line In to Stereo Mix to see if that would fix my tape-recording problem, but it didn't work; same results with either recording input.

I don't use Skype.

I did do some voice recording a few days ago with a microphone in the computer's front microphone jack, but I honestly can't remember if I'd had my tape-recording problems prior to that or not. I think I did, but if not, could the microphone have caused the computer to set sound levels somewhere?

Sueprano

The Mic-In is designed for very low level audio so it very easily distorts. Oh, and it's mono.

You have a head scratcher. It can take 8 or more hours for the forum to drift past enough time zones, so somebody else may know something a bit later. I'm one of the Mac elves, so I'm way out of my depth.

If it's any consolation, in all of our services, conferencing, projection, transmission, production; the audio always gets screwed up.

Producer: Tell New York we're ready with the hot transmission from the Pentagon. It looks good.
Me: Anybody listen to his microphone?

Koz

Do you have an iPod or other music player? Can you plug that into the blue socket and see if that plays OK. If you set normal headphone playback, that should give you reasonable Line level.

It is remotely possible that the boombox is broken. I can generate other completely wacky ideas, but we're seriously getting into science fiction -- which we may need to do. After we shave Occam, there may not be much left.

Koz

My recording plays thru as I record a cassette but sounds terrible. On playback sounds ok.. my problem is that the programs takes these vacations...sometimes it works and sometime not...
how do I fix it...? thanks

Sorry I forgot, I use Audacity 1.2.6 on 64 bit Windows 7 pro. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling, no help. I've tried all sorts of things even rebooting machine. no help. thanks..

rpicucci wrote:I use Audacity 1.2.6 on 64 bit Windows 7 pro.

Wrong version. See here: http://audacityteam.org/download/

rpicucci wrote:On playback sounds ok.. my problem is that the programs takes these vacations...sometimes it works and sometime not...

You mean that record and playback fine on one day, but another day it sounds terrible? Or that you will be recording and part of it will sound fine, but then it will sound bad, then it will fix itself? What exactly do you mean?

I mean the app loads ok but it will not record nothing happens just the marker bar moves but no recording. If I change the I/O settings back and forth sometimes it will start working, once it does I can record cassesttes and save as MP3 no problems , when this app works its great but when it does not it is a big time waster. I got a lot of tapes to convert then even more LPs don't have time to waste. Thanks for any help. I know a bit about the OS and hardware I was in the biz for a dozen or so years, retired in 2004, I am totally new to any kind of sound or video software. Again thanks..OH and I am not the original poster I jumped in here with my problem. If that is poor form..please excuse....

Hey Steve, I am using the latest version I just downloaded it yesterday from the Audacity site.