Recording From Vinyl

[John_Jones]

Can somebody please advise

I am recording from Vinyl into Audacity via Kam USBH100 Mk II. (I do not think it is the soundcard/ Audio Capturer's Fault)

I start recording fine, then 8 times out of 10 half way through the recording it will just turn into mass distortion and i have to restart the recording. Some times I have to do this up to about 5 or 6 times until eventually it will go all the way through without distorting. (I have tried turning the recording levels down also and this does not effect it)

Can you please advise

[kozikowski]

The USB service on those turntables is terrible and the cause of pages and pages of complaints. Because you're on a Mac, you can invoke the analog solution and just keep right on with your work.

USB Turntable--Analog Solution
http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic ... 8840#p8840

The only other solution is to get your money back. Some times, in rare instances, you can change USB connections or reseat the one you have and the problem will go away. Most times, it hits you again on the second or third record. The analog solution should carry you until you run out of records.

Koz

[aad1845]

Not a teky so my solution to solving the vinly to cd was somewhat convoluted, frustrating and time consuming. I did not want to invest considerable bucks in hardware. I wanted to use my very old stero system. As turned out my receiver did not have RCA plugs for IO and my very very old turntable was hardwired to phono with RCA plugs for output. Lots of problems. After trying many different configurations and reading tons of stuff online it seemed the only solution was to purchase a turntable with USB hookup. The reviews of these turntables were not encouraging. One other solution came to mind and that was to purchase a preamp, around $20, a stero cable with RCA plugs on one end and a male 1/4" stero jack other end, about $12, a Y adaptor 1/8" male dual phono female from Radio Shack, under $10. This all goes together how? Phono to preamp, 1/4" male stero plug cable into preamp, the cable with RCA/Y conector/1/4" male stero plug to audio input on my MAC. I now have a system to play and record my records I have downloaded Audacity and being non teky having some problems finding how to get my recordings into ITunes. I need some clear and easy directions of where you put your recordings and how to get them into ITunes. So far all I have been able to do is to save them to the desktop, drop them into the ITunes library then add them to a play list. Still have alot of stuff that needs to have a home. Another problem is that when I burn a CD and play it has lots of distortion. I see that Audacity has lots of editing capabilities which I am clueless about and hey all I want to do is the LP to CD thing. Do I need to purchase other softwear to cleanup the distortion and other suface noise or can Audacity do this? Any help would be appreciated using non teky language if possible. Grandma

[waxcylinder]

Grandma,

I'd start out by having a read of some of the Audacity Wiki articles.

See http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php? ... uter_or_CD

and: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php? ... ate_tracks

also: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php? ... s_and_iPod

BTW using your old deck with a preamp is IMHO a much better solution than using a USB deck. I started out with a USB TT and soon junked it in favour of rescuing my old Technics deck from the attic and treating it to a home service and a new cartridge, plus purchasint an ART preamp. MUCH better results with that setup.

WC

[aad1845]

Waxcylinder, thanks for the links so that I can read up on Audacity. I am going to take a break for a day or two as I am having information overload. I struggle with the tech writing need KISS. Will be checking back to see if additional suggestions are posted. Need all the help I can get. Grandma

[kozikowski]

I'll do this out of order because it's more confusing that way.

I would change Audacity preferences a little. Audacity > Preferences > Audio I/O > Stereo (2).
Audacity > Preferences > Quality > 44100, 16-bit (not 32). Close the panels and restart Audacity. iTunes likes those settings a lot better.


Once you get a show in Audacity that you like -- after you apply all the tools and clean-up, etc, etc, Push the cursor to the beginning of each song and put a label there. Apple-B. The label doesn't have to say anything, there just has to be one there.

Then File > Export Multiple > to the desktop. Audacity will create a pile of music files, one per song. Drag-Select them all and File > Open With > iTunes.

[Fade out. Scene shifts to iTunes application]

File > Create New Playlist > Glenn Miller in London [enter]

Drag the music files from the iTunes Music Library (main window) to the Play List.

Select the playlist and push the songs around (or add some or delete some) until you get the order you like.

Burn Disk from the lower right. Put a blank disk in when iTunes tells you to, not before.

Eject the disk when it gets done burning and enjoy.


Music CDs do not carry song titles, so at least initially, don't bother typing them all in.


When you are capturing the turntable, the bouncing sound meter should never, ever go all the way up -- to the right. That will cause great distortion. Adjust the Audacity microphone symbol slider down until the sound gets lower.

Let us know where you get lost.

I usually get lost in Schenectady. The roads in that place are terrible and confusing.

Koz