too high recording volume

[mariuj]

after my old laptop died, and my new came with windows 7, I had to upgrade from 1.2.6, which I used before for recording my vinyl records, to 1.3.12.

I'm using the external mic to record the vinyl, sound routed through the "tape out" on my amp (same setup as before).

I've gotten the correct setup in preferences for the external mic, so the quality of the input is good, but its just too "loud". Even with the mixer toolbar input slider on far left, the record level meter is maxed out almost all the time.

I've set the recording level in the windows controlpanel for the external mic to very low, but this have no effect on the recording level..... and this is where you guys hopefully come in handy.

Pretty sure I'm just stupid, I hope so. So lets have it, first the sollution, then banter.

[whomper]

tape out is HIGH level
mike in is LOW level
you need a DI box (and cable adapters) to fix the mismatch
else put your tape out into a line in connector
not all laptops may have that connector

[steve]

you need a DI box (and cable adapters) to fix the mismatch

If I Google for "DI box" I don't see anything that will work. What sort of DI box are you suggesting that mariuj could use?


@ mariuj,
Many laptops do not have a suitable input for connecting to a tape. If the connector on the laptop is specifically for a computer microphone (and many are) it will be too sensitive and probably only mono. I use a Behringer UCA-202 (an external USB sound card) for recording from tapes and it works very well (and was cheap).

[whomper]

<<A DI unit, DI box, Direct Box, Direct Input, Direct Injection or simply DI is an electronic device that connects a high impedance, line level, unbalanced output signal to a low impedance mic level balanced input, usually via XLR connector. ...>>

any of them should work if you have the right adapters/cable to match the in/out puts.

google is not my responsibility.
check some audio catalogs or
call an audio distributor and ask the sales guy to recommend one.

[steve]

I know what a DI box is and a "standard" DI box is unsuitable for connecting to the mic input of a laptop computer.
Just telling mariuj "you need a DI box (and cable adapters) to fix the mismatch" is not very helpful as DI boxes usually have balanced XLR outputs, whereas laptops usually have an unbalanced stereo mini-jack connector that is configured for mono use with 5v phantom power on the third pin, and "tape out" connections are usually a stereo pair.

check some audio catalogs or
call an audio distributor and ask the sales guy to recommend one.

mariuj was asking the question and asked here on the forum. A theoretical solution that cannot be easily achieved and also lacks the necessary information to make it achievable is not very useful.

A useful reply is one that informs the person of practical solutions to their problem, such as using a USB sound card that has Stereo Line inputs (such as: the Behringer UCA-202 or Edirol UA-1EX, both of which are known to work well with Audacity).

[mariuj]

cheers fellas, much apprechiated.

any reason why this worked fine on the old laptop but not the new one? difference in soundcard.

don't mind that much if its mono only, old setup was mono, allthough seems like the new one gives stereo.

btw am using a double-to-single jack from "tape out" to the mic line in on the laptop, not an actual external mic (of course i would say, but i guess text could be misleading)

[steve]

any reason why this worked fine on the old laptop but not the new one? difference in soundcard.

Yes, different sound card, but also different "drivers" (the software that the operating system uses to communicate with the hardware).

It may be possible to coax Windows to produce acceptable results with your sound card, though it's not likely to ever be brilliant because laptop on-board sound cards are usually not very good (particularly on newer machines). Windows 7 has some additional settings hidden away and you may have missed one of them (it is not very user friendly for people wanting to record). There are detailed descriptions here if you want to go through your settings and check: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Windows_7_OS

I can record stereo line in on my laptop, but the sound quality is not at all good - The Behringer UCA 202 was inexpensive and produces considerably better recordings.

[kozikowski]

<<<any reason why this worked fine on the old laptop but not the new one? difference in soundcard. >>>

Pretty much. In general the high level stereo signal from a mixer or CD player or cassette machine is much too hot or high volume to plug into a connection expecting a tiny, wispy, delicate mono microphone signal. Even worse, you can't turn it down because the microphone connection overloads before the electronics that change volume.

We reviewed the UCA202 here on the forum...

http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9477

...and it looks like it would do what you want. It should accept the "tape out" of your stereo and convert it to a stereo digital signal for Audacity.

It might even sound better than the old way you were doing it.

Koz

[whomper]

you can see a lot by looking

first page on google

Radial J33 Phono Preamp and Turntable DI Box
Stereo RCA inputs. Stereo RCA, 1/4 in. TRS and 3.5mm outputs.

The Radial J33 is a... direct box that offers a choice of balanced mic-level and -10dB consumer line-level outputs. This allows ... to be connected directly to a ...or mic preamplifier.

I stand by my answer. It WAS useful.

and there were a bunch more with 1/4' in/out from $30
eg
Live Wire Solutions SPDI Passive Direct Box with Attenuation Pad
The SPDI passive direct box from Live Wire Solutions features a 1/4" high impedance instrument input and output plus balanced and floating...

and
Samson S•Direct Samson S•Direct
Direct Box with Phantom Power and Ground Lift Switch The S-direct plus gives you all the same features as the original S-direct, but in stereo. It's like having two direct boxes in one, perfect for keyboard players, or any instrument with multiple outputs. It features 1/4" inputs and outputs,

... telling mariuj "you need a DI box (and cable adapters) to fix the mismatch" is not very helpful as DI boxes usually have balanced XLR outputs,...
...

A useful reply is one that informs the person of practical solutions to their problem, such as using a USB sound card that has Stereo Line inputs (such as: the Behringer UCA-202 or Edirol UA-1EX, both of which are known to work well with Audacity).

you like the sound card solution
and have a burr in your saddle about me personally

my solution was practical and helpful

[steve]

you need a DI box (and cable adapters) to fix the mismatch

You are absolutely right whomper, that could be a solution, but there still remains the problem that all of the DI boxes mentioned so far only have microphone level outputs on their balanced XLR connectors. The other connectors (jack/RCA) are "Link" connectors at the same signal level as the input. Also, it does not address the problem that mariuj's new laptop may only have a mono input and that many laptop PCs have poor quality sound cards.