No waveform when trying to record LP

[nibsterguy]

I'm trying to record an LP from my old Yamaha YP-D6 turntable through a Presonus Inspire 1394 interface onto my Intel Mac Book Pro, OS 10.4.11 via a FireWire connection. Problem: I can't get a waveform when I press the "Record" button in Audacity. Just the curser moves forward.

Both my input and output settings in the Device Toolbar read "Core Audio: Inspire1394 (1908)." In the Preferences > Audio I/O screen, the drop-down menus for Recording and Playback Devices show this as well. In the Quality screen the Default Sample Rate is 44100 Hz, and Default Sample Format is 24-bit. In the Interface screen a range of -96 dB is selected.

In my Mac Audio MIDI Setup/Audio Devices, all default System Settings in the dropdown menus are "Inspire1394 (1908)." Same thing for the "Properties For" dd menu.

Can somebody help? Thanks,
-Rob

[steve]

Are you getting any indication on the record meter in Audacity when you try to record? If so, what level?

Have you switched the RCA phonos on the Presonus from line level to RIAA phono?

[nibsterguy]

I'm getting 2 bars each of light and dark red jumping around at what looks to be roughly the -60 mark (hidden by the microphone icon and drop-down arrow). I don't know what to do to change it.

But when I lift the needle from the LP and press Record, the recording meters still show red bars jumping around as if something were actually being recorded.

The RCAs phono plugs have only one port that fits: the "Input 3-4" port. The other RCA port is for output.

[steve]

I'm getting 2 bars each of light and dark red jumping around at what looks to be roughly the -60 mark

Audacity is recording something, but it is at such a low level it will appear to be silent.
According to a review I found for the Presonus Inspire 1394 interface, the phono input is switchable between "line level" and RIAA phono. If it is set to "Line Level", then trying to record from a turntable will result in an extremely quiet (virtually silent) recording. Check your Presonus manual for how to set it up for RIAA phono (turntable recording).

[nibsterguy]

Will do.

R

[nibsterguy]

Audacity is recording something, but it is at such a low level it will appear to be silent.
According to a review I found for the Presonus Inspire 1394 interface, the phono input is switchable between "line level" and RIAA phono. If it is set to "Line Level", then trying to record from a turntable will result in an extremely quiet (virtually silent) recording. Check your Presonus manual for how to set it up for RIAA phono (turntable recording).

Yeah, I've had the RIAA phono button switched on throughout. With it off, I can hear the record but softer. It still doesn't create a waveform.

When I press Audacity's Record button, I always get the red jumpy bars, but they persist even when I lift the needle off the record! I think they may be recording the rather loud hum coming through the ungrounded system, audible in headphones and speakers. I'm also getting two tracks of blue, rather thin waveforms when needle is either up or down when I select Waveform (dB) in the Audio Trac dropdown menu.

Still no recording, no real waveform.

[nibsterguy]

Is there anyone out there who has successfully recorded an LP to a Mac Book Pro (Intel), OS 10.4.11 with Audacity?

If so, what interface did you use? I'm wondering if there's a incompatibility between Audacity and my system or Audacity and my Presonus Inspire 1394 interface.

Also, what if I capture the LP in Garage Band, then insert that file into the Audacity window (by dropping it on the Audacity icon), then edit the file in Audacity? Garage Band at least works on my system.

-Rob

[JockMcC]

Well this MIGHT help, because I have been having a similar problem recording from the Line-Out on my stereo amp which is connected to Inputs 3 & 4 on my Inspire 1394. Tried various versions of Audacity and am now on 1.3.9 as it happens. I am using a brand new MacBook Pro running OS X 10.6. What seems to have been my issue is that the Inspire is actually a 4-channel input device and I had Audacity set to record 2-channels (Stereo) in the device preferences - so it was recording channels 1 and 2 on the Inspire 1394 which of course were not connected to anything. Now that I have set the Audacity input device preference to Inspire 1394 4 channels it records all 4 inputs on the Inspire INCLUDING channels 3 & 4 where my amplifier is connected.

Next challenge is to work-around this to record only channels 3 & 4. Any hints anyone?

Hope this fixes your problem.

[steve]

Now that I have set the Audacity input device preference to Inspire 1394 4 channels it records all 4 inputs on the Inspire INCLUDING channels 3 & 4 where my amplifier is connected.

Next challenge is to work-around this to record only channels 3 & 4. Any hints anyone?

That is quite usual with Audacity. Support for multichannel hardware is still a bit patchy and is usually limited to recording channels 1, 1and 2(stereo) or all channels.
Fortunately the workaround of deleting the unused channels is only a minor inconvenience (click on the [X] near the track name).