Vocals Lost on my recordings of my Vinyl LP's

[Hoople Head]

Windows 10
Audacity 2.2.2
Effects that are on in Audacity are Bass & Treble, Distortion, Phaser, Wah Wah and SC4 (these were on when I hooked it up)

Sony STR-V55 receiver
Technics SLQ3 Turntable (new needle)
Tascam CD-RW900 MK2 CD Rewritable Recorder
U-Phono UFO202 interface from Behringer
This is my system for recording my vinyl to my computer but I have noticed some issues on some albums I've downloaded where I can hardly hear the vocals and on another the guitar solo was barely there also, the vaocls were on 2 Beatle Albums (from a new Remastered Box Set) the other from an R&B remastered album and theguitar loss from one of my old Blues Albums so now I have to go thru a number of albums that I have already downloaded to see if there are deficencies there also.

I redid the Beatles album again but also recorded it on my cd recorder at the same time and there were no issues with the CD

I hope you can help me as I have close to300 LPs to download


Thanks Bruce

[kozikowski]

(these were on when I hooked it up)

Audacity does not apply effects, filters or corrections during recording. It always records "flat."

The legacy version of this error is to have the turntable cartridge wired wrong so that one of the two stereo sides (left or right) plays with the timeline blue waves upside down or out of phase. If you have that problem, any mono mix of the show might cancel the lead singer, lead instrument player or any performer in the stereo center such as drums and bass. Mono mix of a normal stereo show is supposed to sound like the show without the left and right separation. Instruments or voices are not supposed to vanish.

It's good to find that error before you start cranking through all your albums.

You can fix that in Audacity by splitting left and right, flipping over one of the two and then recombining them into one stereo show. That is, of course, extra work and a bookkeeping headache. And you're not supposed to need to do that.

Many Techniques turntables can accept either pre-wired or wire-it-yourself cartridges. I have personally gotten the little, thin slip-on wires wrong at the shell. Is that a possibility?

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Koz

[kozikowski]

I have close to300 LPs to download

I would probably stop using "upload" and "download." That makes it sound like you are transferring music from several time zones away through servers and an internet connection.

You are capturing or plain recording.

Koz

[DVDdoug]

You may have more than one problem...

"Vocal removal" is done by inverting the polarity (phase) of one channel and then mixing to mono.

How is your equipment connected? I assume the turntable is connected to your receiver? If so, I believe your receiver has a mono/stereo switch. Try switching your receiver to mono to see if that kills the vocals. If that happens, your cartridge is probably mis-wired. We can fix the inverted-channel problem in Audacity as a "last resort", but that's only half the problem.

Then right-click the Windows Speaker/volume icon, go to Recording devices, and find your USB interface (It probably won't say "Behringer" but it should say "USB...."). Click through the properties to make sure it's set for 2-channel stereo.

You are capturing or plain recording.

Or "digitizing".

I hope you can help me as I have close to300 LPs to download

That's a lot of work, so I hope you're not bothered by the "snap", "crackle", and "pop" of analog vinyl. ... If you want, we can help you with that after you get your other problems solved but you rarely end-up with "CD quality". And, that can be very time consuming depending how good of a job you want to do... I usually spend a full-weekend cleaning-up a digitized LP. (I only digitize vinyl when the music is not available digitally.)

[Hoople Head]

Thanks for the replies and info, I'll be trying a number of yours and my ideas out to find the source of the problem (I hope) and if and when I find out, I will let you know


Thanks again

[Hoople Head]

I have close to300 LPs to download

I would probably stop using "upload" and "download." That makes it sound like you are transferring music from several time zones away through servers and an internet connection.

You are capturing or plain recording.

Koz

understood

[Hoople Head]

You may have more than one problem...

"Vocal removal" is done by inverting the polarity (phase) of one channel and then mixing to mono.

How is your equipment connected? I assume the turntable is connected to your receiver? If so, I believe your receiver has a mono/stereo switch. Try switching your receiver to mono to see if that kills the vocals. If that happens, your cartridge is probably mis-wired. We can fix the inverted-channel problem in Audacity as a "last resort", but that's only half the problem.

Then right-click the Windows Speaker/volume icon, go to Recording devices, and find your USB interface (It probably won't say "Behringer" but it should say "USB...."). Click through the properties to make sure it's set for 2-channel stereo.

You are capturing or plain recording.

Or "digitizing".

I hope you can help me as I have close to300 LPs to download

That's a lot of work, so I hope you're not bothered by the "snap", "crackle", and "pop" of analog vinyl. ... If you want, we can help you with that after you get your other problems solved but you rarely end-up with "CD quality". And, that can be very time consuming depending how good of a job you want to do... I usually spend a full-weekend cleaning-up a digitized LP. (I only digitize vinyl when the music is not available digitally.)

well I'm retired now and finally got everything (60's 70's & 80's) out after 30 years, always took care of my vinyl so lots of it is still in good shape but I really enjoy doing it and your software is great to use, I know there are probably easier ways to get my music digitally (miss Old Napster) but this is my excuse to stay in my mancave and away from the wife's chores!

[Hoople Head]

Well Scoop-De-Dooo !
After trying & double checking all the suggestions submitted plus rebalancing turntable, checking needle setup , mono/stereo check, changing cables from tape 1 to tape 2, hooking up turntable directly to the Behringer U-Phono and a few other tests, the only thing I had left to do was purchase a new U-Phono UF0202 and just got it from Amazon put on an album where I new the vocals were on the RHS and Bingo "IT WORKS!!" TY All for giving me the drive to try and find the solution.


Being a novice on this Audacity I should have realized and mentioned to you before that all the wavelengths on Left & Right side were exactly the same (didn't take notice until I saw the difference from Left to Right Side, on the correct recording) So all I have left to do now is re-record the 40 LP's I've already done and continue on with the rest of my collection, should be done in about 10 years or so


Any tips I should deal with before I start over. Click removal do I highlight whole recording before I use it, I know how to remove (pops ? scratches) with the view & zoom to selection but any other tips are appreciated

THANKS Again

Bruce

[kozikowski]

OK, before you get all throw-uppy. You did actually find a bad UFO-202?
Don't throw it out.

Koz

[Hoople Head]

Yes the UFO was bad on RHS I believe, just did a few tests with new UFO with Led Zeppelin 2 and with R&B album where vocals were on RHS and they worked great could hear vocals and could see wave difference on left & Right hand sides
I am not throwing out old UFO waiting to hear from supplier I bought 1st one from because it is less than a year old


? on the click removal setting should I leave them at default setting


Thanks

Bruce