very low intensity recording from line-in

[rich110]

I tried to digitize vinyl records and I use the following just as a tried out.

XP 1400+
on board sound card
512M ram
win2000
music match jukebox Plus 8.0
an 10 year old DD turntable
(no HIFI system )

I connect the RCA plugs from the turntable to the line-in of my sound card (thru a RCA-mini jack converter). Start MM, set everything I am suppose to (hopefully leave out nothing), lower the cartidage of the turntable and don't hear a sound from my PC speakers!!! I press the REC button in MM anyway and record for about 1 min. Stop recording and tried to playback the file that I created. Of course, you all know the result--nothing can be heard.

Next I hook up the external speaker port of my notebook with the line-in of my sound card(this time jack to jack). I play a music cd on the notebook and record with MM on my PC. This time I got something. The intensity of the wav file recorded was so low that I have to stick my ears to the PC speakers before I can hear it. When I play my recorded wav file with winamp, the bars (identifying the intensity) did not even show up. Where am I suppose to adjust the recording volume of such ?? Can any indication be shown when I am recording that I am picking up a signal at all? If I use a better sound card or a HIFI (for the turntable), would the low intensity problem be any better? (But mini HIFI do not have a rec-out these days!!!).


In the first setup, I hope is just because the signal is too weak or have the cartridage gone trashed? (I don't have a HIFI system to make sure for the time being) I hope cartridage don't go wrong when left unattended.


Another thing I have done :
I tried to seperate my PC speaker further apart so I buy myself some longer wires and mini jack to 'redo' my speakers. When I plug the mini jack (that I purchase from audio shop) into the line-out (aka speakers) of my sound card, I found that they don't fit perfectly. Sometimes I have to pull out the jack a little bit before the speakers could work (before it wasn't like that). If it have been a wrong size jack, it could not be 'plug in' at all, but now it is just a 'not fit'. Does anybody has any idea? Could this be a mm/inches standard problem? This also happens to my other jack extension and the RCA-jack converter too.


Any input will be much appreciated. Tks in advance

 

[Newposter]

The signal off your turntable is of too low an amplitude to use line-in. This all depends on whether you have a ceramic or magnetic cartridge; I forget which one is the lower signal. That's why it uses the stereo receiver to amplify it when you play the album. Run it to Microphone in and it will most likely be so loud you'll have distortion, and have to turn down the recording volume in your capture software. I only have Mic In on my laptop, so I built a box with dual RCA in and out, and cut the signal in half with 22K ohm resistors.

Newposter
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."

 

[Newposter]

P.S. Make sure you connect the ground wire of your turntable (which normally runs to the stereo receiver) to a ground connection of the laptop, such as the connector shell for firewire, parallel or serial port. Otherwise, you'll get tremendous 60 Hz AC hum from the turntable motor coming through in your recording.

Newposter
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."

 

[ttterk]

You probably need a turntable cartridge amplifier; I sold a bunch of them when I worked at Radio Shack, just so people could input direct to PC line in. Go to

http://www.radioshack.com/

and input product number 970-1018 into the search box at the top of the screen. It's gone up $5 since I sold 'em, but it still works.

 

[rich110]

Tks guys,

I just find out why I got a low intensity recording. Very basic mistake : I did not turn the recording volume high enough. So stupid.

I connect the turntable out directly to the line-in of the sound card. I got reasonable loud intensity now. Next question : I would like to record the whole album (or at least one side of it) as one file and tried to cut it into seperate files for the tracks. Also I would like to have 2 seconds of blank in front of and after each song. Can MM provide this function or do I need COOL EDIT or AUDIO FORGE

 

[Newposter]

I've been using Audio Forge for a year now on my Sony laptop, and last night it just came up with a popup box telling me to buy the mp3 plug-in to continue. The damn thing is a demo, although none of my literature told me so.

Roxio probably lets you edit and chop.

Newposter
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."

 

[ttterk]

Because I really can't justify the cost of Cool Edit, I got LP Ripper (

http://www.cfbsoftware.com/default.htm)

and it works fine to split that large file into tracks.

 

[adkmom]

Hi Rich-

I just did the same as you're attempting- lucky you, will get the info that took me weeks to figure out! LOL! Ain't the 'net wonderful?

To get the best sound using line in, attach the RCA plugs to your AUX or CD out- not the turntable. If you're recording stereo- be sure you have the RCA-stereo 1/8" plug (has two indented lines aroung the plug - one denotes mono only).

Go into your recording properties & mute your MIC during the recording- hiss & other anomolies are taken in if this is not muted- whether or not a mic is attached.

Yes, you can record the entire album & then split the tracks, add specific silences, etc.... in fact, you can do lots more than that if you want to experiment with these two, very excellent freeware programs:

To do the recording & track splitting/silences:

Audacity

To prepare the one, long .wav file to be recorded as individual tracks:

WaveRepair (use it to create a cue sheet which can then be read & burned).

Works like a charm! Using Audacity, I was able to zoom in & remove some large snaps on a few spots, too. Both programs have "cleanup" capabilities- take your pick.

I think it's just what the doctor ordered--- ENOY!

Mom

 

[rich110]

adkmom,

Tks for the mic muting tip. I would have never figure it out. A couple of words can save hrs. of trial & error. I am still having this stupid 1/8" or 3.5mm jack problem (if that is the cause). I had an extension (I brought from AV stores) from the speaker port of the sound card. The other end of the ext. is hanging in front of my mini tower so that I can switch between speakers (during the day) and headphones (at night or 'private' times) I sometimes find the device not working (/w no sound at all) and I would tried to pull out the male jack of the ext. that goes into the sound card just a little bit out so that it did not go all the way into the sound card and the sound comes out of the speakers or headphones. This part is OK although troublesome. But if this happens at the line-in, it would be much more difficult to notice and adjust . Does anybody have any idea what's going on. Is this really a 1/8" - 3.5mm problem ? (1/8" # 3.5mm to be exact). What would be that on the sound card? 1/8" or 3.5mm ? Where am I suppose to get the exact match jacks ?

 

[adkmom]

Hi Rich-

I've had troubles in the past with the correct "seating" of these small plugs- 1/8" or otherwise. This applies, in my case, to headsets, phone headsets, headset/mics, - you name it! Gahhh! In fact, on the one set I use to extend my headset (to plug into my desktop speaker plug), I actually had to use a razor blade to remove some of the rubber around the adapter plug so that it would push all the way in. It sounds similar to what you describe: the plug isn't in all the way & so is "loose" in the socket.

Another idea is to go to Radio Shack & try another extension.

Write back if there's any other probs,

Mom

 

[rich110]

Hi adkmom,

I hope you are not talking about another 'trial & error' method to fix this. It seems to me that the problem is not an 'individual one'. They could be using two standard : mm & " as I said before. It would be pointless to try another mm plug into a " socket, they would not fit. I had been thinking of tearing off my sound card and bring it to the AV store to try for a perfect fit but : 1. Nowadays you would have to take off the MB instead of sound card and 2. You cannot detect the unfitness with your sense of touch, you would have to use your sense of hearing ie. bring the whole damn computer to the store (that's kind of crazy joke). So I think the only way would be to find out what standards they are using before we could figure out what is going on.

This kind of double standard could really kill you. It happen to my drill and trimmer(for carpenter work) too.

 

[adkmom]

Well...

...I'm not sure about the 1/8 vs. 3.5mm thing, to tell you the truth.

I do know, however, that PC ownership & learning go hand-in-hand with trial & error. ;^)

Next step would be to either find a manual of your soundcard to see if it lists the size of the cards inputs-

Or contact the cardmaker's site for help?

Mom