Record Level At Zero, Album Still Clipping

[Monster64]

Hello,

I have a Pioneer Pl-990 turntable plugged into the line-in socket on the sound card of my desk top computer running Windows 8 (not 8.1).  I've recorded several albums with no problems, but tonight I've encountered a problem I haven't experienced.  The record volume is too loud and the album I'm trying to record is clipping like crazy.  I've reduced the record level down to zero, but it's still clipping.

Any suggestions?

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

I'm not sure, to be honest.  You haven't hooked it up to your Microphone input by mistake?  Check also in the Sound section of the Windows Control panel (the one you reach from the 'classic' desktop, not the one you get to from the 'modern' screen) and proceed as follows:

1.  Click on the 'Recording' tab

2. Select line-in.

3.  Click 'Properties'

4.  Browse through the various tabs to see if there's any kind of 'boost' you can turn off.

What happens if you play your turntable through your amp.  Are the levels OK?

[Monster64]

Paul,

Thank you for the rapid response.  I appreciate the great customer service.  So I opened the Microsoft Sound Control Panel, selected Recording Tab>Line In>Properties>Levels Tab...Oddly enough, the Line In volume is already at 0.

Also, the PL-990 TT has a built-in pre-amp, but I don't have an external amp I can plug into between the TT and computer.  Could be the problem, I guess.  What do you think?

 

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

Line-out from your turntable into line-in on your PC is correct.

We need to find out if it's the PC or turntable at fault here.  Do you have either:

(a) Something else you can play the turntable through

(b) An alternative line-level source (such as a tuner or CD player) you can feed into the PC?

Either of these would show which party is at fault.

One simple thing to check is that you haven't accidentally enable equalisation in VinylStudio's Check Level dialog.  You might need to expand the relevant section to see the checkbox.  You can also try unchecking 'Use WASAPI for Recording' in that dialog, although this is unlikely to be the cause.  And restarting your PC might be in order, if you haven't tried that.

[Monster64]

Hey, Paul,

Equalization was not checked, so I disconnected the PL-990 TT and connected my AT-LP 120 TT in the exact fashion, TT built-in preamp enabled plugged directly into the Line In socket on sound card.  I checked recording levels on the same album.  With the record level set to zero, the troublesome song peaked at 91, but never clipped.

Still kind of loud, but what do you think?

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Yes I agree, it's not normal.  It's definitely line-in?  And no 'microphone boost' anywhere in the Sound section of the Windows Control Panel?  (If there was one, it would be in the 'Custom' tab of the Properties window for line-in.)

You could look for a pair of RCA attenuators like these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=rca%20attenuators&clk_rvr_id=460788081813&adpos=1s5&MT_ID=11&crlp=10904091427_2113181&tt_encode=raw&geo_id=32061&keyword=rca+attenuators&crdt=0

That would solve the problem but it shouldn't be necessary.  I don't know what else to suggest.  Does the recording level slider affect the recording level at all?

[Monster64]

Yes, it's definitely line-in.  I disabled all microphone inputs just in case.  It didn't seem to have an affect.  Anyway, I appreciate your help.  Still a great program, but if you happen to think of something else, please let me know.  Likewise, if I figure something out, I'll let you know.

One more question, since purchasing the computer I'm using, an HP Envy 700, I've noticed that when VS is open, I can only hear music from the TT through my desktop speakers when I'm either recording or checking levels. Not so with my old computer.  Any ideas?  Is this normal?

Thanks a lot.

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Sounds like your old computer had a 'loopback' from line in to speakers out which operated independently of VinylStudio.  VinylStudio only monitors when recording or checking levels, so as not to tie up the input device.

[Monster64]

Right on.  Thanks for your help.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.