Where has my Recording Level Slider Gone?

[hesson11]

Hi Paul,
I'm just thinking about it now, but I certainly will report back if I get one.

Despite having downloaded VS months ago, I really haven't had a chance to do much recording yet, so I'm still just kind of getting my bearings. Before I make any decision, I want to spend more time evaluating the results I get from "going naked" (just running cables from my PS Audio GCPH phono preamp into my MacBook Pro's input). So far, those results have been very good, to my ears.

-Bob

[jromaz]

Okay, I think I am finally understanding this.  I also have the clipping problem in Vinyl Studio due to not being able to adjust the level.  So, if I purchase the Project Phono Box USB without level control, will Vinyl Studio be able to work with it?  I do not know what chip it has; the specs say only 16-bit Delta Sigma.  If that is the case, then I would need to get something like the Project Phono Box USB V, which has a level control.  Correct?

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

I'd get the one with the level control.  You can always ask the manufacturers about this of course.

[jromaz]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I am still a little uncertain why, with my analog setup, I cannot convert albums properly to Vinyl Studio for the Mac.  I have a Rega Planar 2 turntable, with a Benz Ace moving coil cartridge, connected to a Phonomena phono preamp, plugged into a Cambridge Audio integrated amp.  I am using the Behringer A/D converter (red model), to connect the phono preamp out to a Macbook Pro via USB.  As expected, I cannot control the gain in Vinyl Studio resulting in severe clipping.  The MAC sees the Behringer device as a USB Audio Device and allows no control over input level.  With all the equipment I currently own to play vinyl, I am reluctant to purchase another USB phono preamp.  However, if there is no alternative, would the NAD PP 3i Digital Phono Preamplifier work properly with my setup, even though it has no gain control?  Is there another, better alternative to the Behringer that would work or allow gain control? 

Thank you for your time.

Jim

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

To use your Behringer you will need to control the signal level on the input-side of the device as this is evidently too high.  You can purchase in-line attenuators but these are generally for pro-audio use and are priced accordingly.  They also offer a fixed, rather than variable, level of attenuation and may therefore still not offer a suitable recording level.

The NAD PP-3 would be a better bet, yes.  It is calibrated for the output level of most popular cartridges and rarely clips.  Another alternative, and a slightly cheaper one, would be the Griffin iMic.  This has a software level control and accepts a line level input and converts it to USB.  It doesn't work with Windows Vista though, so look out for that.

Finally, consider running a cable from line-out on your amp (or phono preamp) to line-in on your PC or Mac.  There's no rule that you have to go via USB and this usually gives excellent results at no cost.  You just need a cable like the one pictured here:

http://www.alpinesoft.co.uk/VinylStudio/connecting_up.aspx

[AvFan]

I have a Focusrite 2i4 with adjustable left and right channels and my recording slider is greyed out.  I can understand it being gone with a NAD PP3 or a Behringer but not when my ADC has level controls.  To deal with this I listen the much of an album to find the peak volume and adjust accordingly to avoid clipping.  If I understand the slider it will knock off those clipped parts so it would be very handy to catch those unexpected loud passages.  Having the slider would save me considerable time.  Thanks.

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

No, a slider would not help you (and nor can we provide one as there is no hardware support for it).  The controls on your ADC do an equivalent job.

[sliderhs]

I have been using Vinyl Studio for a number of years with the level slider without problems.  However, since the last update the slider has been disabled.  If the slider had been disabled when I did the Trial I would not have bought the product.  Why has the slider been disabled in the recent update?

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

Can you please send me a screenshot of VinylStudio's Check Level dialog.  I will then report back to you.

To take a screenshot:

1.  Click on the window you want to capture.

2.  Press ALT + Print Screen.

3.  In your email program, press Ctrl+V or select Paste from the Edit menu and then email it to: p DOT sanders AT alpinesoft DOT co DOT uk

Thanks.

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hello again,

Many thanks for the email and screenshot you sent me (which I have attached to this post).

The change we have made in VinylStudio 9 is to make WASAPI mode available for devices like yours.  The 'Use WASAPI' checkbox was not shown in VinylStudio 8 due to a programming error and, instead, it fell back to the old MMSystem drivers, which are inferior in most cases.  You can get the old behaviour by unchecking 'Use WASAPI for Recording'.

However, we made this change for a reason.

The slider is disabled because your M-Track has no recording level control, and the slider available to you when you uncheck 'Use WASAPI' does nothing useful.  Reducing the level there just operates in the digital domain and only serves to mask the clipping shown in the screenshot, which is happening inside the device itself (in the ADC, in fact).  If you click on 'Set Digital Gain to 1' (as recommended, see second screenshot), you will find that you get as much clipping as you do when using WASAPI, and that is the true picture.

So, you have two options:

• put up with the clipping (as you have been doing all along, although you did not know it)
• find a way to reduce the signal level being fed into the M-Track

What are you feeding it from?  Some kind of attenuator might be in order.

[sliderhs]

you're right, I have been getting distortion and clipping in the sound.  I have been trying to get rid of it by re-recording at lower levels.  To solve the problem I will be buying a Schiit Audio Jil ADC which has a gain control.

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

OK.  That's a wise move by the sound of it.

[Synthtopian]

Hi Everyone ,
  Im a newbie and got the Pro version. I read all of there info on why the level slide not working. I was wondering Has anyone tried using a UA Apollo Twin with RCA to TRS 1/4 for gain control?
Thank You