same prob. with Nero Soundtrax and Audacity.

[billwatr]

I have the same problem with both Nero Soundtrax and Audacity.
....Winxp 1.21 GHz. 240 MB RAM....
I'm trying to record songs from tape deck as wav. files.
Monitoring the sound while recording, it sounds great, but on playback the music sort of warbles and breaks up in places, as if the tape is crinkled or something....this is not the case.
I'm using a Teac 32-2B 2 track mastering deck....deck and tapes are in prime working order. My cassette deck does it too.
I'm not sure what to adjust or how????
Appreciate any help, Thanks, Bill

 

[Dogman]

Sounds like the playback speed is slightly different in the record speed. Is the speed adjustable on the mastering deck?

Also, maybe the tape itself is "sticking" a bit. Try rewinding it all the way, and maybe tapping it lightly with your hand. I had some old cassettes I was putting on the computer, and they did this, but it was the tape. I think it degraded over time, or got dirty.
Hope this helps, and if not, sorry, and good luck.
Ed

 

[billwatr]

The tape decks are fine.
If the signal from source (tape deck) is good, but the recorded signal is not, then the answer has to be somewhere in my recording or playback preferences or settings, doesn't it???
Help, I don't know....

 

[Dogman]

You said "My cassette deck does it to". Does this mean it plays fine just listening, but warbles when you record to pc? If that's the case, how are you getting the sound to your pc? The soundcard, or a USB interface? The low RAM may be a limiting factor on the pc end. Can you shut down some other programs that are running in the background? If you hear lots of hard drive grinding while recording, and it seems to be tracking slow at that time, it's an issue with the pc interfacing with the signal coming in. Let us know the chain you are using to get the sound onto the pc, see if something comes to mind.
Ed

 

[billwatr]

Good Morning...I've got some stomach flu, so I'm late getting back to this.
I'm connecting my decks from " line out" to the soundcard.
I'll have to see if I can shut off any thing else while recording.
You figure my RAM amount is iffy, eh. I'll see if I've got some laying around somewhere. That's if I can stand up long enough, whaa.
Thanks, Bill

 

[Dogman]

The RAM and freeing up resources is a good place to start. I missinderstood the parts of the question pertaining to the tapes yesterday, as I had a problem with old tapes playing well on a good deck, but on another, they seemd to slow down a bit at times, as they just stuck, and the belt must have been slipping a bit. If your tapes are playing fine, then it has to be in the recording chain somewhere.

Do you hear a lot of hard drive noise when recording, or see it stop on the screen, or anything weird, that shows it not just tracking real smoothly when you are recording? Generally speaking, it shouldn't take too many resources to just record a stereo wav file, so hopefully if you just turn off some programs running in the background, ie. antivirus, instant messaging, that kind of stuff, and definitely put in more RAM if you can. Hope that helps.
Ed

 

[billwatr]

Hi Ed, I found another 128 of Ram and put it in.
Modem off, msmmg off, norton off, but still does the warble thing...arg
My settings are:
Default Sample Rate .......................... 44100Hz
Default Sample Format ....................... 16 bit
Real-time sample rate converter ...........High-quality Interpolation
High-quality sample rate converter.......... " " "
Real-time dither.....................................none
High-quality dither...................................none

Any more ideas????
Thanks, Bill

 

[Dogman]

Is it a built in soundcard, or does it plug into a slot in the motherboard? About all I can think of, is get the latest drivers for the soundcard. What kind is it? It just sounds like there is some latency between where the sound is coming in(the card) and where it's being picked up(the program). You should have enough RAM to do this, and the pc should be fast enough, so try getting the drivers if need be, try defragging the hard drive, and see what happens.
Sorry not much help, but when I put my tapes on pc, I had no trouble with the actual conversion, so this stumps me.
Ed

Something else to try, enable dither on playback. May make no difference, may make it worse, but may give you an idea if it's the soundcard.
Ed

 

[Guitar Jim]

I had exactly the same problem when using Audacity some time ago. I emailed Audacity and they said the computer needs to be DMA enabled and gave me the instructions on how to do it. From then on my recordings using Audacity were noise, breakup and pop free.
I eventually ditched the computer for recording and bought a digital recorder/CD burner and I'm totally satisified with it..... I HATE dealing with all the many and diverse computer issues when it comes to recording.

 

[Dogman]

Definitely check the DMA settings!! This is probably the best advice you have yet on your problem. Let us know what's up.
Ed

 

[Rokket]

I had exactly the same problem when using Audacity some time ago. I emailed Audacity and they said the computer needs to be DMA enabled and gave me the instructions on how to do it. From then on my recordings using Audacity were noise, breakup and pop free.
I eventually ditched the computer for recording and bought a digital recorder/CD burner and I'm totally satisified with it..... I HATE dealing with all the many and diverse computer issues when it comes to recording.

I was about to suggest he check DMA too. I don't like everything you have to do just to record a single track in any pc, so I never messed with it. I have recorded stuff off my old analog 4-track into my pc, without problems. I just used Roxio Easy CD Creator 6, and utilized the capture audio feature in the sound editor. I haven't tried using Vegas, but I am going to give it a shot to see what happens.

 

[billwatr]

Well, thanks all of you. I guess I need to figure out this DMA thing and try it.
Anyone know where I can get info on this?
Oh yeah, I updated my soundcard yesterday too.
Thanks again, Bill

 

[billwatr]

My system is set up for DMA. I went into device manager and it's already set for this.

 

[Dogman]

Sorry dude, this is stumping me. Do you have a friend nearby that will let you haul your equipment to his house and give it a try there? I would gladly try here, but looks like we live more than a few miles away. Sorry.
Ed

 

[billwatr]

Maybe I should consider that. If I can think of anyone who has a computer that's basics are running well. Very small town here. Most are into hockey, curling, ice fishing, skiing, beer, movies, drugs, etc..
A lot of people just use their comps for email, messenging, etc, and don't do much for maintenance.
I'm trying to update a couple more drivers via "DriverDetective". in hopes that it will help.
Thanks again for your help...I'll let you know if anything develops.
If you think of anything, let me know . please.
Bill

 

[Dogman]

If you run out of ideas, and really want this, you can send me the cassette, and I will try on my pc. Easier if you can do it locally though, but I will help anyway I can. I'm just out of ideas.
Ed

 

[Folkie]

Don't know if it will help, or if you may have done this first thing, but have you checked the physical connections throughout the chain? (I always work from the "First Rule of Electrical Objects: It works better if you plug it in.)
By this I mean that perhaps there is a connector or cable that's slightly loose, or some dust in the works of the computer somewhere. Possibly your soundcard itself is not sitting tightly and your fan or hard drive may be causing some vibration or making it wobble somehow.
I don't have the knowledge to offer anything else. Sorry.
Good luck!

 

[Dogman]

Bill, any luck yet? Just wondering if there is anything else to help.
Ed

 

[billwatr]

Totally dust free, tight cables, but I was wondering.
A local comp sales guy said my motherboard soundcard doesn't have what it takes.
Maybe that is the problem????? {Vinyl AC'97 Audio (WAVE)} I think this is it.
Could it be this simple?

Maybe I should get a real one???
I was taking it for granted that this one that came with this comp would be able to handle the job, but ??????

Any thoughts?
I'm checking out Soundblasters on their site and trying to narrow it down to what will work and of course, not cost too much. (chips are low).

I sure appreciate the input you guys are taking the time to give.
Thanks again, Bill

 

[Dogman]

You could look at a decent, inexpensive add on card, see if that helps, but I hate to teel you to spend money, and then not have it work. Most built in motherboard cards are way too cheap, but I won't say I know that is your problem. If you have the cash to spare, by a sound card that plugs into a slot, if not, see if a friends pc will work.

Let us know what happens, and see if there is anymore help.
Good luck.
Ed