VERY OT! (music recording question)

Guys, I know some of you are into re-recording LPs etc. I'm toying with the idea of digitising some of my Dad's old 33s onto CD for him - any hints, relevant sites you can recommend etc. All constructive replies gratefully recieved.

RobG

Reply to
RobG
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RobG wrote in news:Xns9732D35939D78rgrinbergspamspam@203.87.95.150:

Oops - contact me off-group if you prefer.

r_grinbergmackaynetau

TIA

RobG

Reply to
RobG

Hi Rob,

Most souncards will have a stereo mini-jack connector, and it's fairly easy to acquire a connecting cable with the mini-jack plug, and 2 phono sockets at the other end; this gets the sound into the PC. Once you've sorted the connections, you're half way there.

I'd recommend (having used it for many different audio edit jobs), "Magix Audio Cleaning Lab" software. This'll take off clicks, scratches and other extraneous noises with little effort. It's budget software and costs about GBP20 (say 6 beers ;) but works very well despite that.

It has an easy to use interface, with either auto or manual cleaning functions, together with a full audio editor if needed. Once you're satisfied with the startling clarity you've achieved, then the .wav files can be burnt to CD.

HTH Chek

Reply to
Chek

Chek wrote: .

However, these connections are for line level or mike level inputs, not phono cartridge outputs. Best bet is to run input into high fi amp having phono inputs, take line level output from amp and run into sound card.

Reply to
Don Stauffer

Free "clean up" software here:

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I have converted quite a few cassettes and LP's with the software that came with my soundblaster card and this program.

Reply to
M Stanley

Thanks for pointing that out Don. Yes, I had meant that the phonos should be connected to the amp outputs - although there are some fancy pre-amp units out there for the seriously afflicted too.

Reply to
Chek

Audacity is a great freeware program, but not something I'd recommend to a starter, in that the filters and plugins - while super in operation - aren't very intuitive to use. But nothing that's beyond the ken of a desperate man ;)

Reply to
Chek

yes, send them to me and i will do it. no charge for rms members.

Reply to
e

i emailed you. also send me a list of records in case i have or can get them. much is out there on cd and i have access.

Reply to
e

"Chek" wrote

Already sorted - we're an electronic family. More conectors, test leads, jumper cables, adapters, plugs and converters than you've ever seen. (c: And my mo-bo has really good on-board sound.

Do I need the 6 beers to access all the functions? (c;

Ahh so. Thanks for the advice.

RobG

Reply to
RobG

Don Stauffer wrote

Thanks Don - will do.

RobG

Reply to
RobG

"Chek" wrote

Dick Smith sell a turnrable/pre-amp setup that isn't too shabby, but I'll stick with my Denon, I think. RobG

Reply to
RobG

"Chek" wrote

I isn't desperate... yet. But I'm sure I'll be able to work it all out - I'm not very intuitive, either. I'll have a look at both recommended programs.

RobG

Reply to
RobG

snipped-for-privacy@some.domain (e) wrote

You ever listened to Richard Tauber?

RobG

Reply to
RobG

don't think so. nothing in the archives.

Reply to
e

email me for the beginners guide to digitizing vinyl. and other things....

Reply to
e

Here's a fantastic FREE program to use for such:

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What I like about Audacity (besides the fact that it's FREE) is that it is also a waveform editor, will do multi-track recording, can use VST plug-ins, supports multiple audio formats (I'd recommend using .AIFF for your rips te get the best quality), and is hosted cross/multi-platform.

You'll need a way to get the signal from the turntable into your computer - but if you have an audio in on your machine, you're most of the way there. Just hook your preamp or receiver headphone out to your computer's audio in and route the signal.

Reply to
Rufus

Rob:

there's an excellent video walkthrough of converting vinyl to digital on CNet. And it's pretty much on the ball.

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Play the videos in this order: Getting Started Making Connections Adjust Volume Begin Recording.

One minute of true CD-quality stereo audio takes about 10MBs of hard drive space. (that's 420MBs for both sides of a 42min album) You should consider adding an additional hard drive if you're thinking multiple albums.

Capturing and digitally cleaning up (removing clicks, pops, and noise reduction) ripped vinyl tracks could tie up your computer extensively. And (IMHO) it's not one of those tasks that you can do while surfing in the background. Ideally, this is a task you can let a spare or older computer do.. even a Pentium III can handle the job with enough disk space (it just takes much longer to clean up tracks)

Record as hot (loud) as you can- that is as close to zero/red on the meters without going over.

Don't expect the moon. The minijack line input on most sound cards/computers isn't exactly the cleanest way to get audio into your computer- but it is the cheapest. A bad phono cartridge/stylus will make any recording problematic (and the low end practically non-existent) And sometimes there's dirt and crap in an LP's grooves that may prove impossible to clean out.

You can make great Vinyl "rips"...but for most people it's not worth the time and work involved.

Sat

Reply to
Sat

I'll third that! Audacity is a free power-tool. It may not be a no-brainer to use, but once you get it figured out it's amazing what you can do. I used it yesterday to put a soundtrack together for an old 8mm movie. Ten songs that fade one to the next. When I found that one didn't play well against the film I cut it out and spliced in another song in it's place. Took me an hour to pick out the songs, but five minutes to put it together.

Doug Wagner

Reply to
Doug Wagner

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Thanks for that.

Maybe you can offer some advice on the following problem.

I'm trying to rip some music from a cassette tape. I have connected the headphone socket of a "Walkman" type cassette player to the microphone socket on the computer (the only "input" socket on my laptop). I can capture the sound OK but there is a LOT of background noise.

I don't know if the poor recording is caused by the source (i.e. the "Walkman") or by the input (i.e. using the microphone socket instead of a "Line In" socket).

TIA Ultan

Reply to
Ultan Rooney

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