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software suggestions to transfer vinyl to cd??? |
tiki junkman
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2003
Posts: 148
From: Kava Lava Lounge, Aurora, IL
|  Posted: 2006-01-04 01:11 am Permalink
Ijust bought a mac powerbook this last year and have a lot of vintage hawaiian vinyl that I would like to get onto cds so I can play them in my home bar. Something free? Something really user friendly? Something that can clean up those pops and clicks?
mahalo
tiki junkman
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Mashuka
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 21, 2005
Posts: 77 | Posted: 2006-01-04 01:46 am Permalink
You can use Toast (http://www.roxio.com/en/products/toast/index.jhtml) .Not exactly free, but you can find it cheaper on ebay. Worked for me.
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liabungalo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 02, 2003
Posts: 165 | Posted: 2006-01-04 06:00 am Permalink
Your best bet is to buy the USB record player that I believe is available from Urban Outfitters for about $135. That skips the whole wiring process and worries about grounding and whatnot. I believe it also comes with the appropriate hardware.
-g-
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Johnny Dollar
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2003
Posts: 2916
From: Baltimore, Maryland, PNG
| Posted: 2006-01-04 06:07 am Permalink
that would be the ion usb turntable, which i saw at best buy as well. it seems perhaps the easiest approach for plug-and-play, but for buying a long-term high-quality turntable i personally would wait for a better usb option to turn up or buy a traditional turntable and patch the audio out from the stereo receiver to my computer soundcard line in. but i'm by no means an expert on LP to digital, there are many experts here on TC i'm sure.
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tikibars
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2002
Posts: 2014
From: Aku Hall, Chicago
| Posted: 2006-01-04 06:10 am Permalink
Pick two: cheap, good, easy.
Your best bet is a program called Peak, which will allow you to record the audio, edit the crap from the beginning and ends, and declick/decrackle the files. Toast, as rocommended above, is a great CD burning package, but can't do the audio editing you need.
There's a competing package called Spark XL that I like better than Peak, but I hear it is out of production. The declick/decrackle in it is better than Peak, IMHO.
You will also need a turntable preamp, which is a box that takes the turntable signal and boosts it up to what we call "line level". If you have an old stereo receiver with a turntable input, this will do. If you ever wonered why the tape deck and CD don't work if you plug them into the turntable input, and vice versa, this is why. The turntable needs a preamp boost to line level, and the CD player or cassette deck, or VCR or DVD's audio outputs are all already at line level.
Then you will need some sort of Firewire or USB box that will accept the line level signal from the turntable preamp or stereo reciever's output and convert it into digital data (this is caled an A/D converter), then shoot it down the Firewire pipe to the computer.
All of the boxes I can recommend are pro-quality, probably out of your budget, but I know there are consumer models out there that will do this stuff cheaply. I think a company called ART makes a box with the turntable preamp AND the A/D converters in the same box for about $100.
Just remember, you get what you pay for.
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I, Zombie
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2003
Posts: 539
From: the Les Baxter Grotto (Minneapolis)
| Posted: 2006-01-04 06:11 am Permalink
Hi,
I've had a lot of luck with Analog Ripper (for OSX). $20. It allows you to cut up the tracks real easily, and exports them to ITunes in the format you want when done. Here's the link:
http://homepages.which.net/~i.mann/TAR/Ripper.html
Assuming you have a turntable and receiver already, all you need to do is run a chord from your tape out on the back of your receiver to your computer. You'll need and RCA to 1/8" coverter to make it fit. If you get the Analog Ripper, it comes with all the directions.
As far as the pops and scratches, just let 'em go. That's part of vinyl, and you stop hearing them after awhile. I think those "cleaning" programs eliminate too much sound, or make the recordings muddy. A better option is to clean your records real well. Those wet-vac machines are sensational, the records really come to life, and I built one myself from parts found at a thrift store for $30. Here's a link to a blog that has the original instructions. http://www.grynx.com/index.php/projects/record-cleaning-machine/
Good luck!
I, Z
[ This Message was edited by: I, Zombie 2006-01-04 06:19 ]
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tikibars
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2002
Posts: 2014
From: Aku Hall, Chicago
| Posted: 2006-01-04 06:54 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-04 06:11, I, Zombie wrote:
Assuming you have a turntable and receiver already, all you need to do is run a chord from your tape out on the back of your receiver to your computer. You'll need and RCA to 1/8" coverter to make it fit.
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I am not sure if his powerbook has analog inputs?
In any case, the 1/8" jack and the AD converter that exists on the inside end of ANY built-in 1/8" jack on a home computer (Mac or PC) is pretty crappy quality. This is designed for consumer grade applications, and does not have nearly the specs to make an even marginally acceptible digital recording.
However - the advice that cleaning your records first is your best and foremost method of getting them to sound better is inarguable.
As for the declick/decrackle programs, once again - you get what you pay for.
But let me add: ANY tool used in the hands of an amateur will produce crappy results.
Get quality tools, invest the time to learn to use them properly, and you can get some excellent results.
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I, Zombie
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2003
Posts: 539
From: the Les Baxter Grotto (Minneapolis)
| Posted: 2006-01-04 11:19 am Permalink
Tikibars,
Actually my G4 makes perfectly acceptable vinyl to CD transfers with the 1/8" jack & sound card it came with. A friend has a similar set up with a G4 laptop. Again, the recordings sound very good. I'll ask him to post what his jack situation is.
I agree I'd like to try a better input option / sound card some day, but for an inexpensive option it's ok -- especially to burn a couple of LPs to play at your tiki bar.
I,Z
[ This Message was edited by: I, Zombie 2006-01-04 11:21 ]
[ This Message was edited by: I, Zombie 2006-01-04 11:22 ]
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Quince_at_Dannys
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 29, 2004
Posts: 146
From: Command Records International HQ
| Posted: 2006-01-04 12:33 pm Permalink
Yeah, I've used the RCA to 1/8" splitter setup that IZ is talking about and my burns are indistinguishable from the original LP. I also frequently use a USB input box (with my iBook that has no analog inputs) and again, perfect results, not any better or worse than the RCA to 1/8" splitter setup. Don't blow a bunch of extra dough if you don't need to, especially if all you're doing is playing it at your home bar. Make sure your cables aren't junk, you have a good receiver, and best of all a good turntable with a new, clean needle. I use Toast SpinDoctor to record and Analogue Ripper to split the tracks
Don't waste your time trying to declick and denoise the transfer either, it will always sound worse than leaving the pops and crackles, even with the high end software. You're a lot better off cleaning the record (vaccuum clean if you can.)
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virani
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 17, 2003
Posts: 1434
From: Volcanic area of France
| Posted: 2006-01-04 1:32 pm Permalink
Imic is really cheap (around 20-30 dollars) is an outside audiocart, and include a great software. Great for Macs...
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Quince_at_Dannys
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 29, 2004
Posts: 146
From: Command Records International HQ
| Posted: 2006-01-04 1:39 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-04 13:32, virani wrote:
Imic is really cheap (around 20-30 dollars) is an outside audiocart, and include a great software. Great for Macs...
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iMic is cheap AND good.
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Digitiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 22, 2004
Posts: 749
From: L.A. baby!
| Posted: 2006-01-05 10:57 am Permalink
I got a DJ turntable from Ebay brand new for about $80. That USB record player sounds pretty interesting! The one thing I have learned is, direct drive players tend to have a faint amount of low-end motor noise that is picked up by the needle. Very fait, but there none the less.
*****You will definately need an turntable preamplifier if your record player doesn't come with one. I just got the ART DeeJay Pre II. Very nice little compact turntable preamp. It comes with a low frequency cut off switch which helps get rid of low hum and has an adjustable output volume. http://sweetwater.com/store/detail/DeeJayPre/ It is only analog and I plug it into my G5 tower's stereo mini mic input. Works great and best of all this pre amp has a built in RIAA vinyl EQ curve. ART also makes a $99 model that is USB equipped and has a built in digital-to-analog converter, so you can plug it directly into your computer's USB port. It really comes down to how much you want to spend.
As for editing, I have used the shareware program SoundStudio for Mac OS X and it works great. However, it doesn't support plug ins. So I'm currently using the Toast setup with Dr. Vinyl or whatever it is that has an pop and noise romoving filter. This works pretty good, but if you turn the filtering up too far, you start to notice the sounds quality being effected. But hey, its cheap. I have also used the very expensive Renaissance bundle from Waves industries. This is like $1800 and comes with professional level noise reduction, hum eleminator, separate filters for light clicks and heavey pops. The absolute best I've seen and cleans the audio up so cleanly, almost completely without distortion or coloring of the sound of any kind. Waves used to offer a demo version that lasted for 2 weeks for free and lets you save your audio. Don't know if they still do. I guess you could always back up your computer before installing the demo, then when the 2 weeks is up, restore your backed up system and reinstall the demo for another 2 weeks...I guess that would work.
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to clean your records thuroughly before recording them into the computer. I have got records that looked terrible at swap meets. With some heavy cleaning, they sound way better. Here is a link to a site that gives some home-make record cleaner recipes. http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/fluids.html Buying prepackaged record cleaning solution can be very expensive. These recipes work..at least the 2 that I've tried do.
[ This Message was edited by: Digitiki 2006-01-05 11:04 ]
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gwenners
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Feb 08, 2005
Posts: 97
From: SF Bay Area
| Posted: 2006-01-05 11:05 am Permalink
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On 2006-01-04 11:19, I, Zombie wrote:
Actually my G4 makes perfectly acceptable vinyl to CD transfers with the 1/8" jack & sound card it came with.
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Now this I'd like to hear more about, as I've recently gained my parent's album collection -- which is chock full of some great exotica -- and want to figure out a good way to rip it onto my G4. Got any tips for a piker like myself?
Cheers,
Gwen Smith
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I, Zombie
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2003
Posts: 539
From: the Les Baxter Grotto (Minneapolis)
| Posted: 2006-01-06 01:43 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-05 11:05, gwenners wrote:
Now this I'd like to hear more about, as I've recently gained my parent's album collection -- which is chock full of some great exotica -- and want to figure out a good way to rip it onto my G4. Got any tips for a piker like myself?
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Gwen,
This weekend when I get a chance I'll look at my set up at home and PM you with exactly how I have it rigged up. It's working pretty good!
I,Z
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Hakalugi
Site Administrator
Joined: Aug 10, 2004
Posts: 2804
From: Redondo Beach, CA
| Posted: 2006-01-06 10:56 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-04 12:33, Quince_at_Dannys wrote:
Don't waste your time trying to declick and denoise the transfer either, it will always sound worse than leaving the pops and crackles, even with the high end software. |
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This is simply not true unless you don't know how to manage the software you are using. However, Quince_at_Dannys (and others) advice of cleaning the record first is to be adhered to.
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