LP to CD or Computer

[bjdj]

Radio gurus,
I am looking into transferring LP's to my computer and onto CD's.
It appears the main three out there are Audio-Technica, ION iTTUSB, & DAK.
I still have hundreds of LP's & specific songs that were never released on CD.
Let me know if anyone has had success or problems with any of these and any recommendations.

 

[JasonReed]

I am looking into transferring LP's to my computer and onto CD's.

BJDJ... I've been putting vinyl onto my computer using Cool Edit Pro (Adobe Audition nowdays). A friend of mine and computer geek managed to get the program for me for free since it's an older version. I can trim the front and back of songs, run the Click & Pop Eliminator, etc. I can digitally remaster songs right here on my desktop. It's pretty cool.

The only backfall is it's time consuming as I have to rip those songs at real time. Other than that, it's a good lil program! Good luck!

Jeremy

 

[smashedcd]

I personally just hook up an Audio Technica turntable to the input on my computer. No usb needed! I record with a program called Creative Audio Pro. I do not take out hiss, pops or crackling due to the fact that it also takes out the highs in the song. I record LP's and cassettes...and Airchecks ;D

 

[RFLA]

Hadn't done it with records but another program worth looking at like Jeremy was saying was the free Audacity which with add ons is said to be a great FREE program like cool pro edit.. or at least something to experiment with before putting out the dollars.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

the smashedcd way is a way I've taken a cassette recorded aircheck and recorded it to mp3 a few years back, however it has to be played with to get just right (audio input levels to keep from making a muddy recording), and I figure you are looking to dub at record quality....

 

[waynewatkins]

Unfortunately, all 30+ years of my radio pix, gold/platinum albums, airchecks, etc., went washing out into the Gulf of Mexico...wish I could help...

 

[Tom Wells]

This is the general path I use.

Step 1 Wet wash with hot water/ detergent and pre-play.
2. dry and polish record.
3. Dub to home CD recorder with real-time click/pop/hiss/eq correction while record is playing WET. (spritzer bottle)
4. Rip CD in Nero to 192k on a laptop. If OK, it goes straight to the server. More often I trim and clean some more in Nero wave editor.
This gives a 128k mp3 out, so it's a tradeoff. Older, noisy records are still better at 128 with noise removed than 192 and still
having lots of audible blemishes.

Added up, this is about 10x the time needed to just dub a record on a USB turntable.
But I feel the results are well worth the time.

 

[smashedcd]

Hadn't done it with records but another program worth looking at like Jeremy was saying was the free Audacity which with add ons is said to be a great FREE program like cool pro edit.. or at least something to experiment with before putting out the dollars.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

the smashedcd way is a way I've taken a cassette recorded aircheck and recorded it to mp3 a few years back, however it has to be played with to get just right (audio input levels to keep from making a muddy recording), and I figure you are looking to dub at record quality....

Its not hard to get the levels right. I have recorded several LP's to date for other people. They all say they sound great! Better than digital to digital! ;D If you takes those pops and clicks out you will lose some high end. I have a declicker on my computer. I dont use it.

 

[JasonReed]

Sure it's an older program by 7 or 8 years, but it still works great for what I need it for.

I do not take out hiss, pops or crackling due to the fact that it also takes out the highs in the song.

Not necessarily on Cool Edit. See that's what I like about my Cool Edit Pro. In the Click & Pop Eliminator app., I can set it to how much or little I want it to remove clicks. Sure, if I set it to remove a lot of clicks, it will cut out the highs, but let's face it, it's vinyl. If it got played often and got dirty, it will have that crackle. The only way you can not have any crackle is if the record had been kept closed air-tight, it never got dirty, still sealed, brand new, or if you do like Tom says and play it back wet. I find that sometimes works, btw!

The one thing I don't do is record it using a smaller bitrate. In my opinion, the smaller bitrate adds to the noise and loss of audio. I know this sounds crazy, but I record it real time through the audio input on the back of my computer at 320 Kbps. Once I get the entrire album or compilation up, I rip it to disc. This way, I don't have songs piling up on the computer, taking up space and memory.

Just my method.... ;D

Jeremy

 

[buttonpuncher]

Dittos to Cool Edit and its Click & Pop Eliminator. (But not to the PigMan)

One other thing to be careful with is the levels going into a consumer or on-board sound card (cards with the stereo mini-plug).

If you’re having to run the sound card’s software input volume control down below half you’re in the danger zone of overloading the input amp of the card, the inputs are before the software volume control so bringing it down doesn’t stop input overload.

The record out of your preamp, receiver, or amp you may be using is almost too hot for the card’s input. Even more so with a mixer board running at its ideal level.

I’ve occasionally made small attenuator circuit boards using a couple of 10k or 20k miniature adjustable pots to bring down the level before it hits the sound card’s input, this way the board and the sound card can run at their optimum level so you get the best signal to noise ratio and least distortion. A matchbox works well too, but costs $$$.

This is apparently a commonly overlooked issue, I’ve heard so many distorted streaming audio and video recordings where it sounds like consumer cards were used and the input was too hot.