From LP to Digital

[jdh]

Hello All,

I need some opinions Re transferring my father's LP collection to a digital format.

Like many, I'm not a huge fan of MP3 audio quality; further, portability isn't much of an issue in this situation.

All we're looking to do is transfer the LPs to some sort of harddrive-based format with the best possible sound we can afford.

If anyone has any advice, a link, or topics to suggest for a Google Search, I'd appreciate it.

JDH

 

[jaxvon]

I've read of people using this to do what you want to do. In addition to a high quality interface, you would need some sort of audio editing software to properly break up the tracks. Lastly, you would of course need to use the pre-outs or line level outputs of a receiver or preamp to do the recording; turntable direct to the card won't work.

 

[MDS]

The best way to do it is with your computer and a good audio editor.

1. You need a turntable and a phono pre-amp if the turntable does not have a built-in phono pre-amp.
2. You need a sound card with a line-level input.
3. You need a good audio editor.

It's really quite simple. You connect the turntable to the sound card's line input (via a phono pre-amp if the turntable doesn't have one built-in), 'arm' your recording software, and then start playback of the LP. The audio editor will record what is played and save the result as a WAV (uncompressed PCM - just like a CD). You can then do whatever you want to the file - edit it to split into tracks, fade-in, fade-out, pop/hiss/crackle removal, etc. Only after you have the WAV as good as you can get it would you then transcode to MP3 (if desired).

 

[tbewick]

Hello All,

I need some opinions Re transferring my father's LP collection to a digital format.

Like many, I'm not a huge fan of MP3 audio quality; further, portability isn't much of an issue in this situation.

All we're looking to do is transfer the LPs to some sort of harddrive-based format with the best possible sound we can afford.

If anyone has any advice, a link, or topics to suggest for a Google Search, I'd appreciate it.

JDH

I once attempted doing this but had trouble with my sound card. I bought an EMU-404 sound card which had a good review but the sound quality was very poor. The sound was much worse than an older card I once used (an old Aureal Vortex). I think there must be some software driver problem or something and I haven't got round to sorting it out.

If you're planning on doing things like noise reduction, crackle removal etc. I'd suggest that you still keep a separate, uncompressed copy of the original digital recording from vinyl. This'll give you the chance to undo any alterations you made, should you decide to some time in the future. I considered getting something from CEDAR Audio because they are used professionally, but their software and hardware is probably quite expensive.

http://www.cedar-audio.com/

 

[MDS]

If you're planning on doing things like noise reduction, crackle removal etc. I'd suggest that you still keep a separate, uncompressed copy of the original digital recording from vinyl. This'll give you the chance to undo any alterations you made, should you decide to some time in the future.

I'll second that as good advice. Typically what I do is save the original recording with a name like 'blah-48KHz-unedited' and then work on the unedited copy (editors like SoundForge are non-destructive and as long as you don't save the file, you can un-do all the way back to the unchanged version).

Note also that almost always what you want to do is record the entire side of an LP/Cassette as one track and split/join with the audio editor as opposed to starting/stopping the LP after each track or relying on an editor detecting 'gaps' (silence) to demarcate the tracks itself.

I could go on an on about what you should and should not do based on my own experience, but I'll save that unless you are really interested...

 

[jdh]

I'd like to thank everyone for posting suggestions/guidelines.

We are serious about getting this done, so any other product recommendations or guidelines anyone cares to post before the end of the month would be useful and appreciated.

Again, thank you.

Regards,

JDH

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Here is an affordable way to do it with pretty good results. Comes with free software for transferring vinyl to digital that works pretty good. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/

 

[MDS]

We are serious about getting this done, so any other product recommendations or guidelines anyone cares to post before the end of the month would be useful and appreciated.

I'll put in my standard plug for Sound Forge Audio Studio as the audio editor of choice. You can buy it direct from Sony Media Software for about $70. The Studio version will allow you to record at up to 16 bit/48 kHz (you can then resample to 16/44.1 for CD) and does include a basic 'audio restoration' plugin for pop/hiss/crackle removal.

There is no time limit for recording; the only limit is available hard drive space. SF is pretty intuitive and easy to learn.

 

[jdh]

MDS,

After asking around and doing some reading, it looks like Sound Forge is the software of choice -- all I have to do is install Windows on my Mac!

Again, thanks to all.

JDH

 

[ChrisJam]

I'm a Mac user

After asking around and doing some reading, it looks like Sound Forge is the software of choice -- all I have to do is install Windows on my Mac!

JDH, I use software called Amadeus II, made by HairerSoft, on my Power Mac. You can read about it here:
http://www.hairersoft.com

I've never used Sound Forge, but I know Amadeus II has plenty of bells and whistles. If you have Mac-specific audio editing questions, feel free to ask. I'm no expert, but I can manage the basics just fine.

G'luck,
Chris

 

[aarond]

here is what my father used to copy all his old records http://www.ion-audio.com/ $100.00 at costco