Converting Vinyl to MP3

[chassis 33]

Hi, has anyone had any experiance of ripping vinyl records (or any analog audio) to MP3 and if so what programs are best to do this?

Ideally the program would be able to recognise the breaks between the tracks and start a new song.(I know this is a bit of hit and miss at times cos of pauses in music etc)

I'm also posting this on Computers & Stuff btw

Regards
Iain

[DanBoy]

I just recorded the stuff into soundforge (wave editing software but any sound recorder will do really), fiddled it around a bit (messed with the EQs) and then burnt with Nero. Had to do the track marking manually but got there in the end!

[c c]

I use Sound Forge 7. Although there are many others around.
I normally record the whole side of the LP first. Then Copy and save the individual tracks from that master and tidy them up a bit before burning onto CDs.

Nero 6 Enterprise edition comes with a couple of handy programs for that kind of thing. Well worth a look.

[catso]

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=145596&f=95&h=0

[t1grm]

The software is only half of it. You need decent hardware as well. Just running a line in through a standard soundcard won’t give you decent results. I’m currently ripping all my vinyl and cassettes and am using this:

www.dabs.com/uk/channels/components/soundcards/productView.htm?quicklinx=2SHT

It’s a preamp with phono L/R from your hi-fi output to USB into your PC. It also comes bundled with some software that filters out hiss and clicks and allows you to “chop” a file up into songs (assuming you record one side of an LP as a single file). You can either use the automatic feature to look for quite spots in the file (although as you say this can be hit and miss if you have tracks with breaks in them) or you have a visual representation of the wave format and can move the cursor to a particular spot and cut the file at that point.

[Hardcore2000]

how is the product above better or different than me using an output on my mixer into my sb audigy line in and saving the audio using wave studio? does it remove the need to get the right volume on the line in? how does the audio on that product transfer via usb into the pc?

[seajayare]

I used a bit of freeware called mp3directcut. pause detection and good at cutting up tracks.

www.mpesch3.de

I fed the tape output from my amp into the soundcard

>> Edited by seajayare on Monday 27th December 09:52

[t1grm]

Hardcore2000 said:

how is the product above better or different than me using an output on my mixer into my sb audigy line in and saving the audio using wave studio? does it remove the need to get the right volume on the line in? how does the audio on that product transfer via usb into the pc?

I’m not too up on the technical details but that’s what I was told when I asked on PH. See here for some extensive discussion on using a proper amp vs a standard sound card:

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=23&h=&t=89932

As I understand it the unit I have bypasses the PC soundcard altogether because the signal is digital before it reaches the PC. Also the is amplified which it won’t be when running it through a line in on a PC sound card.

[shirley temple]

I got half decent results using AR Wizard to record from my turntable through the mic port on my laptop, It displays the whole side of the album as a soundwave, so you can cut up the tracks. Then I was meant to run it through some Magix software that removes the rumble, hiss and scratches, but I was happy with a bit of background and left it at that.

Some of us who grew up with vinyl prefer the warmth of vinyl over digital, and the slight rumble/hiss is all part of the experience! Cant beat vinyl sleeve notes either.

Now where did i leave my zimmer frame?

[c c]

shirley temple said:

Some of us who grew up with vinyl prefer the warmth of vinyl over digital, and the slight rumble/hiss is all part of the experience! Cant beat vinyl sleeve notes either. Now where did i leave my zimmer frame?

Quite so. Using declicking software the end result is often disappointing. Unless you’re going to spend a lot of time working on each track it's sometimes worth living with the vinyl noise.

[t1grm]

c c said:

shirley temple said: Some of us who grew up with vinyl prefer the warmth of vinyl over digital, and the slight rumble/hiss is all part of the experience! Cant beat vinyl sleeve notes either. Now where did i leave my zimmer frame? Quite so. Using declicking software the end result is often disappointing. Unless you’re going to spend a lot of time working on each track it's sometimes worth living with the vinyl noise.

Ditto. After ripping about 10 records I switched off the hiss and crackle filter on my recording software and just left the background in there. All part of the original sound IMHO.

Also the filters were actually taking some of the original sound out of the recordings. It was particularly noticeable when high pitched vocals or solo acoustic instruments were in a track. They sounded slightly clipped or muffled.

[parrot of doom]

I find the best way to listen to your Vinyl records is to erm....put them on your turntable and listen to them :/

[t1grm]

parrot of doom said:

I find the best way to listen to your Vinyl records is to erm....put them on your turntable and listen to them :/

You have a turntable that works in your car and that you can put in your pocket and walk down the street with! And you can fit all of your records on it at the same time and just choose the one you want to play! Wow! That's amazing! Can you post any links?

[c c]

parrot of doom said:

I find the best way to listen to your Vinyl records is to erm....put them on your turntable and listen to them :/

One of these might be handy:

Car record players, 1961

The needle of the Norelco Auto Mignon stays in the groove of our 45s, even when we drive over rough roads. But since there's no record changer, we must insert each record we want to play, then remove it when the song is over.”