copying LPs to CDs - advice needed

[pglenn]

I am wanting to convert my LP records to CDs. I am thinking to convert the individual songs to MP3 format then use a burner software (probably Nero) to burn these to CD. Any recommendations on a good MP3 capture program? I would like a program that allow for filters, preferably to "clean up" some of the records and the occasional pops/cracks inherent in the LPs.

Also will welcome any advice on better/alternative methods for converting the LPs to CDs.

Patrick

[presto]

I've had great success with Audio Cleaning Lab.

[unclebud]

Loop Recorder Pro will record directly to MP3, but I would suggest that you capture to PCM wav files so you can perform some audio cleanup with an audio program such as Sound Forge or Cool Edit.
Demo's of these programs are no longer available, they both have been bought out.

[Sifaga]

I am in the process of doing something similar

i am trying to get an audio tape to CD

i am going to use cool edit pro cause i have it but i heard goldwave does it quite well

theres another thread with a guy using audacity to record

i know abit about cool edit so i'll try that

im going to record to wav file the apply filters and edit and stuff

then burn the WAV

if i want MP3 i willl use razorlame to create MP3 (you can use Cdex )


hopefully i can get this done this weekend

[MOVIEGEEK]

I recommend capturing straight to WAV using CD Wave Editor because you will lose quality by caturing to MP3.Then burn using Nero and use it's filters to clean up the sound.

[woodman1445]

Have done about 50 LP's and have used Spin Doctor (Easy CD Creator). Worked well has filters and scratch removers in it. But why would you want to convert them to MP3's just record them to wav then burn with Nero. You will have the best you can get with no compression. Good Luck

[Cornucopia]

If you were asking directions to the museum and 1 guy told you to:

• go 1 block,
  take a right,
  go 1 block,
  take a left,
  go 1 block,
  take a left,
  go 2 blocks

and another guy told you to:

• go 2 blocks,
  take a left,
  go 1 block

which one makes more sense?

If you do the conversion to mp3 and then try to "clean up" the file, it's like you're following the directions of the 1st guy. Extra time and effort that take longer to get back to where you want to get to.

Most LP's aren't any longer than ~45 minutes. That's = 450 MB at 16bit/44.1kHz/stereo. Chicken feed by today's HD standards. Use the space and keep it clean.
Then if you still need to do some extra cleaning up, use a good app like cool edit or some of the good cleaning plugins. save again as pcm (wav, aif, sd2, etc.). Then burn.

Scott

[holistic]

LP's to MP3 - arggggggggggggg

You heathen.... ........The sound quality of records on a good Hi-Fi system is second to none. Do as Cornucopia said. Copy as "raw" (wav, aif) files and make standard audio CD's - you will regret making MP3's years from now.

As others have mentioned there are plenty of programs available to make a great LP to CD transfer. If you must do MP3 then follow the advice of the earlier posters.

][

[BobK]

I transferred about 100 LPs and 50-60 tapes to CD a year ago. Holistic is right- get 'raw' files and make standard CDs. Sure- you can save almost $1.00 if you put 100 mp3's on one CD instead of using 10 CDs. But if you're that cheap then just stick with the LPs and save the other 10 cents that one CD will cost you. (Actually you'll probably save less than $1.00- everybody has some kind of CD on sale every week. I rarely pay more than $5.00 for 50 CDs, and often get them for $2.00 or less. And I only use Sony, TDK and Phillips- if you want to go with unbranded crap it's probably cheaper in the short run (until you have to do them all over again when they don't work in two weeks).

BTW, I did almost everything except burn the disks using Goldwave 4.

[pglenn]

OK, so now MP3 is out of the question and I will burn LP --> WAV --> CD. Now I will just have to decide which program to use for Lp --> WAV and the which for WAV --> CD (probably NERO for the latter)

Patrick

[Conquest10]

Lp --> WAV

CoolEdit is great. And, if you can afford it, ProTools is even better.

[Dubber]

...And... do yourself a favor - get good quality sound card, none of Creative stuff...

If you can get your hands on Audio magazine, January 2000 issue, check pages 38-43!!!

[Cornucopia]

Lp --> WAV

CoolEdit is great. And, if you can afford it, ProTools is even better.

Of course you can afford it...there is a free version of ProTools!
Check out www.digidesign.com. They have a downloadable free version available in their support section, IIRC. Works GREAT (if you have enough RAM, your CPU and soundcard are supported, and you don't mind split stereo aka dual mono files)!

Scott

[Conquest10]

Of course you can afford it...there is a free version of ProTools!
Check out www.digidesign.com. They have a downloadable free version available in their support section, IIRC. Works GREAT (if you have enough RAM, your CPU and soundcard are supported, and you don't mind split stereo aka dual mono files)!

Scott

oh, i got to go get that! didn't know they had a free version.

[steptoe]

CoolEdit Pro is good for stuff like that, obviously, don't bother looking at Adobe Audition 1.0, because its just the latest Cool Edit Pro 2 relabeled, as Adobe have bought the software and all rights from Syntrillium


Try also looking at this software, it does exactly what you are looking for to transfer the vinyl to your computer, now with auto record level, skip/clip detection,auto start/stop. When used with LP Ripper you have auto track splitting, and can even convert it to an MP3 track, if you want it output as an MP3 instead of a .wav

http://www.cfbsoftware.com/lprecorder/lprecorder.htm

You could use the autocue feature in CEP, which is very, very accurate, if you spend a bit of time setting it up properly. I use it to split one big MP3 back into single MP3s, and once set-up made very few errors, in fact none once the fine adjusting was done. CEP docs are very clear and simple, plus there is also a book for CEP called Audio Editing with Cool Edit written for CEP Pro and explains everything you can think of without getting way, way complicated, but still manages to cover everything CEP Pro is capable of, which is a lot more than you realise

The Noise Reduction DirectX plug-in by Steinberg is worth getting, if you have a lot of vinyl to transfer, or intend to make it more than just a past-time, its better than the built-in filter

[hech54]

LP to stylus(needle) to turmtable to receiver to line out(on receiver) to line in(on computer) to .wav to cleaning software(I also use Roxio Easy CD Creator's built in one) then to CD.

But wouldn't it be easier to check Ebay for cheap prices for the LP's you own that have been released to cd.

Sure...according to data....an LP has a much higher(and lower) frequency responce than a CD IF you are listening to it in real time....but since it is the CD burning or recording process itself that "cuts off" the highs and lows...any way you look at it...once it is CD'd...that supposed better sound is now gone.
I personally never bought that story of LP's "sounding better" than CD's. You need to have one heck of a setup(stereo or Hi-Fi system) to take full advantage of the better sound. I just wanted those damn pops and clicks GONE...

[iooi]

But wouldn't it be easier to check Ebay for cheap prices for the LP's you own that have been released to cd.

Not always posibble as many LP's have never been released on CD...
Plus why spend more money buying what you already have.....

[RabidDog]

plus doing it yourself you can edit out the carp and do your own com-pi-lations.

This is a happy house, we're happy here.

[hech54]

OK....if you KNOW FOR A FACT that the LP you have was released to CD....it's easier, faster and probably cheaper(in your electricity bill alone) to buy it (at least) used...plain and simple.

Who's talking about compilations?...that's a whole different story.

Putting an entire LP "collection" to CD in the method I described....which is the method most of us use...would take a VERY long time if his vinyl collection is as big as mine was.

And if you want them to "look pretty"?...ever try to scan an album cover?

Just popping into your local retailer is NOT a good example of what is actually out there and available on CD either. SO many times I had no idea something was released on CD until I searched the internet and to my amazement...there it was....a legitimate record company release right there to buy.
You don't NEED to use this "computer thing" just because you have one....
Another way is a CD Recorder....hooked to the stereo(Hi-Fi)...I have one of those too....don't use it as much as my CD Burner in my computer....but that is another good option to get the songs into your computer to clean them.

[SaSi]

But wouldn't it be easier to check Ebay for cheap prices for the LP's you own that have been released to cd.

Not always posibble as many LP's have never been released on CD...
Plus why spend more money buying what you already have.....

I have transfered more than 100 LPs to CD. Most of them had little noise or scratch. Using CoolEdit PRO, removing hum and surface noise is quite simple. Additionally, some CDs of old LPs have so much noise, I had to take them through CoolEdit as well.

With some of my LPs, I decided that I had better re-buy them as CDs. They were old ones - 70~80 releases and it appears that I like music that is not fashionable, e.g. Stranglers, Patti Smith, Cocney Rebel, etc, so all these were in NICE Price offers at between $3-6. My time and patience costs more than that so if the disks were scratched I didn't bother recording them.

On the other hand, I have found that the Sound Blaster 128 card has an incredibly good sound quality.

Dubber, you mentioned to avoid Sound Blaster. Why?
Don't mind doing it, but as I'm thinking of upgrading my stereo one to something more modern, do you have any suggestions?

[marvel2020]

Dubber wrote....

...And... do yourself a favor - get good quality sound card, none of Creative stuff...

Hey Dubber there's nothing wrong with Creative Sound Cards. i'm using a Soundblaster 5.1, been using now for the last year and half and i've never had any problems with it, i've used for capturing from TV which i still do, also used it to record LP's to harddrive.

[SARK]

See http://www.pcavtech.com/soundcards/index.htm for a good comparison of several soundcards. As always .... better quality = more $$$

Do bare in mind that you're dealing with vinyl, if you really want to get the best quality you'll have to use high-end material for every part of your audio chain !!!
So if you want to use the best (and likely the most expensive) soundcard, don't use the record player, crappy needle and pre-amp from your midi-size Sony sh*t.
All I want to say is ; Keep things in perspective, as marvel2020 wrote .... a SB5.1 is quite acceptable.

[housepig]

another freeware alternate is Audacity - solid editor, cross platform, accepts VST plugins, and free.

[bipartite]

Has anyone used Clean Plus by Pinnacle? It comes witha pre-amp. Just wondered if it was anygood? Thanks!

[Project Director]

I'm also looking to do some LP to CD conversions. I have a free copy of a program called Dexster. Does anybody have any experience with this software for capturing and editing?

[VideoTechMan]

Im in the works to do LP to CD conversions myself.....and to be honest...the MP3's I have played, both in my car and inside stereo sounds pretty good to me, but then again thats me. I like the fact of being able to play 100's of songs from one CD withough having to deal with a book of CD's.

I have Audition 1.5, and for me personally I dont mind taking the time converting the LP collection I have to CD. For one, it gives me the chance to learn more about audio and how to work with it in more detail. And two, though alot of the LP's are already on CD's, I personally dont care to rebuy what I already own, even if cheap, especially if space is an issue. Most of my LP's and 45's are in good condition, and the few that need a little work are the ones I wont find anywhere else, mainly ones that are out of print.

VTM