[redshifter]

for a new geek project i am thinking about recording some of my lp's into uncompressed .wav files on my computer. i have an older guillmont sound card with rca jack daughter board, and cool-edit pro with de-click plug-ins.

what i want to do here is:
1) record the lp into a .wav file at a higher than redbook wordlength and sampling frequency
2) either hand-remove any serious clicks or use the de-clicker program (i'll probably just remove them by hand)
3) burn the .wav file onto a cd at redbook quality

all of the recording tutorials i have read suggest that using a higher bitrate for the master and downconverting it to redbook usually gives a better sound. i am happy with how my lp's sound on minidisc, but i'm hoping somehow to remove some annoying clicks and achieve a higher resolution. has anyone tried this yet?

 

[zowie]

I do extensively, although I mostly work with 78s and early tape.

Diamondcut is a superb program to use. Cool edit is better for editing, but not noise reduction.

You have to have really good monitoring equipment or your efforts quite possibly will do more harm than good.

Don't go nuts with the wordlength/frequency. Odds are you won't hear a difference from 16/44.1, and it slows down processing and consumes tons of disc space. The quality of your vinyl playback system is far more important to focus on. And there are soundcards that have better sound at, say 16/44.1 than others do at 24/98 (or whatever) because of the quality of the analogue section and noise isolation.

Be prepared to spend many hours per LP to really do it right. I feel that if you can buy a copy on CD, you're better off doing that then wasting time cleaning up an LP. Or maybe you can buy a much cleaner copy of the LP for just a couple bucks.

It is a fun thing to get into.

 

[redshifter]

thanks zowie!

i don't plan on using noise reduction, probably just a spot-frequency cut for any loud clicks. i have learned with digital media the less manipulation the better. i'll try it at different wordlengths and sampling rates to see which my soundcard likes the best. the analog stage on the guillemont is not bad, not too noisy from the daughterboard, and having gold rca jacks is nice too since i can use better cables. i'll look into the software you mentioned. really this is just a project to get my feet wet and learn by doing, and also because some of my records are mastered so much better than the cd (led zep 4, for example). like i said, md sounds great, but i want to see how much more resolution i can capture using redbook. btw, the ananlog rig upgrade is pending.

 

[scrypt]

Too bad -- I thought you were talking about a *vinyl burner*, which allows you to burn records from your computer. Vestax put one out earlier this year, I think, but it wasn't supposed to be very good.

 

[Mr. X]

Quote:

Originally posted by redshifter thanks zowie! i don't plan on using noise reduction, probably just a spot-frequency cut for any loud clicks. i have learned with digital media the less manipulation the better. i'll try it at different wordlengths and sampling rates to see which my soundcard likes the best. the analog stage on the guillemont is not bad, not too noisy from the daughterboard, and having gold rca jacks is nice too since i can use better cables. i'll look into the software you mentioned. really this is just a project to get my feet wet and learn by doing, and also because some of my records are mastered so much better than the cd (led zep 4, for example). like i said, md sounds great, but i want to see how much more resolution i can capture using redbook. btw, the ananlog rig upgrade is pending.

Do you have any interest in going from the computer back out to the MD? After going back and forth, I have finally made up my mind: Very little manipulation through the Mac and into the optical in on the deck provides a copy that is just as good as amp -> MD in, but w/out the annoying pops & clicks.