Recording to a PC

[ShowMe]

Looking for some adivce on decent freeware or shareware programs to record my LP's & cassettes to my computer.

For those of you in the younger set - at one time we had round vinyl discs that rotated on a circular platform, and a needle would travel through a groove on the "record". The sound it created was amplified and that's how we listened to music. A long playing record, or LP, lasted about 40 minutes per side.

A cassette tape was...well, screw it, google it. More outdated technology.

Anywho, I want to record some stuff so I don't lose it. The tapes and LP's are getting older and replacement parts are getting more and more difficult to find.

So what's the best software to make mp3's? And the best way to get from point "A" to point "B", if point A is a record or cassette tape?

[xouper]

ShowMe: Looking for some adivce on decent freeware or shareware programs to record my LP's & cassettes to my computer.I assume you aren't expecting cd quality sound, and if you're just going to make mp3s, then the software that came with your sound card should be sufficient for digitizing an analog signal from the line-out of your stereo. That's what I did.

I've heard of shareware software that automatically removes those annoying little pops from lps, but I haven't tried it. The clicks and pops are easy enough to identify and remove using the wav editor that came with my sound card, and that's what I did, but only because there weren't that many.

I assume also that the lps and cassettes you are interested in preserving are not available on cd, otherwise I would recommend buying the cd instead. Unless you're not concerned about the sound quality, in which case, you may as well use the software that came with your sound card.

[ShowMe]

Originally posted by xouper
I assume also that the lps and cassettes you are interested in preserving are not available on cd, otherwise I would recommend buying the cd instead. Unless you're not concerned about the sound quality, in which case, you may as well use the software that came with your sound card.


Most of the stuff I want to record isn't available on CD; some of it is personal stuf, and I've got some items that are just oddball stuff I found at junk sales.

So, if I'm looking for goood quality sound, do you know of any decent programs? Even if they cost a bit then it would probably be worth it in the long run.

[jimlintott]

I assume that you will plug the source into your sound cards line in. I would use Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) and Lame (http://lame.sourceforge.net/) . Audacity would allow you to remove some unwanted sounds and is a pretty handy audio file editor. I don't know if Lame runs on MS Windows but it is an excellent sounding encoder. Audacity can be pointed to an encoder and actually save directly to MP3 format.

It's all free.

[xouper]

ShowMe: So, if I'm looking for goood quality sound, do you know of any decent programs? Even if they cost a bit then it would probably be worth it in the long run.I guess I should have clarified that the sound quality of the analog-to-digital conversion is more dependent upon the hardware in your sound card than the software.

There are some professional audio people on this board who can answer your questions better than I can.

In the meantime, you may wish to try using your current sound card (and the recording software that came bundled with it) and see if you like the results. I assume you already know that you simply connect the line-out from your stereo to the line-in on your sound card and adjust the signal levels so that there is absolutely NO clipping at any time during the recording process. If you can't tell the difference between the resulting mp3 and the original, then yer done.

[alfaniner]

Originally posted by ShowMe
...
A long playing record, or LP, lasted about 40 minutes per side.



Perhaps you're showing your age. LP's were at most about 22 minutes per side, about 45 minutes per album. ;)

I don't know if you can get a decent recording software for free, but I got a relatively cheap product from Cakewalk (about $25) that has served most of my purposes.

If you want to record for posterity I recommend recording in the wav format, then later converting to mp3s if you like. Wavs take about 10mb for each minute of recording. If you have a fairly large hard drive that shouldn't be a problem. But you want the best quality as a source to begin with.

[Soapy Sam]

This is all very well, but what do I do with my Edison wax cylinders?

[WildCat]

Originally posted by Soapy Sam
This is all very well, but what do I do with my Edison wax cylinders?
1. Put them in a bag, paper or plastic.
2. Open your door, w/ the bag in hand.
3. Walk over to your nearest dumpster/garbage can.
4. Open the lid, and deposit the bag.
5. Shut the lid.
;)

[WildCat]

Originally posted by ShowMe



Most of the stuff I want to record isn't available on CD; some of it is personal stuf, and I've got some items that are just oddball stuff I found at junk sales.

So, if I'm looking for goood quality sound, do you know of any decent programs? Even if they cost a bit then it would probably be worth it in the long run.
It will be the hardware that determines how good the sound will be. If you really want good sound you'll have to invest in a decent sound card, one w/ shielded inputs (preferably RCA's, not mini-jacks). The cheapo sound card that came w/ your PC probably isn't shielded, and will record a lot of noise due to interference from all the electronics in the PC.

Also the card should have a decent analog to digital converter, 20 bits is good but 24 is better.

[Thumbo]

Originally posted by ShowMe
Looking for some adivce on decent freeware or shareware programs to record my LP's & cassettes to my computer.

I'm busy doing this myself right now - about 1,000 spoken word cassettes collected over too many years, and on their way to going obsolete. For Windows I highly recommend Total Recorder (http://www.highcriteria.com/). It does everything I need with minimal fuss.

[Ove]

I have been using this programme (http://www.multitrackstudio.com/) for recording from casette tapes. It works very well and is very easy to use. The demo version are limited in number of tracks but you'd only want one so that's no problem. Afterwards i have found Nero's Wawe editor extremely purposefull. The retail version has a lot of gadgets to equalize, remove hiss, cracks etc.

Happy recording;)

[epepke]

Originally posted by ShowMe
Looking for some adivce on decent freeware or shareware programs to record my LP's & cassettes to my computer.

For those of you in the younger set - at one time we had round vinyl discs that rotated on a circular platform, and a needle would travel through a groove on the "record". The sound it created was amplified and that's how we listened to music. A long playing record, or LP, lasted about 40 minutes per side.

A cassette tape was...well, screw it, google it. More outdated technology.

Anywho, I want to record some stuff so I don't lose it. The tapes and LP's are getting older and replacement parts are getting more and more difficult to find.

So what's the best software to make mp3's? And the best way to get from point "A" to point "B", if point A is a record or cassette tape?

I just purchased an iMic for $34.95. It's a USB device that takes line- or microphone- level inputs.

One of the interesting things is that it came with a demo of some software that allows making recordings directly from a turntable without an amplifier. This is normally a difficult problem, as the signal directly from a turntable is way off on the frequencies and has to be equalized; it's not like the signal from a microphone, which is pretty much what you hear is what you get.

This software was for the Mac, but I would be highly surprised if there were none similar for the PC.

[a_unique_person]

As I have said in another thread, the Nero6 upgrade from 5.5 (which I got bundled with my CD burner) was a bargain at $39US over the internet. It does a lot of things, but specifically relevant to this thread, includes a full wave recording/editing application, with vinyl relevant tools.

[Voob]

I don't know how fast CPUs are these days. Can you line in and record directly as an mp3 file? The compression required seems like it couldn't be done in real time recording...
I'd go in as an AIFF , no peaking, cd frequency--44.something...?
Then compress, mix, edit etc. at your leisure. And save the Aiffs, if you have lots of disk space.
I don't like the idea of converting (decompressing?) mp3s back into AIFFs when I burn a regular audio cd.

epepke, That software sounds neat, but I never saw how iMic was really any better than just lining in directly---it's still the analog sound. It was useful to give an extra boost to the mic volume, but the same can be done with an electronic or amplified mic just through the audio in port.
It's not expensive, anyway.

[teddygrahams]

Originally posted by Voob
I don't know how fast CPUs are these days.

They are more than fast enough to compress video in real time. Ever time how long it takes to rip a CD to mp3 ? Is it more or less than an hour ?

[Voob]

Ever time how long it takes to rip a CD to mp3 ? Is it more or less than an hour ?

Totally different kind of file creation, isn't it? It's fast, but I thought of ripping a cd as more of a digital transfer. It's not being "ripped" from an external analogue signal stuck into the Audio In port/jack.

Haven't tried it but I expect it can be done, anyway.

[Luke T.]

ShowMe, I have a couple hundred cassette tapes and used to wonder the same thing. But what I have done is downloaded WinMx and gotten the same songs that way. They are better quality, too.

You would be surprised at the availability of stuff you thought couldn't possibly be around on the internet. Albums you probably searched a couple years for are there. It is amazing.

And there are different versions of each song which I previously didn't know existed.

WinMx is the way to go.

[teddygrahams]

Originally posted by Voob


Totally different kind of file creation, isn't it? It's fast, but I thought of ripping a cd as more of a digital transfer. It's not being "ripped" from an external analogue signal stuck into the Audio In port/jack.

Haven't tried it but I expect it can be done, anyway.

Computers don't deal with analog signals, so an analog vs digital x is faster than y argument make no sense. Digital from the sound port or digital froma cd surface, same computations to make an mp3.

[Keneke]

The problem here is the conversion at your mic input. That $30 iMic is okay, and sound inputs on a normal sound card are okay, but for CD quality, you're going to need something more.

For recording, I use an Edirol USB device. It takes RCA, optical, or other inputs and converts it in the box to digital THEN sends it to the HD via USB. I use it for recording guitar on my own music(then mixed down with Cakewalk). The sound quality of that over a normal sound card is phenomenal. There are some sound cards that have built-in RCA and optical inputs (SB Live?), and those are about the same tech: on-board processing to catch as much info as possible before storing it in data form.

The Edirol was $200, actually the low end of such products, a good sound card with on-board RCA is the same price too, methinks.

[The Whether Man]

I use RipVinyl (www.ripvinyl.com) for splitting my tracks, and Wave Corrector (www.wavecor.co.uk) for removing any noises. I have a turntable with a built in pre-amp that plugs straight into my sound card.

It still sounds like a vinyl record though, even if it is easier to play in the car.