Software for recording vinyl to a PC

[peeriebryan]

My old man wants to record his old records onto his PC then burn them onto CD. I've got the hardware end sorted but does any of you know of good software to do this? It needs to be VERY simple to use as he is a ludite. It would be good to record each record side as a long file, select track beginning points in the waveform and burn both sides to CD. The less bells and whistles the better probably.

 

I think he's running Windows XP on a fairly basic machine. Some sort of shareware/freeware would be best but I could probably, ahem, 'find' software on the net. Cheers

[Muppet]

What kind of hardware is needed for this peeriebryan? I've wanted to do this for ages, but haven't a clue where to start. Think i'm in the same class as your old man!!!!!!

[peeriebryan]

Basically, you plug your hi fi into your soundcard, play your LP, record it onto your computer and burn the resulting audio file(s) onto a CD. However, depending on what hardware you have, it might not be so easy…

 

 

1. The first step, which may be obvious, is to get a suitable record player. The easiest thing to do is use an old midi hi fi with a built in record player.

 

If you have a separate record deck then you need to plug that into a RIAA pre-amp (records are pressed with a reduced bass end because of the physical limitations of cutting grooves into vinyl. An RIAA compensate preamp re-emphasises, or 'beefs up' the bass end using an industry standard EQ curve. I won't witter on, but you could Google 'RIAA' and 'preamp' if you want to know more) It won't work connecting a record player to an Aux/CD/Tape input or directly to a computer soundcard due to the tiny voltage produced by the stylus.

 

Many Hi Fi amps have such a preamp built in, usually labelled 'phono' or 'record player' input, or you can buy a preamp for around £20 from Maplin or the like. You might need an earth connection, which connects the earth of the record deck to the chassis of the amp.

 

 

2. You then connect the headphone or auxiliary output of the amp/Hi Fi to your soundcard and you're hardware is ready to go. The type of cable you need will depend on your connections.

 

 

3. Next, launch your software (I use Bias 'Peak' on the Mac, but there must be tons of software for the PC), set your input levels (make sure you select 16bit/44.1kHZ which is the same quality as a CD) start it recording and play your LP.

 

 

4. When the side of your record has finished, you'll end up with an audio file of around 15-20 minutes. You should be able to see on the file where the individual tracks end (i.e. where there is no audio). You then tell the software to separate the file at those points. If you don't split the file then each side of the record will be one long song on the CD. Repeat the process for the other side of the record. Details of this process will depend on the software you're using

 

 

5. Now burn the files to CD (you can often get 2 LPs onto 1 CD) or convert them to mp3s.

 

 

I might sound a bit daunting at first, but once its set up, you'll find it quite straight forward. Here's a few articles I found on the net that may be helpful

 

http://www.pcmag.co.uk/computeractive/features/2013917/revive-records-cd

http://www.polderbits.com/HowToConnect.htm

http://www.cnet.com/Music/4520-7899_1-5127168-1.html

 

Hope that's of some use to you....

[Muppet]

Thanks peeriebryan! Almost sounds simple enough that even I could do it!! I'll wait till this helly lark is over with though! I'd dearly love to regain the space my old hi-fi and vinyl records take up!

[McFly]

I always use Steinberg Wavelab, but it's maybe a bit full on for a technophobe.

 

Maybe something like this http://www.cfbsoftware.com/lprecorder/lprecorder.htm

 

Looks pretty straightforward.

[McFly]

Having said that, well kept vinyl, spinning on a decent system still sounds the business.

 

So why not wipe the stoor aff those slabs and play them!

[Njugle]

Does Toast Titanium not have a vinyl track separator for this scenario? I don't have it myself but i'm sure there was a version of toast that dealt with this.

 

Alternatively, a Sony Walkman MD will identify the separators between tracks so long as they are 3 seconds or more, which gives you a digitized version you can 'skip' through same as a cd. All he would need to do is press record.

[McFly]

I've got a Sony MD recorder which does the auto track marker thing but I find it irritating.

 

There's no control to set the level of "silence" between tracks, and unless I'm dealing with heavily compressed pop, my one frequently puts in track marks during quiet passages of music. I can go back and take out the stray track markers after recording, but then that's just the same as going through and putting them in.

 

Maybe I've just got a duff machine. Anybody else tried it?

[peeriebryan]

I'd dearly love to regain the space my old hi-fi and vinyl records take up!

I could give the records a loving home if you want rid. I'm sure we could come to some arrangement. Depending on what kind of stuff it is of course

[PoolHaddock]

I have the sony mz-n710 md recorder and the auto track marker works fine on cds. It does occassionally add in another track here and there if there are extended periods of silence, however, this is quite rare.

 

As for recording vinyl, I find that it tends to just make one long track, which is hell o a irritating. The only way that I have found around this, is to set the recording level really quite low, so that the tiny scratches between tracks that you get with vinyl, aren't heard. This means that you will probably have to beef up the recording in a different programme later(ie. cubase or whatever)

 

Another possibility is using an MP3 player/recorder. My one (an iriver) converts the tracks to mp3's after you have recorded them, then its just a case of dragging them to cd. The downside with this is that you will have to sit with it while the record is playing,* and stop it at the appropriate time, then stop the record to give the mp3 player time to save the information and so forth, which is really a completely clumsy frap o' sharn when I think aboot it.

 

*unless you just record one big track, then break it up using whatever programme you like (obviously not word!)

 

I think peeriebryan's way is really the best way to go aboot it, without a doubt, but everyone is different.

[Muppet]

I could give the records a loving home if you want rid. I'm sure we could come to some arrangement. Depending on what kind of stuff it is of course

 

I'm not convinced you'ld find my vinyl collection exciting, it's all pretty old and a fair mix from Mungo Jerry to Deep Purple, a few of the early 'now' compilations, seems like it's what my siblings didn't take with them when they left home actually!!!! If you reckon it's worth a peek though!

Just dont expect me to get them transferred over in the next few days!

[Radarman]

Have a look at wavepad, you'll find the link on google. Its a piece of cake, just connect hifi to mike input on pc and click record and save as whatever you want.

[McFly]

I have the sony mz-n710 md recorder and the auto track marker works fine on cds.

 

CD's are different. You can record them using the toslink digital in and the MD will just read the table of contents off the CD and transfer it so you end up with track marks in exactly the right place.

 

It's the line in I have problems with. If you're using the line in to record CDs it might well work better than vinyl because they're generally more heavily compressed, which means less difference between quiet and loud bits and more margin for error in detecting silence.

 

But anyhoo.....this is all academic because software is definitely the way to do it. It's just a matter of finding the right package.

[Muppet]

I downladed wavepad and it does seem really simple to use. Have succesfully recorded an LP and split the tracks. I seem to get quite a lot of background 'hum' and although the noise reduction feature on wavepad gets rid of it quite succesfully, i'd like to get rid of it at source, maybe just need to play about with input levels.

 

Still to burn it onto CD to see what the finished result is like, but looks like i've cracked it.

 

Thanks guys for your help (peeriebryan and radarman in particular)

[McFly]

What hi-fi output and soundcard input are you using Muppet?

 

Output/Input impedance mis-matching could account for nasty noises. It could also be a ground loop problem. A quick fix for this is to cut the ground connection on the lead connecting your hifi o/p to your souncard i/p and solder in a 100 ohm resistor.