I'm looking for the best way to convert old LP's to MP3. I hope others can share their experience, the programs they use and how the connect everything.
Please let me known here!
LP to PC
Moderator: Gurus
LP to PC
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Lowlander (MediaMonkey user since 2003)
Lowlander (MediaMonkey user since 2003)
Ah ... one of my favourite hobbies,
My technique will be a bit non standard I am sure.
I have been a Creative Labs Nomad Juke Box user for the past few years, first a JB1 and now a JB3. Both have recording capability. The physical hookup I use is a stereo RCA to stereo miniplug cable connecting from amp/preamp to JB input. The JB1 more recent firmware had a lot of niceties vs the JB3 for recording but my needs were quite specific so I did not need much in the way of internal software. Effectively, set up my turntable with amp monitoring via head phones, leaving the signal at line level. Once OK, hit record on the JB, start the LP track(s) and once done, hit off on the JB. Record as many tracks as I wished. These all to wav files so hard drive space is a bit of an issue.
Then transfer tracks back to PC. The convenience of moving a small mp3 player to a turntable setup is very HIGH.
On the computer I have used CoolEdit 2000 which unfortunately is now an expensive Adobe product. It was very nice however for cleaning up vinyl scratches, ticks and clicks. I have also used Roxio's software prior to version 6.0 ...
Once happy with the wav file I then use CDEX with Lame to encode to mp3, voila one nice mp3 which is then sent back to the JB!
jake
My technique will be a bit non standard I am sure.
I have been a Creative Labs Nomad Juke Box user for the past few years, first a JB1 and now a JB3. Both have recording capability. The physical hookup I use is a stereo RCA to stereo miniplug cable connecting from amp/preamp to JB input. The JB1 more recent firmware had a lot of niceties vs the JB3 for recording but my needs were quite specific so I did not need much in the way of internal software. Effectively, set up my turntable with amp monitoring via head phones, leaving the signal at line level. Once OK, hit record on the JB, start the LP track(s) and once done, hit off on the JB. Record as many tracks as I wished. These all to wav files so hard drive space is a bit of an issue.
Then transfer tracks back to PC. The convenience of moving a small mp3 player to a turntable setup is very HIGH.
On the computer I have used CoolEdit 2000 which unfortunately is now an expensive Adobe product. It was very nice however for cleaning up vinyl scratches, ticks and clicks. I have also used Roxio's software prior to version 6.0 ...
Once happy with the wav file I then use CDEX with Lame to encode to mp3, voila one nice mp3 which is then sent back to the JB!
jake
Thanks
Thanks,
for the reply. Well unfortunately I won't be able to do that as I only have the PC to work with.
That raises the other question, the costs of programs. I wouldn't want to pay really as this is a one time thing only. So any advice on free programs would be nice!!
Thanks
for the reply. Well unfortunately I won't be able to do that as I only have the PC to work with.
That raises the other question, the costs of programs. I wouldn't want to pay really as this is a one time thing only. So any advice on free programs would be nice!!
Thanks
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Lowlander (MediaMonkey user since 2003)
Lowlander (MediaMonkey user since 2003)
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rovingcowboy
jake does it that way but my favorite way is using the cassette tape way.
one you can record your lp's to the tape on the home stereo and use the equlizer to make it sound the best you can get. then take that tape and put it in to a boom box. one of good quailty.
now take a patch cord (stereo one) with a mini jack on each end. you plug that in to the line in on the computer,
then the other end in the headphone jack in the the boom box.
NOW the sound on the boom box needs to be kept at a low volume as the computer sound card might not beable to handle the loud sound and blow a capaticitor so set the boom box volume to where you can hear it when you lay the headphones down on top of it, and you then have to lean your ear about 8 inches away from them. that should be low enough for the computer to get it in with out harm to the sound card.
now you need to go to the volume mixer by clicking on the speaker icon in the system tray, then you need to change the mixer from the player mixers which is what shows first, to the recording mixers by clicking on the properties button of the mixers and selecting the record ones.
i am sure you did that before so you know what i mean. then you have to un mute the line in on the recording mixers.
now just press the play button on the boom box while you have the mixers on the screen and you can slide the mixer's volume slide up and or down until you get the proper level. it is mostly around the 5/8's level .
once you get the correct volume level on the line in recording mixer you should not have to change it again.
now you need to get a program that can record from line in. there is a wave studio that comes with the soundblaster sound cards that is easy to use. you will just set it's options to record from the line in.
if you dont have a wav editor then you can find free ones at webattack.com make sure they say freeware and not free to try.
then you just use media monkey to convert the song wav's to mp3's, and you then edit the tags on the mp3's not the wav as i have found media monkey does not keep the tag information when converted from a wav file.
(atleast the free Media monkey does not)
your set. very simple this is how i do all my songs i dont get them from online as i am picky and have my ogg files set to use 500 kbps as the max limit and that makes some huge song files.
one you can record your lp's to the tape on the home stereo and use the equlizer to make it sound the best you can get. then take that tape and put it in to a boom box. one of good quailty.
now take a patch cord (stereo one) with a mini jack on each end. you plug that in to the line in on the computer,
then the other end in the headphone jack in the the boom box.
NOW the sound on the boom box needs to be kept at a low volume as the computer sound card might not beable to handle the loud sound and blow a capaticitor so set the boom box volume to where you can hear it when you lay the headphones down on top of it, and you then have to lean your ear about 8 inches away from them. that should be low enough for the computer to get it in with out harm to the sound card.
now you need to go to the volume mixer by clicking on the speaker icon in the system tray, then you need to change the mixer from the player mixers which is what shows first, to the recording mixers by clicking on the properties button of the mixers and selecting the record ones.
i am sure you did that before so you know what i mean. then you have to un mute the line in on the recording mixers.
now just press the play button on the boom box while you have the mixers on the screen and you can slide the mixer's volume slide up and or down until you get the proper level. it is mostly around the 5/8's level .
once you get the correct volume level on the line in recording mixer you should not have to change it again.
now you need to get a program that can record from line in. there is a wave studio that comes with the soundblaster sound cards that is easy to use. you will just set it's options to record from the line in.
if you dont have a wav editor then you can find free ones at webattack.com make sure they say freeware and not free to try.
then you just use media monkey to convert the song wav's to mp3's, and you then edit the tags on the mp3's not the wav as i have found media monkey does not keep the tag information when converted from a wav file.
(atleast the free Media monkey does not)
your set. very simple this is how i do all my songs i dont get them from online as i am picky and have my ogg files set to use 500 kbps as the max limit and that makes some huge song files.
Wow
That's a long way around to get a song of a LP, we'll consider this too!
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Lowlander (MediaMonkey user since 2003)
Lowlander (MediaMonkey user since 2003)
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rovingcowboy
yes I agree it is a long way to do it.
but it is the only one i can think of that gives you control on the quality of your sound by way of using the home stereos equlizer.
and if you just take a patch cord from the aux plug outlet on the back of the home stereo amp, or from the headphone plug on the front of the home stereo you will need to be EXTREMELY careful as both those from the home stereo unit can put too much power to the computers sound card.
were as in comparing it to the boom box the boom box's headphone does not really pose that much of a chance of harming the sound card unless you set the volume too loud when your putting the song in the computer.
the only troubles in putting songs in the computer from either the home stereo or boom box is the chance of having the volume too loud and damageing the sound card.
and you can get too many ohms if you use a speaker plug on the back of the home stereo.
so i use the tape in the boom box way as it is alot easier to control the volume.
and if you get a boom box that has preset sound efx's you can use them also to make the songs really sound more the way you want them to.
but it is the only one i can think of that gives you control on the quality of your sound by way of using the home stereos equlizer.
and if you just take a patch cord from the aux plug outlet on the back of the home stereo amp, or from the headphone plug on the front of the home stereo you will need to be EXTREMELY careful as both those from the home stereo unit can put too much power to the computers sound card.
were as in comparing it to the boom box the boom box's headphone does not really pose that much of a chance of harming the sound card unless you set the volume too loud when your putting the song in the computer.
the only troubles in putting songs in the computer from either the home stereo or boom box is the chance of having the volume too loud and damageing the sound card.
and you can get too many ohms if you use a speaker plug on the back of the home stereo.
so i use the tape in the boom box way as it is alot easier to control the volume.
and if you get a boom box that has preset sound efx's you can use them also to make the songs really sound more the way you want them to.
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Guest
The most accurate recording will be to take the signal from the turntable preamp, record this, then do post recording cleaning up. Preamp outputs are line level - they will not damage the input of a sound card / digital recorder. If you do have a preamp with an equalizer or volume control then that is where monitoring via headphones comes in.
No matter which way you cut it, transferring to tape will introduce noise that reduces the overall recording quality.
Mind you having something that works repeatedly is better than not having it work at all
.
jake
No matter which way you cut it, transferring to tape will introduce noise that reduces the overall recording quality.
Mind you having something that works repeatedly is better than not having it work at all
.jake
I was thinking along the lines of hooking up the turntable to the stereo and using the stereo headphones out to hook it up to the PC.
All I need then is a program to record the input to a sound file (I want to end up with an MP3 in the end).
The problem is that I don't know which software to use to record the incoming sound. Anybody using any good program (preferably free). I believe MusicMatch has the ability to do so.
Any help is welcome.
Thanks
All I need then is a program to record the input to a sound file (I want to end up with an MP3 in the end).
The problem is that I don't know which software to use to record the incoming sound. Anybody using any good program (preferably free). I believe MusicMatch has the ability to do so.
Any help is welcome.
Thanks
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Lowlander (MediaMonkey user since 2003)
Lowlander (MediaMonkey user since 2003)
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rovingcowboy
ok i will tell this here also, i was under the impression that everyone knew this.
once you get the sound patch cords set up if your using windows you can use the sound recorder that comes with windows 9x to xp it has the ablity to convert what it records to mp3 and others.
yes it only shows 60 seconds on the status bar,
there is a edit menu on its tool bar that will let you decrease the speed.
you need a lot of ram. all you do is record a blank file and decrease the speed until you get to the number of seconds that is the total of minutes you want with about 30 seconds extra so you can have time to start the sound you want to record.
then stop it from recording and SLIDE the status inducator back to the start postion. that gives you a blank file for the time you want.
and then you just start the sound you want to record and press the record button again. it will overwrite the blank file and keep the same amount of time it was recorded to. (or atleast it did unless ms changed it) but i do it once and a while when i just want to do something fast.
the length of time you get will depend on the amount of ram your computer has that is clear. i get with win98 running and all other programs that use ram, about 10 minutes with 224 mbs of sdram.
once you get the sound patch cords set up if your using windows you can use the sound recorder that comes with windows 9x to xp it has the ablity to convert what it records to mp3 and others.
yes it only shows 60 seconds on the status bar,
there is a edit menu on its tool bar that will let you decrease the speed. you need a lot of ram. all you do is record a blank file and decrease the speed until you get to the number of seconds that is the total of minutes you want with about 30 seconds extra so you can have time to start the sound you want to record.
then stop it from recording and SLIDE the status inducator back to the start postion. that gives you a blank file for the time you want.
and then you just start the sound you want to record and press the record button again. it will overwrite the blank file and keep the same amount of time it was recorded to. (or atleast it did unless ms changed it) but i do it once and a while when i just want to do something fast.
the length of time you get will depend on the amount of ram your computer has that is clear. i get with win98 running and all other programs that use ram, about 10 minutes with 224 mbs of sdram.
Total Recorder from High Criteria is an excellent program - not expensive but not free either.
Audio Grabber also can record, as can the Creative Recorder app, if you have a Creative Labs sound card. Applications like Roxio and Cool Edit also.
I have not used Audicity for recording, but it supports line in under its record function and is free.
Music Match cannot record from the line in ...
hope any of this helps!
jake
Audio Grabber also can record, as can the Creative Recorder app, if you have a Creative Labs sound card. Applications like Roxio and Cool Edit also.
I have not used Audicity for recording, but it supports line in under its record function and is free.
Music Match cannot record from the line in ...
hope any of this helps!
jake
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zyb
MusicMatch can very well record from line in - I do record my LPs that way. The way Lowlander has it set it up seems to be the easiest way, no problem, at all: If your Stereo has a double cinch output you can use that (with a fitting cable with stereo mini plug at the other end) to put it in the line in of your computer - no need for the headphones channel!
The recording format should be WAV, which you can easily cut and noise reduce via Audacity (good program!), then encode to mp3 or preferably ogg.
Cheers, zyb
The recording format should be WAV, which you can easily cut and noise reduce via Audacity (good program!), then encode to mp3 or preferably ogg.
Cheers, zyb
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rovingcowboy
you can also just go to this web site and check out the ones you want and get them, they are free for the most of them but there are a few try before you buy ones.
http://www.webattack.com/freeware/gmm/fwaudioedit.html
enjoy
http://www.webattack.com/freeware/gmm/fwaudioedit.html
enjoy