Vinyl Records?

thread hijack

I did AFS ten years ago in Venezuela.
What did you think of the program in the DR?

Sorry, I know nothing of vinyl records.

Funky Abuelo,

While you're on the subject, how about relating to us some of your techniques and experiences in transferring vinyl to computer disk?

Thanks for the feedback Funky Abuelo.

Since recording other media to a computer is very much labor intensive, a few tips can be very useful - much better than having to learn it all the hard way.

I've done quite a bit of such recording, but not from vinyl. I've been dissuaded by questions like:

1) Does my turntable still work or do I need a state-of-the art one (is there such a thing)?

2) Is the audio output level appropriate for being the input to a computer sound card?

3) How do I suppress the needle noise?

I also wonder if an external software program is needed. Recording from satellite tv/radio I have had very good luck using windows utilities. An external program might even get in the way. On the other hand, the management of file names, recording levels, start/stop times, etc., might be welcome.

Also, windows can record/compress the audio to either wav or windows media format, with no license needed to play it back (unlike ripped CD's). Since wav files are so bulky, that feature can be very useful.

By the way, lately I've had trouble finding a good program to compress wav to wma or mp3. I used to use zlurp (at zlurp.com), but have had trouble for reasons unknown. Does Cooledit have a utility for doing that? Will it also rip CD's? Will it normalize the sound level?

Thanks for any tips! If this is further than you wanted to go, I understand, in which case maybe someone else would like to contribute.

Home Movies

While people are on windows technical issues, maybe someone can enlighten me?

I have a SONY digiatl 6 Video Cam. I am using Windows XP home. Is there a program nativeto Windows where I can simply "plug the camera in" and record to my hard drive and or directly to a CD?

Program, yes (moviemaker, for example), but you probably don't have the necessary hardware - a video capture card. The card would also come with a program, probably better than moviemaker.

The video capture card should probably be firewire (IEEE1394) rather than USB and can be bought for $40-50, COMPLETE WITH CABLE. This latter point is vital because the cable itself can cost that much if bought separately.

My favorite vendor for multimedia is ATI. They are into every aspect of it and sticking to them minimizes compatibility problems with future upgrades.

By the way, when you start transferring the video to your hard drive, you'll find that it uses up a tremendous amount of storage - about 20 gig for 1 dv tape. Therefore, compress the video. This can reduce it to at least 1/3 of the original size with very little noticeable difference. Also, NEVER re-use the origina DV tapes, but keep them for the archives. The cost is almost negligible.

Also, I'm not familiar with your camcorder, but am assuming it to be DV. If it is analog, it will be harder, but I won't go into that now.

Wow - are the readers of this board so sophisticated that they already know everything they need to about this subject?

Thanks again for the info Funky Abuelo.

Sorry about the "change of direction".

I don't know about LP's in the DR. There are many stores that sell cassette tapes, but I don't recall having seen LP's. If you pound the pavement, though, maybe you can find some places - maybe even in a public library.

I'd suggest that you look in Santiago because of its size - you can walk to virtually anywhere in the central part of the city.

I agree that there must be a gold mine of music out there somewhere. Contemporary racket turns me off. Unfortunately rap has contaminated the DR.

Thanks for the offer on my LP's. Actually, I think that I know someone with a still operational turntable system that I could borrow to make the transfer.

BTW, I use CD's only for backup anymore - I play music directly from my computer. It is so convenient that way.

I believe someone asked about cleaning needle noise and vinyl noise?

If you own some kind of digital Audio editing software, you might notice something called plugins.

Steinberg makes a good plugin/software called "Clean." It should definitely clean up all the vinyl clicks and pops!

Thanks Nathan,

Great information for when I start digitizing my LP's.

Andy,

No problem. Let me know of any questions you might have by emailing muselabs.studios@verizon.net

Jog my memory about this forum okay?

I own a recording studio and I'm "on my water" on this subject. So, don't hesitate to email them questions!