Hey all i am bout to record some of my vinyl to mp3/wav files and i need a hand. I want to get the best sound quality and would like to know the settings and what plugin's and shit u guys use. So any help would be appreciated . I am using a laptop and a 24 bit 44.1 external sound card. i have the sound card plugged into my laptop through a usb and i have my mixer plugged into my sound card through line in. I am using sound forge 6 and wavelab.. Now all this normalise and wave hammer shit i really don't understand and like i have said would like to know how to get the best possible recordings with what i have got.I know not to record initially too loud and can raise the volume etc after the recording but what do u guy's gals have as your settings etc.. thanks :D

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

i would stay away from normalizing. just make sure you keep your levels just below 0db to keep it from distorting.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

^^ what don't normalise?? I thought everyone record's at a lower volume and then brings the vol up through normalizing.. if not through that how do they bring the level up or do u just record loud without clipping? also what plug in's do u use or which ones are good??

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

i ripped some vinyl last night (at a lower vol, not to low. i hit - 8db on sound forge when i set my peak rage between -24db - 0db on the play meter) and i am gonna post a track on here in wav and mp3..

if u guys could download it and work on it and see what u can come up with, that would be awesome.. i am uploading Lucas Rodenbush - Submerged now. will post when its done.. thanks oh and in the first link i normalised the track.. i will post on my second link the original recording.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

If your using Soundforge you might want to invest in the waves bundle. There's a ton of plugins in it that you can fool around with and get the best audio.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

[url]http://rapidshare.com/files/127473589/exp_with_tracks.rar.html[/url]

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

i'll see what i can do with ya for a track. I personally don't like normalizing, because you can't immediately see or hear how it is going to work for you. I say it's best to just put a subtle limiter on the track and lightly bring up the level of the track until it is barely in the red.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

^^ hey jeff thanks. if u could return the track once u are done that would be good so i can listen and also if u could tell me what u did to get that quality that would be good too. also the above links i normalised the tracks, i will however be posting Lexicon Avenue - Midnight on West 27th street (Vocal Mix) as a wav as i initially recorded it at a lower vol.. i am uploading it as i type and it has awhile to go before i can post the link... cheers jeff

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

[quote=jeffrey collins;621256]i'll see what i can do with ya for a track. I personally don't like normalizing, because you can't immediately see or hear how it is going to work for you. I say it's best to just put a subtle limiter on the track and lightly bring up the level of the track until it is barely in the red.[/quote]

oh and by limiter do u mean like wave hammer?? i just bought the bundle pack so i am going to install them on my laptop.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

lexicon avenue track.. Thanks [URL]http://rapidshare.com/files/127503400/Lexicon_Avenue_-Midnight_on_West_27th_street__Vocal_Mix.wav.html[/URL]

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

[quote=jeffrey collins;621256]i'll see what i can do with ya for a track. I personally don't like normalizing, because you can't immediately see or hear how it is going to work for you. I say it's best to just put a subtle limiter on the track and lightly bring up the level of the track until it is barely in the red.[/quote]

jeff normalizing only pushes up the "noise" levels with the rest of the recording i.e. crackles and other stuff

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

so i just got the wav bundle pack. now which plugin should i be using to get a crisp clear sound?? which ones do u guys use in the plugin chainer?

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

I don't use the plugin chainer, I have found in the past that using that with other plugins can cause some issues. The best thing to do is just to play around with them and get a feel for what you like best. Everyone has a different taste in what they like so just explore...Also something you might want to do is leave about 5 seconds of air before your track starts then use the X-Noise to clean the track of that noise before you start doing anything else. Just be real carefull because you can mess with the harmonics this way as well so keep this in mind.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

[quote=johns;621340]so i just got the wav bundle pack. now which plugin should i be using to get a crisp clear sound?? which ones do u guys use in the plugin chainer?[/quote]

whats the point in adding effects to an original recording?...its waste imo

record the files save them and then add effects to a different file if u so desire, you should use some kind of compression if anything, try t-racks plug in...should push everything up and add warmth

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

I honestly don't know what that plug in is. I just use the ones that are included in Ableton for the most part. Then on the end I use Izotope's Ozone. It's really nice for mastering.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

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Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

^^ ok guys this is what i am doing at the moment. i record into sound forge and i set the play meter on the right to -24db - 0 db. If u click on the image above u will see i record to the limit of -9 on the play meter. Should i go a bit higher to say - 3db on my recordings??

Now i have some more images i would like to post. my first one is of listening to a mp3 i made through winamp. as u can see on the first pic the Spectrum analyzer on my recordings is ok on the left hand side (bass) but the right hand side is very low.

Now on the second pic i have a track i downloaded of beatport and as u can see the second pic down below the peaks are even on the left and right of the Spectrum analyzer and i have noticed when it is like that, the sound is fuller as compared to mine which sounds a little flat. please check the pic above and the 2 down below.. Thanks again guys

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

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Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

[quote=red1;621395]whats the point in adding effects to an original recording?...its waste imo

record the files save them and then add effects to a different file if u so desire, you should use some kind of compression if anything, try t-racks plug in...should push everything up and add warmth[/quote]

that t racks shit i think did the trick mate.. it does sound fuller without clipping.
How do these settings look red1??

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i will need to test it through sound forge and try some different shit to my tracks.. but so far so good. thanks guys..

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

cant really t4ell just by looking @ the settings m8, tbh 9its all about how it sounds and what ur putting into it in the first place, by the screen shots of the recordings i would say that your levels are way way way too low....when recording into soundforge u should adjust the levels to be as high as u can take them withou7t bouncing into the red which really isnt so much of a problem in digital systems but its always good practice to do that....

only thing i can sudjest is try a few things out and test them for yourself...its all about your own prefference

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

yep.

i'd say just try to keep the levels just below 0DB and you'll be fine.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

johns did u sort out ur problem ?

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

^^ hey red1 i think i might have. check your pm on the weekend for some classic prog tracks which i will rip from vinyl.. By the way since i am ripping i may as well some tracks for u.. so what do u want?? i have vinyl from 1998-2006ish..

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

[quote=johns;622526]^^ hey red1 i think i might have. check your pm on the weekend for some classic prog tracks which i will rip from vinyl.. By the way since i am ripping i may as well some tracks for u.. so what do u want?? i have vinyl from 1998-2006ish..[/quote]

thanks for the offer but anything i want i just buy on discogs now :)

i have loads of stuff from that era also but not as much as i would like lol

having mp3 isnt the same as actually owning it on vinyl or cd

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

Yes red1 i know that.. and i would lovve to be able to keep buying records but the fact is 1) I cant afford to and 2) i have run outta room.. but for the sake of me just ripping a couple tracks for u to check the sound, would u like to choose 2 tracks or should i just rip and 2 classic tracks?? 8)

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

lol na its ok johns i dont download any music anymore m8 for reasons i wont go into but thanks for the offer

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

k.. well i still will rip a couple tracks and download em if u want.. just for testing reasons.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

best way to record anything on to computer: find the maximum peak of the sound signal (say record the track at a low gain, then open it up and just look for the highest peak) say the maximum peak is at -15db, simply add 15db gain and re-record. thats the long way and best way. the easier way is to set the gain to a level you think is about right (or maybe a bit to high) and use a limiter / compressor with a very long release (infinite if possible), and threshold at 0db which will manage the gain for you - possibly a better idea if your doing tonnes of vinyl. this will mean you will have more noise though, but its better than normalizing imo although actually maybe not im not sure...

other than that keep sound cables away from power cables.

Re: Who is good with recording vinyl??

I've always used this [URL]http://wavearts.com/products/plugins/finalplug/[/URL] for my vinylrips. With good results.