Daddy Dee Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 Dear Klipsch folk: This challenge is perhaps an example of my excellent and exceedingly rare (good?) taste that one of my favorite LP's of all time has never been released on CD. I have found a rare LP source that has the 1971 LP in new/unopened condition. What I'm wondering about is recording from vinyl to CD. Gave away my turntable in 1987. It would probably be easy enough to find someone local with a turntable and record to cassette, however, I'd much prefer to record to CD on the first playing of the LP. Has anybody on the forum done this with good results? What would be needed to do this well. I'd appreciate some advisement here. Any recommendations as to a studio that could provide the service? Rearding copyright law, it seems to me that I remember from years ago, the conventional wisdom that the owner of a recording is allowed to legally make a copy for personal use. In my old age I've gotten serious about that stuff. In fact, haven't had any unlicensed software on my PC for a generation. Probably shouldn't have said that. Is there such a thing as an outlaw audiophile? Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 Its a several step process. The easiest way: first you need to take the high level output from your preamp (or receiver if it has high level outs) & run that signal into the analogue sound inputs on a computer. Youll need special software such as Sonic Foundarys Sound Forge to record it to the hard disk. After its on the hard disk, you can add tracks/indexes using software like CD Architect (included with Sound Forge or available separately). CD Architect is also used to burn the CD. You might search out Dave Mallet on this forum. Hes done some of this kind of work already & has even proposed just using a hard disk/computer to store an entire vinyl collection for playback directly from the computer. All in all, its not as cut & dry as a process as you might think (well, it is, if youve had some experience doing it). Id skip the cassette tape in the transfer process. It might just be easier to copy it to cassette tape for your own use. Copyright Law(s) and their interpretations allow copying without permission as long as it is done without profit, for non-commercial, or educational purposes, & particularly if the information is "factual" (vs fictional) & technical in nature, & if much (if not all) of the material is commercially out of print & difficult to find even in at public & university libraries, that you can reproduce this without violating copyright law under United States Copyright Office document FL102 "Fair Use". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkidmoreJ Posted May 6, 2003 Share Posted May 6, 2003 I have been transferring LP's to CD for about three years. Much of my vinyl will never be re-released. The key to success is a good combination of software (I use and highly recommend Diamond Cut Audio Restoration Tools Millenium version), a fast PC (P3/P4 lots of RAM, big empty hard drive and no excess applications, utilities running), a good turntable and cartridge (DUAL CS 606 with Sumiko Pearl cartridge), and good pre-amp (Carver C1..not the best but OK) and a GOOD sound card.. I use a TerraTec 96/24EWX (all digital...PC's with built in sound chips and some cheaper sound cards add hiss and distortion to your recordings, be careful) with Windows XP. Even if the vinyl is new, clean it with a correct cleaning solution (as recommended by Disc Washer or Nitty Gritty cleaning systems), play it once to clean the grooves, set your levels, etc and then record it on the second pass. Using Diamond Cut, you can record the entire album, break up the sides into individual tracks, remove any unwanted noise or adjust the brightness, bassiness of the original recording, even add some extra "umph" with the EQ, Tube or Reverb tools. Then using the CD burning tools of your choice, burn the CD at the SLOWEST speed possible, as this will eliminate any possibility of digital annoyance pops, clicks, breakups from getting onto your new CD. And make as many copies as you want, for your self. The laws state that if you can not be using it in more than one place at one time, it is legal. And I would like to find anyone who can drive their car, listen to their home stereo and play on their PC at the same time. Well, I can't! Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 7, 2003 Author Share Posted May 7, 2003 Artto and SkidmoreJ, Thanks for getting back with me on this. That does let me know that I would be out of my depth (and readily available gear) to tackle this project. I have run across a place or two on the net that have reasonable prices for the occasional lp to cd recording. Here's the one I am using: http://www.lightsound.com/record_to_cd.htm Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efzauner Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 Hello Dee Don't dispair, it is not as hard as it sounds. If you have CD burning software like Roxio, it probably has the ability to record from LP and then burn a CD. I use Roxio Platinum. Of course the ultimate quality will depend on your sound card's Analog to Digital converter! Also, some notebook computers do not have line inputs, only a mono microphone input which is useless. It is a bit of work, count on taking twice as long as the LP itself. You have to first record both sides, and then split the recording into tracks. Some software have automatic track splitting abilty that detects the silence. But I find that these don't work well, particularly with classical music that may have quiet spots. You basically start the recording and then start the LP. Once a side is recorded you literaly can listen to the digital recording while viewing the sound (literally voltage vs time). You then cut out what you dont want, cut and past the individual tracks to a new window and then save it as a new .wav file. When it is all done you burn the CD as usual from the wav files. I recorded a few albums, but in general I find it is not worth the effort if the CD is available, since most of my favorite LPs have been played to death already. What I do find usefull is copying new CDs for car use because they get so scratched so fast in the car environment. Especially when my wife tosses my CDs 70s disco CDs on the floormat in order to put in her Celine Dion! You will need a set of RCA to laptop adaptors/cables (left and right RCA male to 1/8th inch stereo phone male) most computer stores or Radio will have them (always overpriced-I get mine at a local electronic hobby parts store) Good luck! Edmond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmk Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 Another option is a CD recroder unit (similar to cassette deck) such as the Pioneer PDR-609(?). It has digital inputs as well as analog. I have converted a few albums with great sucess. The blank CDs are a little more expensive (for consumer use). Might be worth looking at. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 Dee, If you don't mind revealing what your favorite record is, let us know. Maybe someone already has this mysterious 1971 LP transferred. That place you mention probably does a good job, and isn't too outlandish if you're going to transfer only one record in your life. But it's not cost efficient if you wanted a lot of records converted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 7, 2003 Author Share Posted May 7, 2003 PaulP-- You have got a great mind. Yeh, maybe somebody here has already done this one. The mystery lp is "Shake off the Demon" by Brewer and Shipley. It is one fine acoustic piece of work. Soaring harmonies. Not that one toke over the line cr@p. No offense intended to any B&S fans. You have definitely got that right. Sending one off isn't bad, but not a good deal for converting a whole collection. I took my cases of albums to Goodwill in Atlanta GA back in '91. Don't know how many lp's in the collection, but it was three cases packed, about 9 linear feet of vinyl packed tight. It did have some good stuff in it, most (of what I want to listen to anyway) has been released on CD. Perhaps a few things that might be considered collectors items, but most wouldn't have been in good enough shape to be worth much. It has been fun to think about somebody browsing in the GoodWill store and finding Rootboy Slim or Flo & Eddie or such. Thanks for the thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 Another Root Boy Slim fan (and the Sex Change Band, of course). Holy cow - haven't heard his name in a long time. He grew up not far from me and I was good friends with his manager (saw him many times in the 70s). I think he passed away many years ago. "Put a Quarter in the Juke, Boogie till ya Puke" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkidmoreJ Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 Dee, I have two other Brewer and Shipley LP's. Tarkio Road is one of my favorites and one of my projects to transfer. Tell you what, do a basic raw copy of your LP to your PC and burn a no-frills master. Then send it to me, I will do a transfer/cleanup and send it back. If you like it, we can talk later. email me direct at jsukovi@comcast.net to set this up. OK? Skid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 Skid, I don't think Dee has a CD recorder at all in his computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkidmoreJ Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 PaulP, Dee. OK, if no CD, how about just make a one-shot cassette copy. I can transfer that as well, and clean out the hiss. Just dont want him sending the vinyl... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 Hey Guys, I'm turntable poor. I do thank you for that offer. Yep, gave away my TT way back in the last century.! Even thought I had given away all my LP's, Just found this one packed away in an odd place. Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 Wouldn't it be great if we had some big, retro-looking, cd-making machine with two slots: one for the LP and one for the CD-R. And a button. Now that would be on my birthday list! fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecj Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 ---------------- On 5/10/2003 7:18:03 AM fini wrote: Wouldn't it be great if we had some big, retro-looking, cd-making machine with two slots: one for the LP and one for the CD-R. And a button. Now that would be on my birthday list! fini ---------------- Wasn't someone trying to make a laser turntable at one time? Whatever happened to that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 http://www.elpj.com/ for laser LP turntable There actually have been a number of "light based" recording/playback methods over the years. Some, such as the one above were/are intended to play regular LP's. Others had dedicated techniques such as reading 'light & dark areas' on a spinning disk. Sort of an analogue light based system. Can't seem to find the technical papers on it at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Hello: If the Pioneer is not easily availble, I can suggest the Tascam RW 700. Easy to use. No problems. RE: copyright - isn't it nice that Congress decided not to enact the installation of a chip so that CDs will be "coded". The industry wanted to have enacyed a provision that once you play a CD on one machine, it cannot be played on another CD player? What if the machine needs repair or the owner updates? The industry also wanted to have additional tax (to the one we're already paying) if you make a copy for your car. Win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted June 2, 2003 Author Share Posted June 2, 2003 Thanks Win, Yep, I hear good things about the Tascam. Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Hello: Another alternative is a home CD recoder/burner/ Tascam makes a nice unit. Model 700 Good Luck and all Blessings, Win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 I use an Hitachi DV-W1U DVD player/ CD player recorder. Records in real time off your TT and pre-amp or dubs CDs at 1/2 speed track for track very well. I can't tell the generations apart unless the original was very scratched (library CDs) and there are some drop-outs. Uses music CD-Rs upon which the copy royalty has been paid to RIAA/ASCAP. If you act fast you can steal this one with a good snipe: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5703162843 Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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