ClassicConnect

[LyraNovaHeart]

Hey Hey! I saw there wasn't a thread for this, and well, I decided to fix that. What I expect is tutorials here to help digitize old audio formats into digital form.
_________________
I'm one day closer to being who I wanna be~

[LyraNovaHeart]

I'll start with a basic thread, digitizing cassettes with a Walkman and a computer.

Note: this isn't the highest quality method, highly dependent on your audio interface, and a lot of them have lots of noise.

Requirements: Audio DAW software, or simple stuff like Audacity

Steps:

- 1. Load the cassette into your walkman
- 2. Connect to your PC/Laptop via the Mic jack, use a double ended 3.5mm cable
- 3. Set the levels to record at a reasonable level, not too loud or too quiet
- 4. Open your audio software and create a new audio file.
- 5. Once you set your perferred settings, begin recording after setting it to the right mic input
- 6. Check your recording, once its up to your quality standards, save it as a lossless audio file (ex FLAC or WAV)
- 7. Profit
_________________
I'm one day closer to being who I wanna be~

[nick99nack]

Great thread idea! I do this fairly often, so I'll use my typical vinyl workflow as an example. It's a little old fashioned, but it works great.

Computer Equipment:
- Custom built Pentium 4 desktop running Windows 98SE
- M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card

Audio software:
- Cool Edit Pro 2.0
- ClickRepair

Now, whenever I do this, I try to leave as little in the signal path as possible in order to get the cleanest capture. So, in the case of transferring an LP, that means unplugging my phono preamp (A MoFi StudioPhono) from my main stereo and plugging it directly into the sound card. From there, I use Cool Edit Pro to capture at 96 kHz/24-bit.

I first do a short test recording from the LP to make sure the levels are set properly and I don't need to add anything to the signal chain (like a subsonic filter). Once all is set, I begin the main capture, making one long file for each side of the LP.

Once the main capture is out of the way, it's time for editing! Depending on the noise level of the LP, I will decide how or if to remove clicks and pops. If the vinyl is super clean and quiet, most of the time I will just do click removal manually in Cool Edit Pro, editing out small sections as necessary. If you have modern Adobe Audition, you can sometimes use the healing tool to fix certain things. The spectral view can help you identify clicks. You'll have to play around with the settings and see which ones work best for you. Don't forget to use your ears!

If the record is fairly noisy, I then use something called ClickRepair. It's a tool designed specifically for removing noise from vinyl transfers. I usually use it at a pretty low setting (<10) and do it in two passes: one going forward and one in reverse. I then listen to the output to make sure that nothing of value was removed and everything sounds as good as it should. This program is quite powerful and I highly recommend it. Again, try to use it on a low setting to make sure you don't filter out any actual music accidentally. If there are still a few left, you can go back and do manual declicking in Audition/CEP.

Finally, I separate the long files into individual tracks, using the spectral view to make sure I don't accidentally cut something off.

Once that's done, I make sure all files are saved and export to other formats as necessary, and add metadata too.

If you're doing something other than vinyl (like reel to reel tape), it's the same process but without repairing clicks. Happy archiving!
_________________
If you like browsing without an ad blocker, you might also like getting rid of your virus scanner, and running around with your pants down. --SomeGuy, 2016