Converting Vinyl to .wav to MP3

[IAmGhostDog]

Sound Card Used:

Terratec DMX 6fire 24/96

Turn table:

Technics SL-1210MK2 w/Stanton 681EEEMK3

Software Used:

WaveLab Lite by Steinburg
Sound Laundry - Terratec Edition

.wav to MP3:

Music Match Juke Box v7.2

First you need to bring up the Control Panel/Mixer. Make sure Record Source is set to Phono/Mic in(It's on the bottom/Left).Then in the third module from Left(Also Phono/Mic In), set that to Phono. Using the Gain Knobs, set them so that the lights are yellow or just blinking red as you are previewing the the track that you want to record. The Volume sliders do nothing in the recording stage.

Click on pics for a larger view



Next. Open WaveLab Lite. Go to Options/Preferences and under the Audio Card tab make sure that the correct sound card is selected for Playback/Recording.




Under the File tab, select where you want your Saved file to go. In my case I created a file called Vinyl and tossed it on my desk top.




Now we can begin. On the right about half way up is the Transport. Clicking on the red record button brings up the recording interface which is on the left and also gives you the Attributes button. Here is where you set Stereo/Mono, Bit Resolution, Sample Rate.





Click Record




When you click on the Stop button, a window pops up and shows you your selection in Wave form.




Now go to Master Section interface. The first thing to put in is the TT_RIAA plug-in. This gives your recording that full sound just like you were listening to it on your turn table. There are other parameters you can add such as AutoPanner, Chorus, Echo, EQ-1, Leveler, StereoExpander. Click Apply.




Almost there. Go to File/Save As.../Save As Type: Wave (*.wav)

Bring up Sound Laundry Terratec Edition. Here is where you apply DeScratcher, DeNoiser, adjust Bass/Treble/Volume. Click Save.




The final step. Bring up Music Match Juke Box. Click - File, Convert Files. On the left select where your .wav file is located. On the right select where you want to send your converted file. Select your bit rate. Click Start. Done.

[nub]

Nice.

One thing, mono would probably be sufficient unless adding effects that will give the track stereo sound. Of course though, it is left up to preference.

[sangram]

Wow. Good read, thought I'd add that vinyl is an amazing source if:

1. The record is completely clean for minimal click/pop during the recording.
2. New stylus/cartridge or in excellent condition.
3. Hi-quality preamp. I suspect an outboard preamp will shine for this task.

I have some conversions (ahem: sourced, not mine) from vinyl to mp3 and some are outstanding and some are pathetic. It is difficult to tell what process was used so if the phono input on the card is good enough it's fine, but most soundcards aren't built for quality on this input, built only to work with cheap computer mics and consumer mics, not a highly musical and quality source such as a magnetic cartridge.

[liquidsoul]

I believe this should be a sticky

[htwild1]

How do you connect the turntable to the sound card?

I have Audio Trak Prodigy and a bunch of old vinyls.

Do you connect the RCA (from turntable) to the mini (line in of the card)?

I don't have any other setup than the PC. Just want to transfer the vinyls. Still have to look for a turntable.

I read that you need WaveLab lite software. Is it for doctoring the sound?

Thanks.

[IAmGhostDog]

Originally posted by htwild1 on 02-16-2004 at 05:22 PM
How do you connect the turntable to the sound card?

I have Audio Trak Prodigy and a bunch of old vinyls.

Do you connect the RCA (from turntable) to the mini (line in of the card)?

I don't have any other setup than the PC. Just want to transfer the vinyls. Still have to look for a turntable.

I read that you need WaveLab lite software. Is it for doctoring the sound?

Thanks.

Turn table goes into front module. It has RCA in's with a built in phono pre amp



A better pic. That's my guitar cord on left into mic in. Head phone on right.





WaveLab Lite is for recording and adding the RIAA Plugin and Sound Laundry is for cleaning it up. Both came bundled with my card.
Terratec DMX 6fire 24/96

[uddarts]

once you locate a turntable, you'll need a reciever or a turntable preamp.
prodigy comes with n-track which will work and also a demo of wavelab. there maybe a clean up program also.

ud

[TheViking]

A good guide, but what about the quality of the encoded mp3s? Everybody knows that LAME is the de facto encoder of quality mp3s. Music Match yields a _bad_ result.

For LAME, go with EasyLAME1.4.
http://www.mpex.net/software/download/easylame.html

Just for info.

[htwild1]

I don't have the Terratec card, Audio Trak Prodigy.

I know that there are RCA connection from the turntable.

How to connect to the SC is the problem. From the manual:

"Coaxial input & output: (Regular RCA connector width)

These ports can transfer Prodigy's audio data digitally and directly to a DAT, CD-recorder, or other devices that supports a digital coaxial connection.

Line-in: (1/8 inch)

The Line In connection is an analog stereo input for connecting external devices such as cassette, DAT, CD, MiniDisc player, etc..."

Would a mini-RCA and female-female connection work?

Software included is Wavelab, nTrack so I'm OK there.

[IAmGhostDog]

Originally posted by htwild1 on 02-17-2004 at 04:25 PM
I don't have the Terratec card, Audio Trak Prodigy.

I know that there are RCA connection from the turntable.

How to connect to the SC is the problem. From the manual:

"Coaxial input & output: (Regular RCA connector width)

These ports can transfer Prodigy's audio data digitally and directly to a DAT, CD-recorder, or other devices that supports a digital coaxial connection.

Line-in: (1/8 inch)

The Line In connection is an analog stereo input for connecting external devices such as cassette, DAT, CD, MiniDisc player, etc..."

Would a mini-RCA and female-female connection work?

Software included is Wavelab, nTrack so I'm OK there.

You could use something like this. Then it would be just a matter of getting stereo RCA to stereo mini plug to get it into your sound card.
There are also Digital Turn Tables out there. But then you are talking some dollars.

[Amol]

Excellent article GhostDog.

[Pilsnerpete]

Another question, Mr. Dog.

How did you set up your pc for stable audio performance? Did you install as ACPI pc or Standard pc? Any other special things you optimized? I'm going to be building a box for my bro-in-law to do stuff like you've done here and in other threads, and I'd like it to be as stable, and skip-click-pop-free as possible. Any tips or sites you can recommend?

Thanks!

[jsamans]

Great guide. I posted several months ago about doing this, got a lot of great comments here and I finally got started a few weeks ago. It's much more time consuming than I imagined.

My setup is turntable (Technics SL-1200 MKII) ---> Parasound P/PH 100 Phono Preamp ---> Audigy 2 zs (via stereo RCA to mini plug cable).

I record to .wav via Wavelab Lite, and use CDex (which uses LAME) to convert to MP3. I need to experiement with that TT_RIAA plug-in.

Some issues I have "lived and learned" so far:

* While having the capability to record in 24 bit/96 khz format is nice, the resulting .wav files are roughly 100 megs per 3 minutes. Not the ideal choice if you are archiving the .wavs. 16-bit/44.1 khz files are about 30 megs per 3 minutes and as a bonus play nice with most other software, cd players, etc.

* Make sure you mute all of your inputs in your control panel other than line in. Otherwise you will be finished recording a large batch of 7" 45 rpm records and be suprised to hear Windows sounds (from surfing, or doing whatever you do while you are recording) in the background of your recordings. Not that it <cough> ever happened to me <cough cough>.

* During your first batch of recordings listen to each recorded .wav all the way through and re-record them until you are satisfied with the results. I started out in speed mode, just tossing down records, recording, and moving on without listening to them, and was disappointed with the results and had to re-record everything. I wish I had taken the time to make sure everything was right to begin with.

[IAmGhostDog]

Originally posted by Pilsnerpete on 02-18-2004 at 03:42 AM
Another question, Mr. Dog.

How did you set up your pc for stable audio performance? Did you install as ACPI pc or Standard pc? Any other special things you optimized? I'm going to be building a box for my bro-in-law to do stuff like you've done here and in other threads, and I'd like it to be as stable, and skip-click-pop-free as possible. Any tips or sites you can recommend?

Thanks!

ACPI. Everything is stock. No overclock. The only thing I've done is bump my mem timings to 2 - 2 - 2. That's it.
The process of vinyl to .wav is very labor intensive. Read the last part of jsamans post. The first sentence. That is what I do. When I am recording, that's what I am doing. Nothing else. No emails. No surfing. No nothing. I want the initial .wav file to be as perfect as I can get it. I listen to the .wav, then put in the TT_RIAA plug-in, listen again and go from there.
One other thing I should add. The quality of the .wav will only be as good as the quality of the vinyl. Pristine albums are a easy burn, but if the albums are pretty beat up it's going to take a lot of work to get them to where they are listenable.

[IAmGhostDog]

Good tips jsamans. As you are using WaveLab Lite like I am, let me know if you can use the TT_RIAA plug-in with your Creative card. You would access/add it in the Master Section in WaveLad Lite.