Click Removal torture test

[dgersic]

I'm using Audacity 1.3.7 here on OpenSuSE Linux 11.1. I have recorded a lot of vinyl records and am now going through to clean them up and make them sound the best I can. So Click Removal is, I hope, my friend.

Here's a sample of what I'm working with:
http://www.zaccaria-pinball.com/temp/St ... Square.zip
(Warning, large file.)

This project has the original recording, and several attempts with Click Removal to clean it up. The "Test 70/30" one sounds best to me of the bunch, but is this about as good as I can expect it to get without hand editing it sample by sample looking for the remaining pops and clicks to fix them? There are still several pretty big ones that it didn't pick up on (see the notes in the label track).

Listening to several of the other attempts, the saxophone sounds ok in most of them, but the trombone solos become pretty distorted. The torture test here is that distortion of the trombone, and that this recording has so much open and airy sound to it and so much quiet where there isn't a lot going on to help hide any of the record noise.

Since this is a mono record, is there a way I can use the left and right tracks to eliminate some more of the noise? Several of the nastier pops are only on one track or the other.

[steve]

I'm not able to download a huge file at the moment, but from your description this post may be useful: http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic ... 901#p25903

Also I have written a plug-in that will partly automate the process: http://audacity.easyspacepro.com/plugin ... nel.ny.zip

[waxcylinder]

See also this thread: http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1994

WC

[dgersic]

I'm not able to download a huge file at the moment

I can post WAV files instead if you'd like. I figured it would be easier to just upload the project, though I do realize that the project is a lot bigger to download all at once.

[dgersic]

See also this thread: http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1994

WC

Yep, I'd seen that. I have started trying out the ClickRepair tool. So far, the results are pretty impressive. I was hoping for a way to do it within Audacity, though, so as to avoid having to go through too many intermediate steps.

One note, for anybody that wants to run ClickRepair on Linux. You have to use Sun's JVM. I was using the one that came with the distro (OpenSuSE 11.1), and while it still worked, most of the menus and windows were all screwy. Once I installed Sun's Java 1_6_0, it works a lot better.

[dgersic]

See also this thread: http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1994

WC

After a couple of days of playing with ClickRepair, I have to agree with your assessment that this tool is nothing short of amazing. My only complaint so far is that the batch setup window doesn't scroll, so there's a limit on how many files I can queue up for it to process.

[waxcylinder]

Yes, but you're saving so much time on the clean-up process - so you can afford a little of that to do the batch set-ups

Seriously though, I suggest that you drop an email to Brain Davies, the developer of ClickRepar, IIRC his site has a feedback link, or may even have his email address - and make this as a suggeestion for a future enhancement. He does maintenance work and development on the packages still - so you never know ...

Glad it worked well for you - IMHO Brian is nothing short of a magician

I do wonder why no turntable manufacturer has never taken up the idea and licensed the package to implement in hardware as part of turntable, thus delivering clean click-free sound from clicky records straight out the back of the TT.

WC

[steve]

One note, for anybody that wants to run ClickRepair on Linux. You have to use Sun's JVM. I was using the one that came with the distro (OpenSuSE 11.1), and while it still worked, most of the menus and windows were all screwy. Once I installed Sun's Java 1_6_0, it works a lot better.

Another option for Linux users is "Gnome Wave Cleaner".
GWC is amazingly effective, with a number of different algorithms for cleaning up different types of noise. It is also very easy to use. http://gwc.sourceforge.net/