LP to HD

[tango5]

OS 10.5.8 imac Audacity 1.3.8 Stanton USB T90

I hope to convert an LP to my HD for the first time.
Can you walk me through the connections and prefs and anything else I need to know?
Once I have recorded it, how do I transfer it to my HD?
From there I can use toast to make a CD.
tango5

[kozikowski]

Aren't there instructions that came with the turntable?

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php? ... turntables

Koz

[billw58]

There's also:

http://manual.audacityteam.org/index.ph ... iscs_to_CD

-- Bill

[waxcylinder]

And see this page http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php? ... uter_or_CD

WC

[tango5]

I have read the instructions and I think I can muddle my way through them.
This special LP is coming from overseas so I can't do anything just now.

If I run into problems, I'll get back to you.
Thanks, tango5

[kozikowski]

Since playing a vinyl record damages it slightly, I personally would be experimenting on a trash vinyl record until you get all the steps and tools down cold. Then play the real thing.

Since this is a very important sound transfer and not your collection of old records from the garage, I would Export As WAV at the end of each side capture. Copy those two WAV files to a safety drive or thumb drive.

Many people get burned by Audacity's inability to Save a sound file.

For maximum compatibility with other computers, I would also change Audacity's preferences to 44100, 16-bit, Stereo.

Audacity > Preferences > Quality

Audacity 1.2 wakes up 44100, 32-bit, Mono.

Koz

[tango5]

Using another LP beforehand has occurred to me. And like you suggest, I don't want to damage the real thing.

I will Export it to a WAV file. Is there a particular reason for that choice as opposed to a MP3?

Thank you for your reply.

tango5

[kozikowski]

MP3 causes sound damage, WAV doesn't.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/WAV-MP3.wav

WAV is a production and archive format, MP3 is a delivery format.

Koz

[tango5]

I didn't know MP3 causes sound damage. Does that apply if converted later?
In the stanton booklet, it says to export them as AIFF for mac and wave for windows.
I've never thought about it before but is there software for removing clicks etc from a CD?
Thanks, tango5

[kozikowski]

<<<I didn't know MP3 causes sound damage. >>>

Always. It compresses filesizes on a sliding scale depending on how small you want the files and how deaf you are. That voice example is of a very severe compression.

<<<Does that apply if converted later?>>>

Any time you compress to MP3 you get some damage and it adds up. People trying to download heavily compressed MP3 songs from the internet and then doing production on them and then recompress to more MP3s will never make it.

"How come my songs are all bubbly and muffled?"

WAV files will stay the same quality unless you go to some serious trouble to break them. Always do production and editing in WAV until you're ready to deliver. I deliver in WAV, too, but most people post their podcasts in MP3 as that is the last step in the process. No further editing is expected.

Audacity 1.3 has Click Removal as part of its standard toolset. It may be available in 1.2, I don't remember. It's designed to remove pops and clicks from a phonograph record.

Koz