Sound samples before I start ripping - wouldn't want to waste my time

I'm lucky that the temporary system I connect to from the PC has a SPDIF connector but the volume is a little lower so I use the tape RCA input at the moment and no difference in sound it appears. The SB card doesn't appear to generate any noise that I can detect but it is expensive for what it does. I've got a Cakewalk UA1G USB device for input as well so I'll experiment to see which is best for recording from LPs and cassettes, probably the SB card will be best.

I missed the worst aspect of vinyl of course, the inevitable background noise (pops, minor scratches, etc) which for me at least was intrusive enough to be annoying and was one reason I tended to use my cassette deck more often than the turntable.

Audacity does a good job of removing tape hiss and groove noise. Use the "noise reduction" filter.

For pops and minor scratches, look at these 2 choices:

1: Audacity "repair" effect. This works quite well, but is time consuming if you have more than one or two annoying pops per song. It is strictly a manual tool and even with practice it takes maybe 30 seconds per pop to use.

2: A dedicated click removal application. The best ones are automated after configuration and can declick dozens of pops from a song in seconds. They can even be set up in batch mode to process many songs in the same pass.

Major clue: software from Brian Davies, a retired Australian mathematician. He has two downloadable packages. One is for dehissing and the other is for declicking. Both are superb, but Audacity does about as good a job for dehissing. However, Audacity has nothing like the Davies declicking app. I think the Davies apps are $40 each, with a free 30 day trial. Maximum recommendation.

ignatzatsonic said:

Audacity does a good job of removing tape hiss and groove noise. Use the "noise reduction" filter.

For pops and minor scratches, look at these 2 choices:

1: Audacity "repair" effect. This works quite well, but is time consuming if you have more than one or two annoying pops per song. It is strictly a manual tool and even with practice it takes maybe 30 seconds per pop to use.

2: A dedicated click removal application. The best ones are automated after configuration and can declick dozens of pops from a song in seconds. They can even be set up in batch mode to process many songs in the same pass.

Major clue: software from Brian Davies, a retired Australian mathematician. He has two downloadable packages. One is for dehissing and the other is for declicking. Both are superb, but Audacity does about as good a job for dehissing. However, Audacity has nothing like the Davies declicking app. I think the Davies apps are $40 each, with a free 30 day trial. Maximum recommendation.

Thanks, I'll have a looky - will definitely need something as I'm surprised at how bad some of the records I've recently played have become even though they were always cleaned and stored carefully. I've never used a wet cleaner which apparently is the real answer to such issues - bit expensive for the number of albums I have mind. I have almost as many cassettes that are in better shape as the LPs so these should be easier to transfer. Perhaps with listening to CDs and mp3s for so long I have become more intolerant of such issues.

pincushion said:

Thanks, I'll have a looky - will definitely need something as I'm surprised at how bad some of the records I've recently played have become even though they were always cleaned and stored carefully. I've never used a wet cleaner which apparently is the real answer to such issues - bit expensive for the number of albums I have mind. I have almost as many cassettes that are in better shape as the LPs so these should be easier to transfer. Perhaps with listening to CDs and mp3s for so long I have become more intolerant of such issues.

There is nothing wrong with wet cleaners, but----

They won't do anything for scratches that are in vinyl as opposed to noise resulting from grime of some type on the record. All a cleaner can do for a scratch or pressing defect is help you get a perfectly reproduced tick or pop. That's no help.

I've always kept my vinyl as immaculate as possible and never used a wet cleaner (machine). I do (did) occasionally use a 10x magnifying glass, Q-Tips, and alcohol to directly attack a particular piece of grime that I could not otherwise dislodge.

An ordinary cleaning with a sink, warm water, toothbrush, and a mild dishwashing detergent is also useful. Rinse and let air dry propped up against a wall.

I think most of the noise is from stuff in the groove and although I used a fine brush cleaner (Parastat?) much still remains it appears - or perhaps it is static. I'll not be able to do anything with the LPs for a while since the decent amp is due for repair and it is the only one I have with a phono stage. I might try washing them by hand when it comes to recording them but I shall concentrate on the cassettes and CDs for now.