Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Jeff Maxwell wrote: I am in need of a way to process an analog stereo input device to digital. I basically have old cassettes and reel-to-reels that I would like to convert to digital. I do have an old CD recorder that I have been using but it has started to have issues not being able to read the CDs I insert. I would think the better method would be some way to connect the audio output of the cassette/reel-to-reel device to the input of my sound card and do some type of capture. Has anyone had any success at this and how do handle 2 rca type outputs from the analog to the single sound card input? Thanks. You have had a lot of advice on hardware and software, I'll just add that the quality of the result is limited by the worst hardware in the chain. So unless you are going to buy new hardware to play the old cassettes and reel-to-reel, or the r2r is half inch tape recorded in a studio with top equipment, you will probably not lose a lot by using a decent sound card as the A-D conversion. For two channel input I have used rec from the sox package, and left every ugly thing in the first recording for removal after the fact. Then you can use various tools to remove noise, boost quiet segments, etc. Some of the stuff on tape may be compressed (Dolby or similar), that's good, you can expand it later and it help signal to noise. You might want to record once and use the level check in sox to tell you how much you can boost gain without clipping. Then record again at higher gain. Remember that if you have loud clicks and pops, you can boost gain and let them clip, fidelity is not an issue there. Finally, for records, there is a USB connected turntable I just saw advertised, I think it was about $200, which is sort of borderline between consumer and audiophile pricing. If you have a decent table and preamp probably not needed. -- Bill Davidsen david...@tmr.com We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from the machinations of the wicked. - from Slashdot -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Tim: I'd be very surprised if any of those plastic turntables were anything but utter crap. But then they're aimed at the MP3/iPod users, where audio quality is the least thing on their mind... Patrick O'Callaghan: A friend has one and is happy with it, but I haven't tried it myself. Given that these things are mostly going to be used to digitize old vinyl records, I suspect most people are going to be happy with them even if they aren't studio quality. I don't think they'll get even close to being good quality. A cheap domestic proper turntable sounds better than a crappy plastic one. But, considering how many people took absolutely no care with their records, they're probably not going to care that digitising them sounds crappy, too. -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~]$ uname -r 2.6.27.5-41.fc9.i686 Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists. -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Tim: I'd be very surprised if any of those plastic turntables were anything but utter crap. Mikkel L. Ellertson: Considering the quality of the analog to digital converter most people are going to be using, it probably would not be much better using a quality turntable, cartridge, and preamp. The A to D converter in the sound cards of most computers is not that great. (Good enough for mp3, but that is about it.) I was thinking more about how woeful the analogue side of things would be: Cheap cartridges with poor audio quality. Plastic turntables that make their own noises. Lack of damping from external noises, etc. Using moderately decent home HiFi turntables with the average sound card, even a cheapy, produced quite good results, here. The only thing I would have complained about was surface crackle, and I'm picky about audio quality. I still play my records, as records. They have their charm, despite some inconveniences. And listening to vinyl crackle on a digital recording is a bit strange. I've never really had much luck at eliminating dust-caused crackle when playing records. I suspect that the room the stereo's in is just bad for static electricity. I've tried brushes and cloths over the years, I don't want to try chemicals, and the local water supply would be a really bad idea for trying wet transfers. -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~]$ uname -r 2.6.27.5-41.fc9.i686 Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists. -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
On Friday 05 December 2008 20:31:08 Jeff Maxwell wrote: I am in need of a way to process an analog stereo input device to digital. I basically have old cassettes and reel-to-reels that I would like to convert to digital. You are getting plenty of hardware advice. I'd just like to add a software note. If you use gramofile for the capture it will make a pretty good job of splitting the tracks for you, which saves a good bit of time and effort. I did a pile of vinyl records, capturing via gramofile, then editing in audacity. The added advantage is that you are editing smaller files. IMO that decreases the risk of making a mistake, but that might just be my caution :-) Anne Anne -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
On Sun, Dec 7, 2008 at 12:51 AM, Tim [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'd be very surprised if any of those plastic turntables were anything but utter crap. But then they're aimed at the MP3/iPod users, where audio quality is the least thing on their mind... A friend has one and is happy with it, but I haven't tried it myself. Given that these things are mostly going to be used to digitize old vinyl records, I suspect most people are going to be happy with them even if they aren't studio quality. poc -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
On Sat, 6 Dec 2008 18:20:44 +1930, Patrick wrote: Or you can buy a ready-made USB tape player, but I'm not sure how much pain it would mean to get it working under Linux. Turntables are also available. Ironically, a lot of these actually come with Audacity even though they're marketed for Windows. The makers of such players/turntables include the Win32 build of Audacity, so they can advertise that audio editing software is included and not just shareware/crippleware. -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Tim wrote: Patrick O'Callaghan: Turntables are also available. Ironically, a lot of these actually come with Audacity even though they're marketed for Windows. Mikkel L. Ellertson: For example: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=TTUSB-PB-Rcpc=SCH I'd be very surprised if any of those plastic turntables were anything but utter crap. But then they're aimed at the MP3/iPod users, where audio quality is the least thing on their mind... Considering the quality of the analog to digital converter most people are going to be using, it probably would not be much better using a quality turntable, cartridge, and preamp. The A to D converter in the sound cards of most computers is not that great. (Good enough for mp3, but that is about it.) Mikkel -- Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with Ketchup! signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Mikkel L. Ellertson wrote: Tim wrote: Patrick O'Callaghan: Turntables are also available. Ironically, a lot of these actually come with Audacity even though they're marketed for Windows. Mikkel L. Ellertson: For example: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=3DTTUSB-PB-Rcpc=3DSCH I'd be very surprised if any of those plastic turntables were anything but utter crap. But then they're aimed at the MP3/iPod users, where audio quality is the least thing on their mind... Considering the quality of the analog to digital converter most people are going to be using, it probably would not be much better using a quality turntable, cartridge, and preamp. The A to D converter in the sound cards of most computers is not that great. (Good enough for mp3, but that is about it.) What sound cards (that have Linux drivers) would you recommand for very high fidelity stereo digitising? I have two purposes. One is a new interest in audio work. Another is a project in which I need to digitise and analyse two related analogue waveforms. Low noise, good linearity, flat freq. response down to 5 Hz, sampling rate of (at least) 192 Ksamples/sec are my initial specifications. The flat response is only a want. I can calibrate out any deviations if they are not severe (like being at -60dB at 5 Hz :-). Thanks. Dean -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Dean S. Messing wrote: Mikkel L. Ellertson wrote: Tim wrote: Patrick O'Callaghan: Turntables are also available. Ironically, a lot of these actually come with Audacity even though they're marketed for Windows. Mikkel L. Ellertson: For example: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=3DTTUSB-PB-Rcpc=3DSCH I'd be very surprised if any of those plastic turntables were anything but utter crap. But then they're aimed at the MP3/iPod users, where audio quality is the least thing on their mind... Considering the quality of the analog to digital converter most people are going to be using, it probably would not be much better using a quality turntable, cartridge, and preamp. The A to D converter in the sound cards of most computers is not that great. (Good enough for mp3, but that is about it.) What sound cards (that have Linux drivers) would you recommand for very high fidelity stereo digitising? I have two purposes. One is a new interest in audio work. Another is a project in which I need to digitise and analyse two related analogue waveforms. Low noise, good linearity, flat freq. response down to 5 Hz, sampling rate of (at least) 192 Ksamples/sec are my initial specifications. The flat response is only a want. I can calibrate out any deviations if they are not severe (like being at -60dB at 5 Hz :-). You probably want to start here: http://ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software/ for anything resembling professional audio On Linux. -- Les Mikesell [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Analog-to-Digital Audio:
I am in need of a way to process an analog stereo input device to digital. I basically have old cassettes and reel-to-reels that I would like to convert to digital. I do have an old CD recorder that I have been using but it has started to have issues not being able to read the CDs I insert. I would think the better method would be some way to connect the audio output of the cassette/reel-to-reel device to the input of my sound card and do some type of capture. Has anyone had any success at this and how do handle 2 rca type outputs from the analog to the single sound card input? Thanks. -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Jeff Maxwell wrote: I am in need of a way to process an analog stereo input device to digital. I basically have old cassettes and reel-to-reels that I would like to convert to digital. I do have an old CD recorder that I have been using but it has started to have issues not being able to read the CDs I insert. I would think the better method would be some way to connect the audio output of the cassette/reel-to-reel device to the input of my sound card and do some type of capture. Has anyone had any success at this and how do handle 2 rca type outputs from the analog to the single sound card input? Thanks. Yeah, you buy a Y connector with two RCA that goes to a single jack for line in on the sound card, usually a mini. Then set up audacity to record from line in instead of mic and start the player. Once they are in audacity you can do whatever you want with them. -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 4:01 PM, Jeff Maxwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am in need of a way to process an analog stereo input device to digital. I basically have old cassettes and reel-to-reels that I would like to convert to digital. I do have an old CD recorder that I have been using but it has started to have issues not being able to read the CDs I insert. I would think the better method would be some way to connect the audio output of the cassette/reel-to-reel device to the input of my sound card and do some type of capture. Has anyone had any success at this and how do handle 2 rca type outputs from the analog to the single sound card input? I've done this with a cassette deck. I had a friend make me a cable that joins both tape stereo output channels into a single soundcard input plug (this is a standard connector but I'm electronics-illiterate so don't ask me for details :-). I used Audacity for the capture. It's a highly manual process needless to say (start Audacity recording, hit tape button, wait for the whole thing to finish at normal speed, hit tape stop, stop recording) but I did capture several audiobooks to listen to on my iPod. Or you can buy a ready-made USB tape player, but I'm not sure how much pain it would mean to get it working under Linux. Turntables are also available. Ironically, a lot of these actually come with Audacity even though they're marketed for Windows. poc -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Patrick O'Callaghan wrote: I've done this with a cassette deck. I had a friend make me a cable that joins both tape stereo output channels into a single soundcard input plug (this is a standard connector but I'm electronics-illiterate so don't ask me for details :-). I used Audacity for the capture. It's a highly manual process needless to say (start Audacity recording, hit tape button, wait for the whole thing to finish at normal speed, hit tape stop, stop recording) but I did capture several audiobooks to listen to on my iPod. You can pick up the 2 RCA plug to mini-stereo plug or mini-stereo to mini-stereo cables in the electronic department of most chain stores. They are usually listed as being for iPods. I have a nice dec that I have used - you can have it search for the gap between songs. It helps if you want to record individual songs, instead of separating them in Audacity. I have been tempted by cassette player that Computer Geeks has that is controlled by a serial port and mounts like a CD drive. http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PLUSDECK2Ccpc=SCH Or you can buy a ready-made USB tape player, but I'm not sure how much pain it would mean to get it working under Linux. Turntables are also available. Ironically, a lot of these actually come with Audacity even though they're marketed for Windows. For example: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=TTUSB-PB-Rcpc=SCH Mikkel -- Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with Ketchup! signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
Patrick O'Callaghan: Turntables are also available. Ironically, a lot of these actually come with Audacity even though they're marketed for Windows. Mikkel L. Ellertson: For example: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=TTUSB-PB-Rcpc=SCH I'd be very surprised if any of those plastic turntables were anything but utter crap. But then they're aimed at the MP3/iPod users, where audio quality is the least thing on their mind... -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~]$ uname -r 2.6.27.5-41.fc9.i686 Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists. -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
On Fri, 2008-12-05 at 15:31 -0500, Jeff Maxwell wrote: I am in need of a way to process an analog stereo input device to digital. I basically have old cassettes and reel-to-reels that I would like to convert to digital. I've found Audacity to be one of the better choices, as you have fairly real time VU meters. That allows you to capture at the best signal level, in the first place (not too quiet that you lots of noise, and not too loud that you have distortion). Though, working in audio/video production, and having other gear to hand, I opted for running the player through a mixer with really good metering, after making some test recordings to work out what were the right levels between equipment. Another issue is hum and noise. Computers are none-too-quiet, and earth loops between your computer and audio equipment are going to cause problems. If your audio equipment is un-earthed, that won't be an issue. If you get hum loops, then some decent audio transformers between them will be the easiest solution. Resist the urge to attempt to fix hum and noise problems digitally, it's much better to capture a good signal in the first place. There are some problems that you just can't get rid of, or the attempt makes yet another mess out of the audio signal. I found the best way of dealing with audio sources with different sections was to caption the source without any pauses in your capture, then carve it into the appropriate sections on the computer. Audacity's fade-in fade-out filters make it easy to make the hiss neatly disappear between tracks, so it doesn't go click between tracks on CD recorders and/or players that insist on badly muting between tracks. -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~]$ uname -r 2.6.27.5-41.fc9.i686 Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists. -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: Analog-to-Digital Audio:
On Saturday 06 December 2008, Tim wrote: Patrick O'Callaghan: Turntables are also available. Ironically, a lot of these actually come with Audacity even though they're marketed for Windows. Mikkel L. Ellertson: For example: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=TTUSB-PB-Rcpc=SCH I'd be very surprised if any of those plastic turntables were anything but utter crap. But then they're aimed at the MP3/iPod users, where audio quality is the least thing on their mind... And if it outputs mp3's directly, its crap even if its a Fairchild Battleship. -- Cheers, Gene There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order. -Ed Howdershelt (Author) Sentimentality -- that's what we call the sentiment we don't share. -- Graham Greene -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
