This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
By Jim Hobbs
This page lists information resources on the process of transferring analog recordings to CD form. There are also entries for general audio preservation and related areas.
Start here: Transferring LPs to CDR: Some Advice. Excellent, updated regularly. (By the same author: Clive's FAQ About Audio on a PC.)
AudioToolers "audio and video software, info, help and discussion"
Broida, Rick. Alpha Geek: How to digitize cassette tapes. Recommends Audacity.
Clement, John M. (PhD). "Digitally Restoring Old Recordings On the Cheap." Discusses demands of different kinds of recordings, e.g., 78, LP, FM, discusses and evaluates specific software in detail. No date.
Convert LPs into MP3s (October 20, 2008) from Wired's WikiHow.
Copying audio tapes to CDs (April 7, 2005).
Copying Vinyl Recordings to CD. From the BBC, UK. (Oct. 14, 2002).
De Vile, James. How to convert your vinyl into mp3s. Windows Vista Magazine (Nov. 1, 2007).
Dewey-Wright Enterprises "How to create a CD from Vinyl" (dated November 27, 2001).
How To Convert Vinyl Records (singles and LPs) to Audio CDs and MP3 files (Feb. 7, 2008, no author given)
Liddell, Elisabeth. From Audio Cassette to PC with Technics! (August 2004)
Long, Chris. "Turning old music into digital." BBC News.
MAKE:BLOG "Recording vinyl to digital" (discussion begun February 24, 2005)
McFadden, Andy. "How do I transfer my records or cassettes to a CD?" (Part of the CD-Recordable FAQ - Section 3.)
Moore, Philip. "Breathing new life into those old vinyl records." (December 5, 2003) Overview of the digitizing process.
Nancy Street Network. "Digitising Vinyl" (June 2004). Process from start to finish with copious visuals, using CoolEdit. (Also see the additional info on music and digitizing from the main page.)
Payne, Anthony. Vinyl to CD Everything Old is New Again. (July 2001) Uses Audiograbber software, lots of visuals.
Silva, Robert. Adventures in CD recording. (no date, 3 sequential pages).
Skwarecki, Beth. Digitizing records and tapes with Audacity. (October 4, 2007).
Transferring tapes and records to computer or CD with Audacity (Wiki, accessed on Oct. 27, 2008).
Vinyl Records to CDs in Easy Steps. (Feb. 7, 2008)
Bass, Steve. "LP to CD--Music Soothes Savage Bass." PCWORLD.COM. (From the May 2001 issue of PC World magazine)
Bass, Steve. "Transfer Music from LPs to CDs and MP3s." PCWORLD.COM. (dated Wednesday, April 25, 2001) Has links to many other Web sites. Uses Roxio's Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum, EnhancedAudio's Diamond Cut 32 and the Plextor Speedwriter.
Dreier, Troy. "Make Your Music Digital." PC Magazine 21 (November 19, 2002):160-161.
Gowan, Michael. "Audio Nirvana: Cards to Speakers PC World 22 (February 2004): 122-126.
Greenberg, Corey. "Burn, Baby, Burn!" Audio 84 ( January 2000): 38-43.
Machrone, Bill. "Audio recording on the PC." PC Magazine April 9, 2002, p.57.
Menasché, Emile. "Make Beautiful Music." PC Magazine 22 (November 25, 2003): 162-163. Reviews of consumer products primarily for editing sound files.
Miatstkowski, Stan. "Surround Yourself with PC Sound." PC World 21 (November 2003): 192-193. Reviews of computer sound accessories, e.g., sound cards.
Needleman, Ted. "Converting LPs to CDs" Poptronics 1 (April 2000): 47-48.
Norton, Patrick. "Rip Your Records.& PC World 22:11 (November 2004) : 153-155. [Recommends Microsoft Plus Digital Media Edition )$20) over Magix Audio Cleaning Lab 2005 and Pinnacle Systems Clean 4.]
Pogue, David. "The Sermon on the Tapes. New York Times (March 29, 2007). Also covers video transfer.
Phonopreamps.com Commercial web retailer of phono preamps. (Contributed by Jerry Kazin jkazin at comcast.net)
And now it's time for some liquid refreshment (record cleaning solutions)
Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs from the Information Access Division of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Entire document in plain text or PDF.
Cylinder, Disc and Tape Care in a Nutshell from the Library of Congress (U.S.) with solution formula and bibliography
Garage-A-Records record cleaning products
Goldman Record Cleaning System by Bruce Kinch, with many comments on record cleaning devices
High Quality, Low Cost Record Cleaner a do-it-yourself cleaner
IPI Media Storage Quick Reference 9 page PDF covering photographic glass plates, acetate-, nitrate- and polyester-base photographic films, photographic paper, ink jet prints, magnetic tape and CDs and DVDs
Jerry Raskin's Needledoctor record cleaning machines
Keith Monks Record Cleaning Machina at Audio-Restoration by Graham Newton
Last with a variety of products
Loricraft Audio Record Cleaning System
Mr. Smashy's Guide to Record Cleaning
Moth RCM [record cleaning machine] from UK
Nitty Gritty record cleaning
machines
Nitty Gritty
2.5Fi Mk.II Record Cleaning Machine review by Andrew Chasin, January
1998
Record Care, Cleaning, and Storage advice from The Vinyl Tourist
Record Cleaning and Maintenance from Galen Carol Audio, San Antonio, TX
Sleeves: Bags Unlimited, Sleeve City also cleaning supplies
Sound Savings: Preserving Audio Collections, proceedings of a symposium held July 2003 and sponsored by: Preservation and Conservation Studies, University of Texas at Austin, School of Information; Library of Congress; National Recording Preservation Board; Association of Research Libraries. Many papers available in full text.
Tracer Technologies record cleaning supplies and equipment
VPI
Industries
VPI HW - 16.5 Record
Cleaning Machine review, VPI
HWF-17 Record Cleaner review
Google search for phrase "record cleaning"
Audacity Open source: "A fast multitrack audio editor and recorder for Linux, MacOS, and Windows. Supports WAV, AIFF, Ogg, and MP3 formats. Features include envelope editing, mixing, built-in effects and plug-ins, all with unlimited undo."
Audiotools "a direct to disk recorder used to record from LPs and cassettes whilst breaking into separate files by song either automatically , into fixed-length chunks or under user control."
Cakewalk Pyro 2004 Record, edit, and burn music. (Contributed by Jerry Kazin jkazin at comcast.net)
CoolEdit 2000 is no longer available. The Syntrillium company was purchased by Adobe, which has discontinued CoolEdit 2000 and changed the Pro version to Adobe Audition.
Golden Records for Windows, from Australia.
Linux Soundfile Editor Roundup From Linux Journal, issue 122, June 2004.
MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab. Download $30, boxed $40. Works with WAV, MP3, AIF, WMA, and Ogg Vorbis. Also create labels and covers. Reviews: IT Reviews, and PC Magazine.
RIP Vinyl (from the U.K.)
Spin It Again Records and edits sound with noise reduction and effects and CD burning. Shareware. Reviews: Infopackets Windows Newsletter.
ADS Instant Music plugs into USB port and connect analog audio source to convert to MP3, WAV, WMA, and AAC formats. Includes some bundled software Nero Wave Editor, Mix and SoundTrax, and a RCA-type connector cable. List $59. (J.D. Biersdorfer article Oct. 7, 2004 New York Times.) Tom's Hardware review.
Firebox Plus Deck Cassette Converter records to WAV only.
Sony PS-LX300USB turntable annunced Feb. 26, 2008; converts directly to digital format; plays 33 1/3 and 45 rpms.
TEAC GF-350: copies vinyl and cassettes directly to CD. Manufacturer web site.
Vestax Guber CM-02 Japanese turntable with USB port.
There are also commercial services that transfer analog to digital recordings for a fee. Search Google for some here.
Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project from the Department of Special Collections at the University of California at San Barbara Library: 5000 cylinder recordings from the 1890s to the 1920s.
From top quarks to the blues about audio restoration using "a precision optical metrology system." More at From the Higgs Boson Particle to Leadbelly. NPR Story on this process from June 28, 2004 (RealAudio or Windows Media Player).
Set up a Turntable. From the Wired How-To Wiki.
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