Sample workflow for LP digitization

This tutorial outlines a set of steps that can be used to digitize LPs with Audacity, ready for CD creation or loading into a digital jukebox or portable music player.

It is not the only way of working, there are many alternatives. Like any recipe it can be adapted to suit your personal needs.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Please note that this page is currently under construction - please bear with me for a few days while I work on it.

Overview

All of the processing in this tutorial is carried out with Audacity, however some users may prefer to use alternative software for specific sub-tasks like noise removal and the removal of clicks and pops (current Audacity Click Removal may not give as good results as other software).

Work with Audacity set with Project Rate 44.1kHz sample format 32-bit floating (the Audacity default). You can use 16-bit if you prefer, it will give smaller working file-sizes but you may lose a little quality in some of the processes. Export WAV files at 44.1kHz 16-bit PCM stereo as that is the standard required for making CDs and it will produce WAVs that are accepted for import by iTunes (and other music player software).

Note that this workflow does not at any stage necessitate the saving of an Audacity project (though you may wish to do that if you need to interrupt your work) rather it relies on the export of WAV files.

Workflow

1. Clean the LP
2. Check the recording levels
3. Capture one side of the LP in Audacity
4. Mark the approximate label points while recording - place cursor at point required and click [b]CTRL+B[/b]
5. Change the zoom level to “Fit Project” in window (makes future processing easier)
6. Export a single WAV for this side of the LP at 32-bit float
7. Leave the Audacity project open
8. Remove clicks and pops. Process this file through the ClickRepair software.
9. Return to the Audacity project and then Import the click-repaired WAV file back into the open project.
10. Delete the originally recorded track.
11. Move the label track to under the music track.
12. Carry on with remaining editing in Audacity:
    1. Clean the inter-track gaps,
    2. Adjust label positions,
    3. Possible fade-ins/outs etc.
13. Edit the labels with the song-names.
14. Adjust the amplitude of the recording.
15. Export Multiple to produce a set of WAVs at 44.1kHz 16-bit PCM stereo files
16. Repeat for next side of LP
17. Backup your WAV files.

Workflow

Clean the LP

Cleaning the LP carefully and thoroughly before recording it will reduce the number of clicks and pops that you get and will improve the quality of your recording.

Recording levels

Check the levels: play portions of the LP, or even the whole side of the LP, to check the recording levels that you set so that you avoid any clipping during the recording. Try to aim for a maximum peak of around –6dB (0r 0.5 if you have your meters et to linear rather than dB. Tip: enlarging the meter toolbars by clicking and dragging on the toolbar helps with this task.

Capture

Capture one side: I prefer to work with single sides of an LP as it gives a smaller working set. You can if you wish record both sides into the project prior to doing the processing. I tend to work at a zoom level which will show the whole side of the LP in the Audacity window.

Place-holders for song labels

Mark the approximate label points while recording: place your cursor at the approximate point required and click CTRL+B – alternatively you can mark the current recording point, while recording, between tracks by using CTRL+M.

Fit in window

Change the zoom level to “Fit Project” in window – this will enable you to see the entire project, useful when the click-repaired file is reloaded later

Raw master

Export a single WAV for this side of the LP at 32-bit float. You should keep this WAV file as a raw-capture file that you can return to later for any future re-editing, or to strt over with the editing if you damage the project while editing.

Remove clicks and pops

Process this file through the ClickRepair software: I change the ClickRepair defaults to: De-click 30, Crackle off ,Pitch Protection on, Method wavelet - select Reverse for particularly precussive recordings. ClickRepair will returns a 32-bit float WAV file with “-cr” appended to its file name for example: side<n> -cr.WAV

Clean the inter-track gaps

These are rarely truly silent so replace them with silence by selecting the gap and using CTRL+L: Shorten the inter-track gap to around a maximum of 2 seconds.

Adjust label positions

Leave a tail of say 1.5 seconds and a run-in of 0.5 seconds.

Fade-ins/outs

You may wish to more cleanly fade out the track ends and fade in the track beginnings (normally fadeouts should be longer and fade-ins, if required, quite short).

Alternative

You may find it easier to do: fade-out, silence gap, fade-in, shorten gap, adjust label position – in that order, one track at a time.

Track names

Edit the labels for song-names: we suggest using 01 <song-name_1>, 02 <song-name_2>, etc. as this helps keep them in the right order for CD production or loading into iTunes etc. You may find that changing the zoom level will help you with this task - or you can tab to the next label by ensuring that the focus is on the current lable and then clicking the Tab key.

Amplitude adjustment

Adjust the amplitude of the recording. Use Effect > Amplify as the last editing step to bring the amplitude up to around -1dB. Use Amplify rather than Normalize as Audacity’s Normalize effect operates on each stereo channel independently and can thus affect/damage the stereo balance. If your equipment is not balanced you may prefer to use the Normalize effect.

Export a set of WAVs

Use Export Multiple to produce a set of WAVs at 44.1kHz 16-bit PCM stereo files (this the Red Book standard for CDs). Audacity will down-sample on export from 32-bit to 16-bit and you may wish to ensure that dithering is applied. Use triangular dithering – you set the dithering in Preferences . See this article in the Audacity Wiki for an explanation of dithering.

Repeat

Repeat for next side of LP.

Backup

Backup your WAV files: you don't want to lose all that valuable work and do it all over again, do you? Use two separate external 1TB USB disks to hold the WAVs - each LP can be stored in its own named folder by artist (or composer for classical) to make retrieval easier.

Options

1. You can use 16-bit throughout if required – it will reduce the space needed.
2. Some users may wish to remove subsonic rumble and low frequency noise. If so, this should be done in the workflow prior to the click removal steps. Whether you need to or not will depend on the quality of your turntable/arm/cartridge and its placement.
3. Some users may wish to remove any continuous noise such as hiss. If so, this should be done in the workflow after the click removal steps. Once the click repaired file has been loaded back into Audacity then Audacity’s Noise Removal too can be used to effect this. Whether you need to or not will depend on the quality of your LPs and your stylus/cartridge.
4. Some users may wish to apply compression as a final processing step, Chris's Compressor is often recommended for this.
5. You can work in AIFF rather than WAV with the ClickRepair software if required.

Links

|< Tutorial - Copying tapes, LPs or minidiscs to CD

Brian Davies's ClickRepair software can be accessed from here: http://www.clickrepair.net/

Link to: Chris's Dynamic Compressor