How to best rip vinyl?

[JuxtaPoser]

I've got a load of vinyl that I want to rip so I can play them digitally on Serato when I don't have my records to hand. What is the best way for me to do this? I've got 1200 MK2s, a DJM800 and a Serato SL4.

Can someone talk me through the process that will yield the best results for me?

[swine]

Do you have a sound card or does your computer have an audio in?

[JuxtaPoser]

Do you have a sound card or does your computer have an audio in?

I've got a Macbook Pro with a 3.5mm audio input. I also have my SL4.

[DTR]

How long's a piece of string?

As a bare minimum I'd say you need a decent hifi cart properly set up, and a decent (external) soundcard. An external phono preamp would be the next thing on the list, plugged straight into the soundcard.

[swine]

Sweet, Well Ill explain how I get good rips. I'm assuming youre not a total noob and you know how to hook everything up.

Just hook everything up as if you were going to play the vinyl then hook up the booth out (or master) to your MBP. I just use audacity to actually capture the audio. Just make sure in the audacity setting it is at the bit rate you would like.

Then find the loudest part on the record and adjust all the levels, make sure you are not clipping.

After youve recorded you can export to wav.

One of your biggest problems is going to be having a flawless record so you dont get any of the "snap crackle pop". People say never to use the Noise reduction filter just FYI. Your best bet is to make sure youve cleaned your record properly and have a flawless needle.


I don't really do anything fancy, maybe others do... :shrug:

[Sigma]

http://www.djforums.com/forums/showthread.php?3484-Vinyl-ripping-guide-for-Windows-users

[JuxtaPoser]

Awesome, thanks Sigma (and Swine/DTR). I did try searching the forums (and Google) before I posted but I didn't manage to find that guide. Thanks a lot for pointing me in the right direction.

Tried to rep you but alas I need to spread it round more first :(

[savageg]

I've used a few times my Sure M97xE audiophile cart recording through my Ecler Evo4 into serato's record option with my gains set to record at the loudest non clipping volume. The rips sound fine to me short of the records i haven't cleaned properly. Is this not an acceptable way to digitize your vinyl?

Apologize if this is considered a thread hijack.

[DennisBdrmDJ 2.0]

I don't really do anything fancy, maybe others do... :shrug:this is where I come in...there is nothing, I hate more than a bad recording.so,I have gone the extra mile(some may say,overkill) to get a crisp,clean and proper Wav,AIFF,or MP3 file(recording).
*clean the record..I,go as far as using an automatic 2 sided record cleaning machine.it automatically wets,rotates,scrubs and vacuums both sides simultaneously.http://www.nittygrittyinc.com/1.5_2.5.htm As an option,use a record cleaning solution(there are alot of homemade formula online),Microfiber cloth,and a carbon fiber record brush.http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Carbon-Fiber-Brushes
*a good cart,I use this model for recording.http://www.needledoctor.com/Ortofon-Arkiv-Stylus?sc=2&category=63....I, use an Eliptical stylus,to get deeper into the record grooves, which improves higher frequency playback.
*forget about using the SL4. I,tried going that route.what Serato, doesn't tells you about using the Sl4 as an external sound card, is that it doesn't provide gain (volume control)from a turntable.you won't be able to hear the audio playing into your computer,or recording software (sorry,I don't remember the vernacular for it,something about amplifying the Moving Magnet RIAA equalization,blah,blah,blah).I use a phono pre-amp, with Output level control(volume).easy to set up,and provides the necessary cables to plugs right into a 3.5mm audio input on your computer.($49.00)with this,I can control the volume(and clipping) on the recording http://www.phonopreamps.com/tc750lcpp.html
*you are going to need a recording software.Many people swear by Audacity.it's free....I have tried using them all,for both windows and mac.none have completely blown me away.at the moment,I'm using two different programs.Audio Hijack Pro ($35.) and,WireTap studio($70.).they both have the same function.record all formats.(MP3,Wav,AIFF,ACC,etc.)non-destructive editing.save in library,or idisk,Itune. *** this is the program,I won't live without.Soundsoap SE2($50.Win/Mac),a noise(hum,crackle,pop) removal/cleaning program.fun,and easy to use.once you run a music file through it,you will hear a major difference in recording quality .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dllaK5szZzw&feature=relmfu..... show a little pride:love:,get a quality product.:tup:

[streetspirit]

This does not sound like it would work. I can understand if you just want to play vinyl rips at home but to play out live wouldn't it sound like crap?

[mars.shosh1n]

This does not sound like it would work. I can understand if you just want to play vinyl rips at home but to play out live wouldn't it sound like crap?

Sure, it's totally possible the recording will come out crappy, but that's why dj dennis included those post-processing bits.

I've found I am unable to get a proper volume out of vinyl recordings; a little compression, eq and amp make it juuuust right. YMMV

[disparate]

I find the volume's OK if I normalise the ripped audio. It's not as loud as straight-up digital files but nothing that a few dB on my mixer's gain control can't solve.

I've been meaning to invest in a decent quality cart for ripping vinyl - at the moment I have a good soundcard and I'm happy with the ability of my needles and DJ mixer to sound great in a club, ergo my rips should also sound great in a club; guess it's good to have the best possible quality all the way though.

[Celestial]

I've been meaning to invest in a decent quality cart for ripping vinyl

do it man, that's what I've done when I was ripping my wax back in the day, it really does make a difference, btw make sure you get that vinyl cleaning kit and use rubber pads, and of course best sound card you can get

[nyquist]

My method is to use a Rane PS-1 preamp straight into my Focusrite saffire firewire audio card. The software I use is Steinberg Wavelab 6. The best method is to record at a high bit rate and sampling frequency. I record at 24 bit 96K. After I have captured the Audio I'll sometimes add a tube pre simulator to warm the audio up again then I'll normalize the track so the loudest peak of the track is at 0dB. When all editing is complete I'll save the tack as a WAV file and dither the bit rate and sampling frequency down to 16bit 44.1Khz (CD quality) I'll also encode the original capture to MP3. Wavelab has a fantastic encoder. It performs a complex encode that takes a fair bit longer than any other out there but, the result is top quality sonics.

Remember shit in and you'll get shit out. Clean your record first and use a eliptical stylus too get the best out of the high end. If you own Ortofon carts then you can fit any OM or Concorde stylus to it. Will save you a heap of cash. For example I run Elektro's but use a Nightclub E stylus for capturing my wax to the digital domain.

I

[robmixx]

Wow, I'm a total opposite when it comes to ripping vinyl. I use Roxio Lp to Mp3 software. I want my recordings to sound exactly like my vinyl, crackles, pops, and all. I use the same carts and needles that I normally use to play my records and export at 320 straight to Itunes and use with Serato. If the record is in too bad of a condition then I will look for a better copy. I use the internal sound card on my laptop with no problem it's easy and fast with great results. I have ripped over 3000 songs that way and have played gig after gig with no problems at all. I rip cd's directly in Itunes at 320 or 192 and use in Serato, but I want my vinyl to sound like vinyl. Peace be with you................Rob Mixx

[magos]

I am also ripping vinyl the last few days... I got a nice cartridge, Ortofon 2-m red, specially for this job. It goes into the mixer and then from there output into a Saffire pro external sound card, record onto the mac in Logic at the maximum level I can go without getting distortion.

I was also disapointed with Serato's input recording function, I got some distortion and generally shitty sound on the SL3.

I'm saving the files as wavs for a mix I want to record; I'm doing it that way to take advantage of stuff Serato does that I can't do on my 1200s, like looping and changing bpm without changing pitch.

[techs1200]

I use m44g carts with my 1200m5g plugged into my traktor s4. I then clean up the wav in audacity.

Works fine for me. I could probably do better with a high quality DAC chip, but meh, my workflow works good enough for me...