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Topic: using Audacity for vinyl play (Read 13685 times) previous topic - next topic
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using Audacity for vinyl play

I have a Numark USB turntable connected to my PC - for mp3 files I've been quite  happily using the QCD player with the Ozone Isotope equaliser plugin with Roland monitors sitting on the other side of the room - my current struggle is to get a satisfactory sound from my vinyl records directly rather than having to rip them (using  Jet Audio which lets me use an equaliser for recording and export @320) and then play the rip through QCD/Ozone

As I understand it,  the issue is that the sound from the vinyl is going direct from the USB turntable to the Roland monitors rather than via the PC meaning the software tweaks I can use with QCD/Ozone to overcome the harshness of the monitors (and some of the inherent limitations of an mp3 file) are bypassed.

I can play the vinyl via Audacity (ver 1.2.6) which lets me 'monitor input' supposedly also meaning I'm using the PC card rather than the turntable - this does improve the sound a fair bit but I have no access to an equaliser which is what is really needed.

If I use a later version of Audacity I can access the 'effects' menu which includes an equalizer (sort of) but my experience with the later beta has been pretty unsatisfactory (highly unstable and not really 'doing the trick')

am I missing a really obvious solution here?    googling around isn't pointing me to an equaliser plugin for Audacity or any other real solution to my difficulty

any thoughts genuinely appreciated

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #1 –
What are your recording levels like? Are you clipping?

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #2 –
Quote from: Axon on
What are your recording levels like? Are you clipping?


sorry - I'm not being clear about my problem

Recording is fine its just the issue of playing the vinyl directly that is not quite right

what I'm really looking for is some way of taking the output from the USB turntable and passing it through the pc software and  before it goes out to the Roland monitors - going via Audacity is the only way I've so far discovered of at least bringing the PC into play but this method dosn't allow me to use Ozone/Isotope (or any other equaliser I can find) to tweak the sound at all - because Audacity isn't really intended to be used as a playback tool it has no standard equaliser at all on the early versions and the latest beta which does have one is so unstable its totaly unusable for what I want to do.

I'm pretty sure there has to be a way to reroute the output from the turntable through the PC so it can be manipulated by softare on the pc before it goes out to the monitors but I just can't get any insight into how to do this by googling around the topic

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #3 –
You didnt' say what OS you're using (or did I miss it?).  If it's XP or Win2k--don't think it works with Vista--then you might give Audiograbber a try.  I know that it can monitor audio input and also supports playback through Winamp and others (be sure and check "play while recording" in the line in sampling options window of Audiograbber). The Ozone Isotope plugin works great with Winamp--don't know if Audiograbber supports QCD, but it probably does.

I have not tried this as I have no turntable at the moment, but it may be worth a few minutes of your time to check it out.  Interested in hearing your results in any case.  Good luck!

EDIT: these links may be of some interest:

http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/

(Scroll down to figure 12)
http://www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/2107/2107article5.htm

http://cwrmcd.com/support/phonograph.htm

http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/boards/...TML/004796.html

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #4 –
thanks so much for the leads - will follow them up - (am using XP so 'touch wood')

Cheers

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #5 –
Luka, it might be worth your time to make vinyl transfers to your PC, add whatever processing/effects you want to the wav files and then make CD's and/or flacs (or other codec of your choice, lossless or otherwise). It will be a lot more convientient for you in the long run.

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #6 –
Try Hermann Seib's VSTHost - http://www.hermannseib.com/english/vsthost.htm

It's needed to add at least one VST effect plug-in to get the signal output (you can add as many plug-ins as you like in series or parallel). I normally use VoxengoSPAN for that purpose (Analyzer).
Other VST plug-ins can be found through K-V-R database - http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php

If your sound card does not support ASIO then try w/ asio4all - http://www.asio4all.com
An example:

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6121/vsthost.jpg

Juha

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #7 –
thanks so much for all these various suggestions - am following them all up right now

Luka

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #8 –
Quote from: lukaluka on
Quote from: Axon on
What are your recording levels like? Are you clipping?


sorry - I'm not being clear about my problem

Recording is fine its just the issue of playing the vinyl directly that is not quite right

what I'm really looking for is some way of taking the output from the USB turntable and passing it through the pc software and  before it goes out to the Roland monitors - going via Audacity is the only way I've so far discovered of at least bringing the PC into play but this method dosn't allow me to use Ozone/Isotope (or any other equaliser I can find) to tweak the sound at all - because Audacity isn't really intended to be used as a playback tool it has no standard equaliser at all on the early versions and the latest beta which does have one is so unstable its totaly unusable for what I want to do.


Audacity can be easily  upgraded to use what are known as "VST plug ins".

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s...tem=vst-enabler

Once you do this, a wide varity of freebie and pay-for equalizers and other audio sound tweekers can be used with Audacity.

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #9 –

[/quote]

Audacity can be easily  upgraded to use what are known as "VST plug ins".

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s...tem=vst-enabler

Once you do this, a wide varity of freebie and pay-for equalizers and other audio sound tweekers can be used with Audacity.
[/quote]

yup - tried that avenue - got Audacity to load an equaliser plug in - but - it was very unstable and was pretty much unusable (I think the real difficulty is I want to use Audacity for something that really isn't what it's designed for - I'm not interested in using its capacity for fine grained editing of a sound file - I'm just after a way to get the output from my turntable through an equaliser before it goes out to the monitors)

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #10 –
"(I think the real difficulty is I want to use Audacity for something that really isn't what it's designed for - I'm not interested in using its capacity for fine grained editing of a sound file - I'm just after a way to get the output from my turntable through an equaliser before it goes out to the monitors)"



perhaps I should explain - I think Uart's suggestion is really what I should do do - but (a) when I look at my collection of vinyl the thought of how long it's going to take to convert them all is a little dispiriting - especially because (b) I have a three year old daughter who loves records and has her own views about what should be playing meaning it's quite hard to actually do the recording - hence my interest in finding a way to just play vinyl (without needing to have a separate set-up altogether)

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #11 –
Quote from: lukaluka on
"perhaps I should explain - I think Uart's suggestion is really what I should do do - but (a) when I look at my collection of vinyl the thought of how long it's going to take to convert them all is a little dispiriting - especially because (b) I have a three year old daughter who loves records and has her own views about what should be playing meaning it's quite hard to actually do the recording - hence my interest in finding a way to just play vinyl (without needing to have a separate set-up altogether)


Oh yeah I can see why that mightn't be so easy with the 3 y.o running around.

Generally my approach would be to not necessarily worry about getting everything into digital form straight away, but concentrate on your favourite/most frequently played LP's. Remember that once you get as digital you don't have to worry about stuff like dusty records worn stylus and wear and tear on the vinyl.

Actually I still haven't got all my LP's into digital form yet, I've still got some infrequently played stuff that I haven't got around to transferring. Previously I had the excuse that it was too much effort to bring my computer into the living room (or visa versa) and connect it up for a vinyl transfer, but these days I've got a dedicated computer in the living room for audio/video, so now I have committed to myself that each time I play some vinyl I might as well capture it at the same time. Slowly but surely I'm getting everything transferred to digital.

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #12 –
Quote from: uart on
... so now I have committed to myself that each time I play some vinyl I might as well capture it at the same time. Slowly but surely I'm getting everything transferred to digital.



yup - that's looking increasingly like my plan 

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #13 –
Many soundcards come with a utility that includes an equalizer (and often other effects).  If you can't find any utilities like that on your computer, you might consider getting a new soundcard.  (Check the utilities & features before buying.)

Another option would be to pick-up an analog (hardware) equalizer[/u], connected between the speakers and the computer.

Quote
As I understand it, the issue is that the sound from the vinyl is going direct from the USB turntable to the Roland monitors rather than via the PC
  Do you have a USB (or digital) connection to the monitors?  In that case, you may need to use an analog connection to take advantage of any effects/adjustments from your soundcard utility.

Quote
I think the real difficulty is I want to use Audacity for something that really isn't what it's designed for...
I think you're right!  Audacity isn't designed for "real time" use.  It designed to edit (and record) audio files.

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #14 –
Quote
(b) I have a three year old daughter who loves records and has her own views about what should be playing meaning it's quite hard to actually do the recording - hence my interest in finding a way to just play vinyl (without needing to have a separate set-up altogether)
  Even more important that you "preserve" these recordings digitally...  It's hard enough for an adults to handle records without damaging them.  I'd suggest you make a "daily use" CD and a backup archive copy (on hard drive or CD).

using Audacity for vinyl play

Reply #16 –
Quote from: DVDdoug on
Quote
(b) I have a three year old daughter who loves records and has her own views about what should be playing meaning it's quite hard to actually do the recording - hence my interest in finding a way to just play vinyl (without needing to have a separate set-up altogether)
  Even more important that you "preserve" these recordings digitally...  It's hard enough for an adults to handle records without damaging them.  I'd suggest you make a "daily use" CD and a backup archive copy (on hard drive or CD).



absolutely - what actually happens though is that my daughter is just not interested in hearing the music coming from a cd or mp3 file - she wants to 'help' put 'her' choice of record on the turntable (you wouldn't believe how many times I've heard the first Blondie album) and then dance around to the music - so even if I actually have converted the record it only provides a comforting sense that a back up exists cos I simply have to put the vinyl on and drop that needle - but tempering any concern is the fact that its almost as much about the cover as the vinyl (for me at least) so if the album does get damaged but I have a digital copy well no big deal really

but - in addition - she's also just as likely to get right into carefully making a choice of a new album that she says she "might like" that's way down on my list of albums to be converted and then it becomes a tiny bit nerve wracking not only because I have no fall back but if she decides she loves some awfull album that I bought solely because I loved the cover then I could be in for hundreds of listens to something that leaves me completely cold - except of course that if it's giving her pleasure then hey I'll even listen to Celine Dion (actually no, not Celine it's important to draw the line somewhere, but Olivia Newton John I could probably do if she'd ever done a great album cover)