Place to digitize a few LP's

[scrnpop2]

I've got one LP that I want to digitize. It's never been done before (so it's not online or on a CD). I want a high quality capture of it so I can run it through a program to separate guitar, vocals, drums etc and then try to fool around with it. I have an old turntable at home and tried sending it through my audio interface to the PC but the sound was pretty bad. It wasn't a very clear mix to begin with. I'd like to find a place to send it to that doesn't charge too much but will do a decent job. Thanks for any tips.

 

[antcollinet]

I want a high quality capture of it so I can run it through a program to separate guitar, vocals, drums etc

Wow - is that possible? What software does that?

I'd like to find a place to send it to that doesn't charge too much but will do a decent job. Thanks for any tips.

I think you are in the world of

Someone else to do it
Decent job
doesn't cost too much

Pick any two. All three doesn't exist

 

[antcollinet]

I've got one LP that I want to digitize. It's never been done before (so it's not online or on a CD). I want a high quality capture of it so I can run it through a program to separate guitar, vocals, drums etc and then try to fool around with it. I have an old turntable at home and tried sending it through my audio interface to the PC but the sound was pretty bad. It wasn't a very clear mix to begin with. I'd like to find a place to send it to that doesn't charge too much but will do a decent job. Thanks for any tips.

We might be in a better postion here to help you get a decent needle drop yourself. If you have a halfway decent turntable, and a suitable ADC, then you should be able to get a pretty good capture. Pretty much indistinguishable from what you hear direct.

What turntable/audio interface are you currently trying to use?

 

[Blumlein 88]

Or maybe if you name the LP, and possibly someone else has it who has a good ADC.

BTW, chances of you separating those things out is not good. However, it is possible, I forget who did it last year on a couple albums. But they had a process that did separate those out in excellent quality.

Or maybe it is closer to being available. Here are two bits of software that might do it. I've not used either one.
You can try this one free for 21 days. Might be worth watching some youtube vids or reading articles before starting. Several vids are out on both.

RipX DAW & RipX DAW PRO

RipX DAW Award Winning 6+ Stem AI Separation, Edit Stems Note by Note Even AI Generated Music, Unparalleled Remixing Capability, Instrument Replacement. RipX DAW PRO Enhanced Stem Clean Up, Top Tier Audio Repair and Effects, Audioshop Advanced Creative Tools.

hitnmix.com

Here is the other bit of software.

Discover Moises Web App: The Essential Tool for Music Practice

Dive into Moises Web App, your music production companion that simplifies track separation and much more. Elevate your music practice skills effortlessly.

moises.ai

 

[JeffS7444]

Wow - is that possible? What software does that?

Audioshake among others - pretty wild stuff. Software like this is why Giles Martin's remix of the Revolver is kind of a big deal in the pop music world. Terms like "Demix" and "Stems" are new to me.
https://www.musicradar.com/news/the-beatles-audio-stems-get-back

 

[Blumlein 88]

Audioshake among others - pretty wild stuff. Software like this is why Giles Martin's remix of the Revolver is kind of a big deal in the pop music world. Terms like "Demix" and "Stems" are new to me.
https://www.musicradar.com/news/the-beatles-audio-stems-get-back

That is the one I was trying to remember.

 

[digitalfrost]

Where do you live.

 

[scrnpop2]

I'm in the USA. I have at most three but good chance just this one LP that's worth going to the trouble to digitize. I haven't listened to vinyl for many decades and don't plan on starting especially as I travel a lot. There is a turntable here where I'm at. Likely pretty mediocre. Maybe something is wrong with it as 1 of the 2 stereo wav files is about 20-25% quieter than the other. I did order another cartridge for it a few years ago when I tried to digitize this same LP for a friend just so they had it for casual listening. I am on a budget, but even if I wasn't, it wouldn't make sense to go out and buy a fancy turntable and a/d converter. I just thought I'd ask if some people here might recommend a place they had good experiences with. I read some articles suggesting a few but they seemed to do every kind of digitizing like scanning photos, film, vhs etc and I thought for my purpose it would seem like a place that had the good turntable and converter and focused on audio would be better. I was hoping it wouldn't be that expensive in terms of what one has to do. once you've successfully done it once. I have no experience so maybe I'm missing something but it would seem all they would need to do is clean the lp, put it on the turntable/ad-converter and capture the wav files and send them to me exactly like that. I can do the rest myself with my DAW. Thanks.

 

[Doodski]

I'm in the USA. I have at most three but good chance just this one LP that's worth going to the trouble to digitize. I haven't listened to vinyl for many decades and don't plan on starting especially as I travel a lot. There is a turntable here where I'm at. Likely pretty mediocre. Maybe something is wrong with it as 1 of the 2 stereo wav files is about 20-25% quieter than the other. I did order another cartridge for it a few years ago when I tried to digitize this same LP for a friend just so they had it for casual listening. I am on a budget, but even if I wasn't, it wouldn't make sense to go out and buy a fancy turntable and a/d converter. I just thought I'd ask if some people here might recommend a place they had good experiences with. I read some articles suggesting a few but they seemed to do every kind of digitizing like scanning photos, film, vhs etc and I thought for my purpose it would seem like a place that had the good turntable and converter and focused on audio would be better. I was hoping it wouldn't be that expensive in terms of what one has to do. once you've successfully done it once. I have no experience so maybe I'm missing something but it would seem all they would need to do is clean the lp, put it on the turntable/ad-converter and capture the wav files and send them to me exactly like that. I can do the rest myself with my DAW. Thanks.

Libraries sometimes have a, "Makers' Space." A place where different formats of gear are available and up to AV production is possible. Perhaps you could find one locally if you are in a major city.

 

[scrnpop2]

Libraries sometimes have a, "Makers' Space." A place where different formats of gear are available and up to AV production is possible. Perhaps you could find one locally if you are in a major city.

I hadn't thought of that. Seems like a good idea if they had the good equipment and people wouldn't damage it. Afraid I'm not in a major city though.. A smaller city but somewhat advanced as there's a University here so I'll check out the library. Thanks.

 

[antcollinet]

@Blumlein 88 's idea is also a good one. Many here have large vinyl collections - if you state what the album is, there is a chance there is someone who owns it who would also be willing to digitise it for you.

We won't jude you, honest

 

[MaxwellsEq]

I have an old turntable at home and tried sending it through my audio interface to the PC but the sound was pretty bad

I'm guessing that you may be closer than you think to solving this! If your plug a turntable directly into an interface or a PC audio port, it will sound terrible. The LP is encoded with some equalisation slopes that mean you will have no bass and tons of treble. You can take the captured file and use software to reverse this RIAA equalisation. Alternatively, you can buy a cheap Art Pre and take the line level out from that. The latter will probably produce better results because it will handle the necessary gain better.

 

[scrnpop2]

@Blumlein 88 's idea is also a good one. Many here have large vinyl collections - if you state what the album is, there is a chance there is someone who owns it who would also be willing to digitise it for you.

We won't jude you, honest

Actually it's an LP I made long ago. At the time I thought it was cool but in the following decades thought it wasn't good with half the tracks maybe interesting with a remix or redo. The master tapes were put in a storage room that got flooded so they were ruined and thrown out many years ago. I'm hoping the small number of people who got it back then have forgotten about it and it sank without a trace! I'd just like to fool around with a few of the tracks in particular so hope to get a decent digital copy so I can break it down into stems. I tried it with my pretty crappy 1st attempt to digitize (without a preamp) and still had some fun fooling with it after running it through some AI software.
I thought maybe a few people on this forum would chime in and say "send it to this place,they've got a great turntable, A/D converter and good software for a reasonable price"?

Or maybe if you name the LP, and possibly someone else has it who has a good ADC.

BTW, chances of you separating those things out is not good. However, it is possible, I forget who did it last year on a couple albums. But they had a process that did separate those out in excellent quality.

Or maybe it is closer to being available. Here are two bits of software that might do it. I've not used either one.
You can try this one free for 21 days. Might be worth watching some youtube vids or reading articles before starting. Several vids are out on both.

RipX DAW & RipX DAW PRO

RipX DAW Award Winning 6+ Stem AI Separation, Edit Stems Note by Note Even AI Generated Music, Unparalleled Remixing Capability, Instrument Replacement. RipX DAW PRO Enhanced Stem Clean Up, Top Tier Audio Repair and Effects, Audioshop Advanced Creative Tools.

hitnmix.com

Here is the other bit of software.

Discover Moises Web App: The Essential Tool for Music Practice

Dive into Moises Web App, your music production companion that simplifies track separation and much more. Elevate your music practice skills effortlessly.

moises.ai

Yes, RipX demo is one I tried. Thanks

 

[scrnpop2]

There's a store locally that restores all kinds of stuff apparently (like VHS, photo's etc). I called and they have what must be a pretty old Ion Turntable to USB. It seems like that came out a long time ago and is no longer sold so don't know what to expect. Still, the file from the $15 they charge has to be better than my suspect turntable (from JC Penney!) here.

 

[scrnpop2]

I hadn't thought of that. Seems like a good idea if they had the good equipment and people wouldn't damage it. Afraid I'm not in a major city though.. A smaller city but somewhat advanced as there's a University here so I'll check out the library. Thanks.

Nope. The local library doesn't have that service (but thought it would be a good thing to offer!).

 

[Fred H]

I have one record that I want to digitize and found this thread. Then, I searched on line and found this site: https://www.audioconservation.com/home/record-digitizing/. It looks like it will work for me.