Existos usefull information on converting vinyls to digital.
Hello!
It's time to contribute some useful info to the message board!
This might intrest somebody who wants to convert his record collection to digital.
First of all buy this : http://www.htfr.com/more-info/?catno=MR103765
This is the closest you can get to a pro record cleaner without getting a loan .
It's called the disco antistat and it's imported from Germany.
The only reason htfr calls it ''vinylfile rpm'' is so that you wont buy it from somewhere else. 
It works like a dream and my records sound better than they ever did.
Amazing, huge difference!! It's also very fun to use!
Useful thingi to have around if you still dig record buying.
Next clean all you records and put them in their sleeves.
Don't go out and buy a preamp unless of course the specs on it outperform your current dj mixer.
This won't usually be the case because they are not mass produced these days.
It's up to you to deside if it's really a good idea to spend 1500$
for a tin box that contains a disjointed phono stage some blind, deaf old man put together in his basement.
Don't. Unless money is not an issue for you.
If you are on a budget you would rather spend the money on other things.
However if your mixer allows you to turn of the eq do so because Eq circuitry (in the hardware world) introduces phasing.
If your mixer has a prefade come out of that.
You are after the shortest signal path possible.
Use your soundcard to record. Ideally you will have some ballanced inputs in your soundcard and some balanced outs on your mixer.
If not just work around what you have.
If you have ballanced outs on your mixer but rcas on you soundcard you will need to splash out for a impedance converter which sucks.
Now if you are after the best sound possible buy this:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Rosetta200/
2 ins, 2 outs! Ultra accurate and transparent connects via firewire a bargain at just 2500$!
Also be sure to hire a proffesional mastering engineer to ''remaster''
your collection. Hey, it's not like you cant afford to if you are concidering buying this.
For the rest of us a soundcard will have to ''do''.
I use peak pro 4 to record .If you are on a pc download a demo of soundforge.
Sony has made enough money over the years selling tvs and radios which also indicates that they can afford to hire proper programmers to write the software. Software far better than your freeware type.
They give you a fully functional demo for 30 days which could be enough
depending on:
-How much spare time you have.
-How big is your record collection.
Change your styli and replace it with a fresh one. Record at the highest bitrate your soundcard and computer allows and sample down to whatever bitrate you will use.
I use 24 bit 48k (dat quality) and throw it on a lacie hdrive.
This makes the lower end rounder, fuller and more cohersive.
If you plan on using cd decks you are looking at redbook audio.
Record everything as fast as you can (remember you are using a demo) and if you run out of room back them up to cds/dvds/harddrives.
DONT edit and DONT normalize yet.
Next after you have recorded everything visit the waves website and
download a demo of their diamond bundle.
They will give you high quality mastering plug-ins that you can use for 14 days.
Holy living fuck! The hardware equivalent of those plug-ins costs more than a skyscraper., Existo exagerates.
After you have done that go to the preferences and make sounforge scan to find those plug-ins.
Next assuming you are all set, go to your view menu and click on the plug-in manager & the plug in chainer.
click on the folder named ''third party''.
Drag and drop the x-crackle, the x-hum, the x-noise, and the L1 ultramaximizer. Save the chain.
Play it through the chain.
On the x-crackle plug in moderatelly set your threshhold and reduction values monitoring what you are removing.
If you are hearing hi-hats reduce the threshhold value till you are only hearing crackles.
On the hum plug-in selct the dc offset preset from the menu.
Dont select the hum preset because it will make your drums sound weird.
Now on the x-noise hilight the begining of the recording where there is no music and hit the learn noise button after playing it throught the plug-in chainer.
This will create a noise profile for the plug in to prevent removing music.
Put your release value all the way up to preserve the ambience.
With your reduction value set to 0 start moving the threshhold up to moderatelly remove some surface noise.''Moderation is the key here '' Existo advises.
''You can live with a wee bit of surface noise but you really don't want your ''x-vinyl'' to sound like gremlings singing in a cave.''
Next on the ultramaximizer call up the Idr type 1 ultra or normal NO limiting.
Hit process. Normalize.
Congratulations!!
You have now made a virtualy noise free, high quality back-up of your record.
Repeat the process for the rest but do them one by one not in a batch.
Now for Ultra-accurate cd mixing you might want to consider fixing the timing in ableton live.
All turntables variate a wee bit.
This might make your mixing a bit more challenging as the tempo waves a little bit.You can fix that in ableton live.
''Manualy fixing the timing in ableton live can be really fucking boring! '', Existo notes.
''I am not doing it because I am using traktor 2.6 & fs2.
Traktor takes care of that. Plus I am not really into cd decks as they work in incriments.
I find it hard to believe that as of 2006 with all the technology of the world a turntable first made 30 years ago mixes better than the latest most advanced cd decks.''
Last edited by harriz on May-01-2006 at 21:22
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but it's a no lose situation because I will have converted everything by the time they do. 
