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Audacity recording software...warnings,reccomendations,feedback wanted


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I'm really ignorant to any ripping or recording to the pc. I want to be able to transfer some vinyl to the computer and maybe rip stuff like the roadcase shows and other bootlegs. I have a HP laptop with Windows 7. Most people I have asked about file sharing and recording to the computer just say "get a Mac". Any forseeable issues.

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"get a Mac" don't know what that has to do with recording Vinyl/Webstuff.Better say "get a life"you can't poke around with a screwdriver in a Mac.

 

Story in short:

 

A turntable signal going thru a pre-amp or just your normal amp/receiver to your PC ,Mic. In(pink mini stereo RCA plug) and ajust in "Control Panel"Now you need some recording software *and there's a little bottleneck:HP, if memory serves uses a Realtek Soundcard and that's o.k. but if you intend to record alot it's worth considering an external soundcard like M-Audio or if money isn't a problem : Edirol

*Beside Audacity there's lots of free software around.I for myself am using Roxio Creator for years now and love it to death,easy GUI,automatic rec. levels ( nothing is more frustrating after recording an hour and Nels C goes full blast leaving you with tons of clipping.)

 

 

 

roxio.jpg

 

Good luck - H

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Unless you are planning on doing a lot or stuff getting a new computer just for audio manipulation seems a bit excessive. Not sure what software people use for ripping (there must be tons of free ones though if you google - if you find something good it might be worthwhile posting about it for others), but for messing with sound levels, removing minor problems (e.g. pops and clicks from vinyl rips), adding fade ins/outs, dividing into individual tracks I have used audacity a lot and am very happy. It isn't the most user friendly, but if you focus only on the essentials it isn't tough at all (and the complexity is an upside because if you find you need some extra features I've found that digging into some of the other components will often reveal the right tool).

 

As howdjadoo mentioned, you'll not just need a lead for copying from your turntable, but a preamp as well. Alternatively, depending on what you are looking to get a lot of it may be already available on the net, which would be a cheaper/easier option, and leave you to focus on the stuff that isn't easily available.

 

Hope that helps, there will be a lot of people with a lot of expertise around here, so I'm sure someone will be able to help if you have further questions.

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I appreciate the 2 responses and checked into Roxio but I thought I might bump the thread here a little and try to get some more info/suggestions. I'm not really looking to do too much editing. Would love to just be able to drop the needle or push play on the Roadcase and push record.

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Audacity is extremely user friendly and oughta be able to get what you want very easily, plus it's free which is nice. I had that on an old Gateway version and even used a bit with my MacBook before switching over to garage band.

 

--Mike

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I've just started using Freecorder which would allow you to 'push play on the Roadcase and push record' (of course without some editing you'll get the concert as one long track). In addition, Freecorder allows you to grab streaming videos - so you'll be able to get videos from the Roadcase, plus youtube etc (doesn't seem to work on CBS' site so I can't get the Wilco on Letterman stream, but otherwise its great). Freecorder is a firefox plugin, but if you don't have/like firefox I imagine there must be other similar things out there that are also free.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just as BeShakey explained above, I open Audacity and hit "record," then jump over to Roadcase and hit "play," and it becomes a long track, UNLESS stopped every so often. I did this with one show - just put it into 3-4 song groupings with tracks that are a bit shorter than the whole. Not ideal, but for a quick and dirty amateur, it worked out fine for my purposes. Only problem I've found (which is why I landed here - looking for solutions) - works better in IE than in Chrome. (Hell is Chrome?) But the other problem that seems more evident now is that Roadcase and the website are very unstable. It either doesn't give me a way to listen to the newer shows, or it flashes and goes back to the homepage. I don't have a MAC. Probably works better there. Any solutions? Is there a browser for PC users where the website doesn't act so quirky?

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