good audio recording app?

[jp22382]

hey all, what im looking to do is take some of my 12" albums (remember those?) and record them onto my computer and then slap em on cd format. so basically im just looking for a good quality app that i can take audio from my line in on my sound card and produce .wav or .mp3 files. any suggestions?

[PETE]

I use Audiograbber to grab 'em to wav format & then Nero to burn thwm as audio CD's.

Pete.

[Optimus Prime]

Another vote for Audiograbber.

[DanGrease]

CDex gets my vote.
Freeware and works great. Uses LAME encoder.

dan

[Agent_Embryo]

I like Goldwave.

[JohnE.]

You'll want something that can not only record but can also do some basic editing. You'll probably want something to help reduce any hum/rumble/noise, etc from the analog source that a record-only application can't provide.

Also, when you record from the line-in, it's possible your soundcard will introduce some amount of DC Offset, which can be corrected with the proper software.

From SoundForge's Help:

"DC offset occurs when hardware, such as a sound card, adds DC current to a recorded audio signal. This current results in a recorded waveform that is not centered around the baseline (-infinity)." - This can cause problems and glitches if you then try to do any noise reduction on the audio files.

The only freebie I could find with a quick Google was this: Quartz Free Studio - apparently the recorder/editor is free but the mp3 encoder isn't... you could use this to record/edit and then the (free) Lame encoder to make your mp3's.

[PETE]

Audiograbber is now freeware!!!

I use the wav editor from the Nero people to split tracks that don't split automatically & to join tracksthat have split where they should not. Can be a little fiddley but it does work well. Some records/tapes have short gaps between tracks that can be difficult to autosplit. & some tracks have long silences that confuse the auto split function & split a track in the middle.
I have used this system to transfer aerobics tapes to CD that do not have any gap between tracks at all. That was a bit of a challenge.
There has not been any noticable noise above the level of the usual tape noise. I just use one of the original Sound Blaster Live OEM cards that I have moved on to each new system that I have built over the last 3 or 4 years.


Pete.

[jp22382]

thank you for all the replies.

JohnE. what else is out there that isn't free, what would you recommend the most?

im not too concerned about a freebie, want good quality and editing options.

thanks

[eagle1]

I usually use Sonic Foundry Sound Forge.
Use for recording my guitars, ripping audio and editing.
It has cool effects and ACID features.

I Really recommend it!

[JohnE.]

I mainly use Sonic Foundry Sound Forge (Sonic Foundry was recently acquired by Sony) but other high-end contenders are Adobe Audition (was Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro) and Steinberg WaveLab (can't remember who bought out Steinberg - Pinnacle?).

I'd have to say Adobe Audition ($299.00 US) has the most bang for the buck. Besides being an excellent multi-track recorder/mixer for original music projects, remixes and video soundtrack editing/mixing, etc., it's also a decent 2 track editor, with noise reduction plug-ins already included.

Sound Forge ($399.96 US) and WaveLab are dedicated 2 track editors with a few more functions than Audition's built-in 2 track editor, but you have to purchase noise reduction plug-ins separately. WaveLab has a semi multi-track capability with it's "Audio Montage" feature, but is quite pricey (was $599.99 in 2002). There's also a "WaveLab Essential" for about 1/2 the price.

While looking up weblinks for this reply I also came across something new: Sony Screen Blast Sound Forge which may be ideally suited to your needs. It's only $69.95 US and includes the Express FX Vinyl Restoration plug-in. I haven't used it but it appears to be built on the Sound Forge core/engine. As I said in the beginning, I use Sound Forge the most... mainly because it's the easiest to get around in and has very good Online Help.