"RJH" wrote in message
...
On 14/02/2015 09:42, Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Java Jive
wrote:
Rate your collection as to how important to you each album really
is.
If you can then get the most important ones on CD, maybe taking
advantage of sales, etc, and, at the other end of the spectrum
throwing
out those you no longer like, then you may be left with a much
smaller
number of digitisations to do, and you can justify spending
greater time
on doing those well.


Maybe the OP likes the sound . . .

FWIW In my case I also have CD versions of many examples. But from
comparison there are differences. e.g. Old EMI LPs tend to have a
different
frequency balance to the CD 're-issues'. And may have less level
compression or other 'improvements' sic that afflict some CDs.
Annoyingly, EMI apparently also started out using ADCs with *less*
than
16bit resolution. Which may explain why some of their CDs don't
sound as
good as they should. But then they had to be dragged kicking and
screaming
into CD production because it was "not invented here".


. . . and maybe they sound better?

I tend to choose "which LP to transfer next" mainly on the basis of
what I
fancy listening to next. :-) This means that the process isn't a
chore but
a source of enjoyment.


Quite. In any event, it's hardly as onerous as some seem to make
out.

The real drag tends to be when:

1) The LP has lots of clicks but otherwise sounds very nice. So I
then have
to spend ages with Audacity 'repairing' clicks to get a result that
sounds
better than the LP. Takes time and attention.


Agreed, but for some reason, on the whole, it doesn't bother me.

2) Scanning LP sleeves, and any notes (libretto, etc). This is a
real PITA
because A4 flatbed scanners can't cover a 12" LP in one go. So
required
more than one scan per item, and then realignment, cropping and
stitching
mutliple scans with GIMP (other programs are available :-) )


I'm sure I'm going to regret writing this because I think I know the
answer, but use the camera on your phone.

That said, both processes also give you more time to listen to the
item as
well.


Well quite. The only slight faff for me was splitting and naming
tracks so the tags played with servers. I haven't done it for a
while, but I did find some software that split the tracks, and some
other that named them. Sometimes the naming software needed a hint
or 2 - album, artist or some-such.


Consider Stienberg Clean. It is very simple to use - you simply play
the whole LP side into it then go along the graphic of the music and
place a marker where a track ends and press a button - bingo all the
tracks seperated.

It will also remove clicks quite effectively, and can be made to fade
up and down at start and end of tracks as you prefer.


Per Jim's query about the deterioration of my LPs, it sounds like a
sytlus clogged with muck - distorted and level variant. Mind you that
is using mt AT90E MC cartridge the state of the stylus of which I know
not. ISTR that for the last LPs I transferred I used my M75EDII and
that worked OK - then.


--
Woody

harrogate3 at ntlworld dot com