Music Library Software Help

[jstaff]

I need some advice. I have a rather large collection of vinyl records that I plan to record to an external computer hard drive. The record player that I have uses i-tunes to process each cut onto the computer. Does anyone on here have any experience with this that could maybe recommend a different/better idea to handle saving everything on to the hard drive. I am looking for flexibility in moving the finished product between computers. This is going to be a pretty long-term project, what with cigar and bourbon breaks, and I want to get it as near right as I can on the first try.

All ideas and suggestions are welcome.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

8-track tapes and 3.5MB floppy disks are your best options.

[stanne]

Well I’m
Looking to this thread for good suggestions. The it’s old forget it responses notwithstanding

[HonkyTonkMan]

Bourbon? that's a project I want on!

In iTunes, export to mp3 format and backup to cloud storage. Then you will have local copy and cloud backup.

Slick Deals via Tiger Direct has a 5TB drive for $129 after $20 rebate.

[Paladin2]

Look into finding a recording program that uses the best MP3 compressions. Best, get a BIG HD and store as wave files.

[smokingfrog]

It’s easy to do. Just takes a lot of time.

I’ve recorded a lot of reel to reel and cassette tapes onto the computer. Just plug your turntable into your soundboard input and have at it. You can use a free program like Audacity, or buy something a little more sophisticated like Sound Forge Audio Studio.

[rockrr]

Wow, 5TB! I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to “save to file” the entire internet ;’)

Seriously, if you managed to fill that thing up and occasion arose to transfer the entire contents to another 5TB I wonder how long the file transfer would take?

[jstaff]

Maybe I should have said “almost” all ideas are welcome.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Using the best input is probably more important than software choice. I use a NAD PP-3 phono preamp with USB output. This lets me connect any turntable/cartridge (in my case, a Technics Direct Drive with Stanton 681 cartridge) to the computer.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

Someone else has already recommended "Audacity". I'll second the motion! ;-)

You can find it here, which will open in a new window! Download and install it!

[invoman]

Unless I'm incorrect, I think you are looking for something that isn't in an "iTunes" format?

In other words, the poster wants to be able to play the songs on non-Apple devices?

[Marie Antoinette]

I have my 2 TB drive hooked up to my iTunes with Match enabled, and it only lets you match 25000 songs. My Match won’t even load anymore on my devices. I’m looking for a workaround!

[yuleeyahoo]

You can use itunes as a free MP3 formatter for use on any device.

[Woodman]

I recommend using audacity. It’s free and powerful. However to do anything fancy does require a bit of practice. the initial projects are lossless. I edit those files to reduce crackle and pop, then break them into individual tracks and export to the highest quality mp3 available. You can always reduce quality later. I have done this in fits and spurts because it takes me about 2 hours per album between realize recording and editing.

[gtwizard]

mp3 is lossy. Your files are smaller but they ARE NOT AS GOOD as they could be. Try using a loss-less format WAV FLAC and if you HAVE to stick with Apple ... ALAC. The first two are more universally compatible. iTunes is just the software that your needle to usb player uses I assume. There are many other better programs out there for getting a really good backup of your vinyl. Try gearslutz.com ... they are the definitive resource for information on audio.

[smokingfrog]

http://manual.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Digital_Audio

http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/sample_workflow_for_lp_digitization.html

[roamer_1]

*cough* torrent *cough*

You want to stay away from smart files... Most folks use mp3 or ogg, depending upon your palate. But if you are recording scratchy old albums, palate seems not to be an issue...

mp3 is standard dumb file - won’t care how many copies you make. Works fine for me, and is relatively small.

ogg vorbis is lossless, so better sound (providing not garbage-in), and doesn’t care about copies.

For recording, look into ‘Audacity’. For playing, WiMP (windows Media Player), MediaMonkey, Quintessential... Many many more...

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

“http://manual.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Digital_Audio

http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/sample_workflow_for_lp_digitization.html";

And?

[smokingfrog]

Just some tips on using Audacity to record sound files.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

“Just some tips on using Audacity to record sound files.”

I think that you meant to send those two links to the original poster. I have been using Audacity for years. ;-)