longmorn3

According to the Help in the Wavepad Master Edition, "Paste Mix" or "Mix File" will do what you want for you - mix two files. I have never done it, so I can speak from experience or offer any tips beyong what is in the WavePad Master Edition Help file. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Good day, Darkie. We were all novices at one point, and I am still not that experienced with Golden Records (GR), having only converted about 20 albums or so. GR does have a Wizard button up on the left and I think you can access it from the File Menu as well - my GR is on my laptop which is not here right now, so I am going from memory. The Wizard will walk you through configuring your recording session - input strength, connections, floor noise, etc. GR does have a direct phono to computer option that you can set, but I have seen more than one post in this forum that it did not work for some users. It appears that not all turntables are alike in terms of output signal strength, and some of them just don't put a signal strong enough for GR to grab and process. I obtain great results connecting the turntable to my receiver, and then tapping the "Tape Out" jacks for the computer input via a Behringer UCA-202 digital converter device. If I can be any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask. The software and setup can be a bit intimidating for some, including myself. It took me a few hours my first time to get everything working the way it should and learning the "characteristics" of the software. It does do a great job so it is worthwhile being persistent. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Sounds to me like there is not adequate audio input signal being detected. Did you run the wizard to ensure that you were getting a signal of sufficient strength? Are you running a phono direct to your computer. Best results obtained using pre-amp or receiver because the signal is much stronger. Don't know enough about your setup to be able to offer more. Hope it helps anyways. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

I upgraded yesterday from Express Burn Video Plus 4.15, which I purchased in December, to the newest version: 4.18. I purchased EB in December because of intermittent problems with burn reliability using Windows Media Player. EB 4.15 was an excellent product and very stable for burning audio CDs - my main purpose until I get around to converting my camcorder tapes to DVD. Today, first time using EB 4.18, two consecutive attempts to burn an audio CD failed with an Error "Sense 05 21 02 (Error With Write Address)" while trying to burn Track 2 of 26 tracks. Both CDs were Sony CD-Rs from separate packages. A subsequent attempt to burn the same audio CD using Windows Media Player was successful. Burn speed was 16x in all instances, which is supported by my Pioneer DVR-111D internal burner. I must express my surprise when upgrading that even though I had only purchased EB 4.15 in December, eight weeks later (yesterday) my "special" upgrade price was $33 US. I was not aware of any increased functionality - most of the write-up concerned bug fixes and increased stability, particularly for DVD burning. In any event, I have written to NCH Tech Support about my problem since I am reasonably sure it is a bug. It might be wise to hold off upgrading to EB 4.18 until it is established whether this is a keyboard interface problem (the idiot between the chair and the keyboard - me) or whether there is a bit of a bug lurking in EB 4.18. If anyone has any ideas about how to defeat this error, assuming that the problem is this idiot and not the software, I would be appreciative of your advice. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

I haven't had exactly your problem - I can delete the files from within Golden Records, but you should know that Vista, if you are using it, can exhibit some strange behaviour because of where GR stores its files (C:\Users\Name\AppData\Roaming\NCH Swift Sound\Golden) ... I think that is the correct path, but I might have left something out - GR is on my laptop and it isn't here right now. The other thing that I have experienced is that GR places files in a second folder - in my case my "Music" folder and in my case, it does not delete those files. I use xplorer2 pro to get at the files and remove them - Windows Explorer should work as well, but it might not like the primary location. You could try deleting the files manually from both locations. Also, check that you are using the latest version of GR - Under "Help", click "Check for New Version." Be advised though that you might have to pay for the upgrade. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

There are two ways to adjust the playlist: (1) add the sound files in the order that you want them burned; or, (2) add all the sound files and move them to the proper order within Express Burn. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

There is an option to set the length of "silence" that will trigger Golden Records (GR) to recognize a new track - I think you can vary it between 1 and 9 seconds. Personally, I haven't found that it works all that well, since quiet passages in a track can trigger it to split the file where you don't want it split and then you have to join the split files. I just record each track manually - then I know that the tracks are properly split. Even doing that though, I have had GR split files, where it shouldn't, even with the "silence" time set to 9 seconds. One track, it split into 4 files - it was a a capella track and it really confused GR. Nonetheless, I am quite pleased with the software, and once you have a track converted, you never need to convert it again, and can burn as many CDs as you would like. Have a great day.

I am not an expert on audio electronics, but from the little I think I know, Phono input jacks and the electronics to process a phono signal is different from that of other inputs (CD, Tape, etc.). I think you will need to try and get an old used (or a new) receiver with phono jacks if you are going to get an adequate signal to trigger Golden Records. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Allen: Like you, I don't burn from within Golden Records, but manually load the files using Express Burn Plus in the order I want. In my case, I move the files out of the Golden folder and dump them into User/Music and I have no problems grabbing the files from there. I actually record using a laptop, but do my burning from my main desktop computer. I transfer the files from the laptop to the main desktop using a flash memory card, so I have never encountered your issue, because I never tried to burn from the Golden folder on the laptop. The "solution" of moving the files to the User\Music folder might be more work, but it does work, at least for me. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

It is known that all turntables do not put as strong or as normalized a signal as processing from a pre-amp or amp/receiver. Not all turntables are created equal. I have had great results connecting my turntable to my receiver/amp and feeding the output from the Tape Out jacks of the receiver into the converter unit I use: a Behringer UCA202. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Express Burn Plus (not freeware) has the option to burn a video DVD or a data DVD. To play a DVD in a DVD player, you must burn a video DVD, much like you must burn an audio CD, not a data CD, to listen to the music on a CD from a standard CD player. I hope this is of some help. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Madom: The Recording Wizard or the "File, Options" menu permit you to decide whether you want to save or burn. I always select save as .wav and burn later. Golden Records does have the ability to tag files and split files. Personally, I use WavePad to edit music files and reduce pop and hiss. It does a nice job. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

AlbertaAngler: I am a newbie myself with WavePad and Golden Records, but I think it might be that you are not selecting the entire edited recording before saving. The recording should appear in blue if selected. Press Ctrl-A to highlight everything after you have completed your editing, (the entire thing should become blue) and then select Save. It has always worked for me. Hope this is of some help. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Sorry Madom. I am so much of a newbie myself that I am not sure that I understand what you are asking. Perhaps someone else in this forum can help you. I would have thought that if you could burn it to CD, you could save it to the HD, but I could be mistaken. Sorry that I wasn't able to help you. Have a great day anyways, despite newbies trying to answer your questions. Regards, -Phil

Indeed it is. You save your .wav or .mp3 files to your hard drive and then you can use Windows Media Player or some other audio application to organize and play the resulting audio files. You can tell Golden Records where to save your files on your hard drive, or you can accept its default location. It is not necessary to save to a CD at all. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

I am a novice as well with Golden Records (GR). I am not sure I completely understand your setup. I will make a couple observations. It would be preferable, I think, to connect your computer to a TAPE OUT jack, rather than to the phono jack, if I am understanding your email correctly. The amplifier strengthens the signal - phono signals are generally pretty weak. You should also be aware that it is my experience that GR "hijacks" your audio outputs; e.g., you can't play .wav or .mp3 files from Windows Media Centre unless you disconnect the record imput cable from your computer and close GR. You can play converted files within GR though by using the PLAY function. I don't know if this was any help. Good luck. Regards, -Phil

I haven't even attempted to convert my cassette tapes to digital. I am working with vinyl LPs, for the most part in mint condition, for when I bought them, I used them only to make a cassette tape and then stored them in proper conditions. My observation is that it is not that the media that is causing the crash. I did convert a very noisy and abused record set for a friend, and the crashes were no more frequent during that conversion process. In my case, I do not record one whole side of an LP, but rather record each track individually and stop recording at the end of it. It is certainly possible that a very defective tape might cause a crash, but it is not a phenomenon I have observed with noisy vinyl. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Carl: I had problems with crashes right from the "get-go". I upgraded to the latest update, 2.13 I think, but the problem persists. Nonetheless, because you simply relaunch the application and don't seem to "lose" anything, it is more of a nuisance. I am optimistic that NCH will find the fix and that it will be related to some Vista issue. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

I too have encountered the same problem on my laptop running Vista. The latest version of the registered version of Golden Records (GR) normally crashes at the beginning of a recording, just after I have dropped the stylus in the blank area at the beginning of a vinyl LP track to be converted and I have pressed the "Record" button. GR then indicates that it is "Waiting For Audio" and the crash occurs before I see the "Recording" message from GR. I briefly see a message to submit a report to NCH Software, but then Vista takes over and indicates that it is closing the prograrm and that is it. I restart GR and I can normally record another two or three tracks before GR crashes again. I have also had a crash happen very infrequently at the end of a track when it is converting the resulting file; and like you, experienced that GR did properly convert the new .wav file, despite the "crash" when I relaunched GR. I have personally attributed this to an "enhanced" Vista feature and I figure that the NCH Software folks will get to the bottom of it in a future update and correct some incompatibility between GR and Vista. Having been one of the first users of Vista, I have encountered such odd behavior before from a variety of software applications and usually the problem lies with a Vista incompatibility which is subsequently corrected. I hope the problem is soon resolved because it is annoying, though thankfully, not catastrophic. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Golden Records (GR) defaults to an alphabetical sort. You can alter the sort to be by date and time by clicking on the date/time column. That will hopefully solve your problem if you are burning your CD directly from GR. Personally, I use NCH Express Burn and individually load each .wav file or .mp3 file in the order that I want them burned. No mistakes that way. Hope this helps. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

Good afternoon. I don't have a great deal experience with Golden Records software, but I have successfully converted eight LPs to digital format to date. I did have one question that I referred to technical support, and even though I did not purchase any of the tech support packages, I got a very prompt and helpful reply. Forums are only as good as those who participate in them and I suspect, like most forums, this one will take some time to attract one or more experienced members willing to take the time and make the commitment to share their knowledge. Flaming the existence of the forum is not really constructive. NCH should be commended for making the forum available to its customers. It is up to all of us to make it work for our benefit. Let's hope that in time this becomes a vibrant and helpful forum. Just my two cents. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

I am not familiar with the turntable - I use a Behringer U-Control UCA202 device, connected to my receiver (Tape Out jacks) and then connected to the PC by the USB cable. I am a newbie with Golden Records (GR) software. I have only converted eight or so albums, but I have had fantastic results. It sounds to me like a set-up problem. I would recommend that you record to file on your PC and transfer/burn it later. The reason I suggest is to save CDs and, more importantly, to be able to verify the tracks. Sometimes the conversion is not perfect. GR has a "Play" option, so once it has converted the track to .mp3 or .wav, you can verify immediately whether you have a successful conversion. If all you hear is noise, then I would guess that you have not selected the correct input device or there is a problem/setup issue with your turntable. Sorry I can't be of more assistance, but I am not familiar with your hardware. Good luck. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil

REPLY: The paid version of Golden Records (GR) doesn't come with priority tech support either - you have to pay for that, in addition to the price of the software, either when you purchase your software or subsequently. As I told you in my previous message, I am just a GR newbie, having converted but 4 LPs to digital, but I'll offer any help that I can. Older guys, like you and me, should always undertake new challenges and stimulate the old grey cells. Life is for living and learning, and you are to be commended for undertaking the challenge of learning how to convert vinyl to CD. Have a great day, Aal. Regards, -Phil

REPLY: I am a newbie with the Golden Records (GR) software as well and not a young pup (retired). I encountered the same problem earlier in the week. You can play the track within Golden Records, but not from Windows Explorer with Windows Media Player. I suspected that the GR software was "locking" the audio output on the computer, so I shut the computer down, removed the USB connecter, and then booted up my computer. Do not launch GR. I went straight to Windows Explorer, found the .wav file, and clicked on it. It worked like a charm. I am most impressed with the software. One other trick I would recommend is to review each converted track within GR, using the PLAY function to ensure that it converted perfectly. I converted four albums earlier this week and found that three tracks did not convert perfectly. On the second try, I got a perfect copy. Verifying the conversion will lessen the chances of wasting CDs when you do a subsequent burn. Also, it is important to check the CDs, because the burns are not always perfect. I am using the NCH "Express Burn Video Plus" software as I have found the Windows Media Player burner to be somewhat unreliable. I would also recommend lowering the burn speed to half of your drive's recommended speed rating. Burning at [MAX] increases the probability of burn errors. A final hint - the current version of GR is 1.24. If you have Vista on your computer, it is advisable to update your software. If you purchased in the last three months, the update is free. I am still suffering some crashes, but the updated version is better and more stable. Have a great day. Regards, -Phil