crackshot35 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Practical thoughts on using Golden Records: Like many who subscribe to this forum, I am a new user. In the course of four days, I have encountered most of the problems talked about here and solved most of them, and offer pointers and practical concepts that were omitted from the documentation. One of the big considerations is whether to record in mp3 or wav. Mp3 allows the tag information (album, artist, etc.) to be output as part of the file. Editing file names, changing them from untitled # to a meaningful name, works both in wave and mp3; but only mp3 keeps you from the drudgery of rewriting this information in media player's database or creating disk labels. Wav format and its output to disk as a .cda file excels in quality of sound over mp3 (a highly compressed file). The casual listener will probably be happy with mp3, but audiophyles,musicians and critics will demand better quality. About 24 (more or less) cda files will fit on a CD. This is plenty to keep track of and enter label data for at one sitting. About 200 or more mp3 songs will fit on a CD which is more than practical to manage. I strive only to convert part of an extensive instrumental library to digital format for inclusion as background music for slide shows. If the same music albums have been re-mastered to disk and you count your time as minimum wage, it is probably cheaper to re-purchase the tunes than convert them. In playing an album listed in an internet database, data is automatically downloaded and you are saved from manually entering song titles, album and artist data into media player. One important item omitted from GR documentation is how to transfer converted files from GR to a computer folder without the need for first writing to disk. The second omission is how to clear files out and start anew. Here's the solution. The command bar in the interface window has "View" First click on this then click on "View Recordings Folder". You may treat the window that appears as any other file folder. Cut and paste to another computer location, copy to another location and delete unwanted files from a previous disk write. I sweated blood writing to disk and back to the hard drive until I found this simple solution. By far the greatest problem I had, and from reading this forum, other people have is recording six or seven tunes and ending up with twenty files. This occurs when very soft passages at or very near the background noise level cause the program to drop out of recording, begin, and drop out again. An occasional short drop out can be repaired by highligting two or three files and joining them with "Control-J" This creates a new file. Source files are left highlighted and can be safely deleted with "Control-Delete", leaving only the joined file in the list of files. Repeated drop outs will effect the overall content length of a passage. When encountering this type of music it is easiest to start over. In the recording menu, click on the toolbox icon, the click on the "current noise floor" On the screen that appears check the "manual setting" box and adjust noise floor to -50db. Restart the recording while carefully monitoring the sound, and click on the "split" button during the silence between songs. It ain't automation, but it's the quickest route to a good transfer. Simularly, when record makers were faced with too much music for a side, they sometimes shorten the silent spaces between cuts resulting in a dropout too short to be detected by GR and causes two songs to be recorded in the same file. If the record side had six songs and you end up with five files, you will know this happened. The solution is to play the file. In the play window, click the pause button when you recognize the space between the end of one song and the start of the next. Click the "add a cursor point" button and then click "split a file at cursor point". By and large, GR does a competent job of automatically separating songs when amplitudes are well above noise threshold levels as found in the bulk of popular music, but for pesky symphonic passages with great dynamic range the solutions above will save much teeth gnashing. Occasionaly, individual selections on a platter, will exceed the amplitude first set by so much as to endanger clipping, or conversely diminished input amplitude. Here's how to set input sound levels on the fly: In the lower right corner of the computer screen (not program screen) there's a speaker icon. Right click on this, then left click on "recording devices". There will be a green checkmark on the input device you are using. Left click on this choice, then click on "properties". Choose the "levels" tab and adjust the device volume up or down as needed. (small changes, please) Click OK and continue recording without interruption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggydog4 Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 I am very green and have tried analogue to WAV using direct cartridge to Mac connection. How do i increase volume from the input so that the program will not skip but not record at sufficient volume for a good seamless analogue recording. Pat. patrickandreww@hotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackshot35 Posted December 2, 2010 Author Share Posted December 2, 2010 I am very green and have tried analogue to WAV using direct cartridge to Mac connection. How do i increase volume from the input so that the program will not skip but not record at sufficient volume for a good seamless analogue recording. Pat. patrickandreww@hotmail.com A magnetic cartridge will not output enough voltage for direct computer input. Route your cartridge output through an amplifier with magnegtic phono in jacks and tape out jacks or use a phono pre-amp from radio shack or others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now