Splitting LPs in MP3 format into individual tracks based on silence and/or length?

stockhausen

stockhausen

stockhausen

Capodecina
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I have spent weeks converting some LPs into MP3s using Audacity - one side per file. I have now spent a lot of time trying to split the files into individual files per track, again using Audacity. It is a LOT of effort.

Does anyone know of an easy, reliable way of automating this process? I usually know the lengths of each track but a good start point would be looking for the silence between tracks - pops, clicks and crackles permitting.

Thanks.

ps - I have hundreds of LPs to convert using a Technics SL1210 Mk. II.
 
May I suggest getting a copy of Audio Cleaning Lab if you've that many to convert, I find it a lot easier than Audacity to convert LP's and cassettes to individual MP3 tracks.

For example, record the whole album in one shot, drop track markers into the waveform where the gaps are, give them names, process the individual sections for hiss, clicks and pops etc. seperately or all as one, then export and voila, done.
 
May I ask what you used to record them in the first place? I have loads of Albums, 12" and 7" singles that I want to convert to a digital format but have no idea how to do it.
 
@ SickAsParrot - thanks for that. I have had a look at the Magix (Audio Cleaning Lab) and find the three offerings ("Audio Cleaning Lab", "Rescue your Vinyl & Tapes" and "Audio & Music Lab" confusing and the website doesn't help much on initial inspection.

Looking at the "Rain forest" reviews I get the impression that the latest version of the basic software has had features removed from the earlier version - e.g. Spectral Cleaning. Presumably this is to encourage upgrades to the "Premium" version? The software looks to be pretty sophisticated - i.e. it can easily get rid of some of the inevitable surface noise. I will try to research it some more. I presume it doesn't require the initial use of Audacity?


@neil_g - thanks to you as well. MP3split looks to be well worth playing about with - and is FREE!


pastymuncher said:
May I ask what you used to record them in the first place? I have loads of Albums, 12" and 7" singles that I want to convert to a digital format but have no idea how to do it.
Click to expand...
I play LPs on a Technics SL-1012 Mk. II turntable and and feed the signal into a Sony TA-FE330R Amp.

I use a three metre lead that has a red and a white Phono plug at one end which is plugged into the Tape 1 output sockets on the rear of the Amp and a single three-way 3.5mm phono plug at the other end which is plugged into the "Blue" (input) plug on the back of the PC.

I am 100% sure that there are better ways including using a £20 RIAA pre-amp between the turntable and the PC. However, I use what I have and this approach would also allow me to record / convert radio and cassette tapes.

The software I use to convert the analogue audio into digital format is Audacity v2.0.6 (http://audacity.sourceforge.net) with the LAME for Audacity MP3 plugin, both of which are free downloads.
  • To start recording, click the "Red circle" (Record) button.
  • To stop recording, click the "Yellow square" (Stop) button.
  • To export the file, select File -> Export Audio
  • Trim the lead-in and lead-out if you wish.
  • Choose "Save as type" MP3 files
  • Give the file a name
  • Click "Save".

NB1 - this process is not quick, it is not like ripping a CD in a matter of minutes using something like Exact Audio Copy, you have to play the entire LP.
NB2 - make sure that your PC doesn't make any other unexpected noises while recording otherwise these will be mixed into your recording - so no YouTube to while away the hours and no plugging / unplugging USB memory sticks!
NB3 - you will record everything output by your turntables including the obligatory snaps and crackles - you will have to use some other software to remove these - see posts above with which I have no experience as yet.
 
LockyOK said:
I presume it doesn't require the initial use of Audacity?
Click to expand...

No it's totally self contained, including the MP3 encoder.

I can't remember what my version is I bought it a couple of years ago and even then I think I bought an older version because someone was reporting issues with the latest version (at the time).

I especially like the ability to listen to what the software is removing (ie clicks and noise) instead of the music itself, and fine tune the filters so that none of the actual sound is affected.
 
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