vinyl to mp3 w/ rega fono mini a2d

[cutflow]

i tried converting my first vinyl and for some reason it doesn't sound right, in addition, i left the level knob at default, but at any rate i didn't hear a volume increase when turning the knob anyways, so i left it at default. i recorded it through audacity and i haven't applied any settings, if i should, which settings should i config in audacity?

here is the track i tried recording

http://soundcloud.com/supermannnn/test1

here is the oriignal track on youtube:

[makar1]

What cart/needle are you using? DJing oriented ones generally aren't suited for general listening or ripping to digital.

[cutflow]

What cart/needle are you using? DJing oriented ones generally aren't suited for general listening or ripping to digital.

you just put a smile on my face. i wish i knew that dammit. i'm using shure whitelabel.

what carts/stylus are the best for ripping to digital?

[the_bastet]

Also, make sure to tweak your eq a little to compensate for normal groove wear. When I convert, I usually listen to the track all the way through slightly adjusting the eq untill it sounds right through my monitors then I go back and record.

[cutflow]

Also, make sure to tweak your eq a little to compensate for normal groove wear. When I convert, I usually listen to the track all the way through slightly adjusting the eq untill it sounds right through my monitors then I go back and record.

are you refering to tweaking my eq on audacity? which i don't know how to do if that is what your suggesting.

there is no mixer in this transaction, only tt1200 > rega fono mini a2d > computer

[the_bastet]

Sorry mate. Yeah, youd want to modify the live signal either pre or directly post amp in order to retain warmth int he recording. You can adjust the eq within your recording software (i use audition with a parametric EQ), but you will lose some life of the recording through subtractive eq'ing.

[cutflow]

Sorry mate. Yeah, youd want to modify the live signal either pre or directly post amp in order to retain warmth int he recording. You can adjust the eq within your recording software (i use audition with a parametric EQ), but you will lose some life of the recording through subtractive eq'ing.

i'm still waiting on makar said below, i have djing oriented needles/carts so that is probably why i'm not getting the sound i want. i don't know yet which ones are suited for ripping to digital.

anybody knows?

What cart/needle are you using? DJing oriented ones generally aren't suited for general listening or ripping to digital.

[the_bastet]

Shure M97's should suit you fine brotha. Thats what I use for ripping vinyl.

[makar1]

Shure M97's should suit you fine brotha. Thats what I use for ripping vinyl.

I don't have much experience with different carts but this suggestion seems good. The M97 is an audiophile cart, whereas the Whitelabel is a DJing cart.

[bumtsch]

Checked your recording vs the youtube clip - sounds like distorsion on yours, as if you'd recorded too hot. Rip quieter, then add gain - that seems to be the worst problem here, not so much the "dj needle vs hi-fi needle" thing. Or maybe the whitelabel isn't setup right. Or maybe that's a very loud pressing and there's no getting around it (in which case see if it's as bad with a quieter record).
Gotta figure out how to not overload your preamp. Of course, if it's already distorting before you turn things down in Audacity, recording at a quieter level won't make a difference.

(also, see this kinda thread http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable...p?f=52&t=54400 I'm sure there are more like it on the interwebs)
--

Sure, it makes sense to use a hi-fi needle for archival. Here's a little tale, though.

I used to rip with my Concorde Pro, then an M97. I found I always had to eq more stuff back in the top highs with the M97.

Then I got Concorde Elektros needles as an experiment, because the Pros were getting a little old and I had to put my home spares on (which I kept for ripping only).

In the process, I made a few tests. A/B-ing edited M97 vs Elektro, the latter sounded more precise in the high end, despite the specs showing the latter having a shorter range topping off at around 18khz.
Some parts can show some sibilance, which seems to be acknowledged with Concordes, but that was still there with the Shure, so in those cases, it wasn't the needle being shitty - just the actual track sounding harsh.
I also A/B tested both carts with the same record vs. a WAV of the same vinyl from one of the popular shops, and the Elektro was blatantly closer, which was expected considering the lack of EQ correction (which is not fixed by a tweak on a three band eq, or even on the 92's four band).

Obviously, it made sense to go on playing with Elektros at gigs, just to keep a closer level of detail between traktor/flac and real vinyl (I'd switch a lot between the two). Furthering that, it made sense to play rips which would sound like my vinyl through the concordes, therefore I just rip with an Elektro now.

Unless I get a spare Elektro tip, I will experiment with the M97 again when I can get a third headshell for it, since my spares are used with my home M44Gs - great for timecode btw, but lousy for a crisp sound, so switching between timecode and actual vinyl sounds, again, a bit jarring.

Of course quite a few soundsystems have harsh highs and would favour straight M97 rips, or vinyl with more muffled carts like M44x.
(Still, if I went all vinyl+shure when playing out, I still wouldn't rip with an M44 following the above logic, because they just sound nasty in comparison to concordes to me )