I started out years ago as a vinyl DJ and have a big collection of vinyl nowadays.
I decided to skip the cdj and go straight to the digital dj world of laptops and controlers
Besides buying new music digtitaly I also have a lot of already payed for music on vinyl. One of the options is tot digitalise it myself, but that gives a mp3 or wav file that doesnāt have a thight bpm. An other option is to buy the music again in a webshop, but I already paid for the music. There is also the option to ask te label directly to get the mp3 file of the vinyl I already purchased in the past?
Do you have experience with this or wat would you sugest would be the best way to go?
It does seem a shame, but i would recommend replacing the tracks with digital files. Some vinyl rips do sound ok and can be gridded reasonably easily, but its a pain in the ass tbh.
Welcome to the forums
Iāve got about 120 vinyl that Iāve ripped to FLAC. Took ages and Iām not sure it was worth it. Considering the cost of mp3ās, if I could have got these tracks digitally I would have just got them in mp3 and paid. Heaps easier and I actually find the quality just as good. So Iād save yourself some time and just buy them all again if you have the $$
Thanx for the answers. Would it be worth to try to get the mp3ās at the labelcompany? I already bought the musicā¦only on vinyl. If I had a lot of money to spend, buying the again wouldnāt be a big problem But as long as my cashflow isnāt that goodā¦
If you end up ripping I ended up buying one of those ARKIV needles specifically designed for ripping vinyl to digital. Very nice sound. Then I recorded using Audacity and exported in flac format. How many records do you have ? You could maybe pay someone to do itā¦?
Yes it is VERY boring. The only good thing is listening to the tunes, but you end up wanting to mix themā¦cos the intro/outro parts are boring (but you canāt skip them). So yesā¦frustrating. I was happy when I finished doing mine, and I only had 120. One strategy is to just do a few a day rather than all at once
I do this, as in the genres I play thereās still a bunch of labels that only do vinyl, so if you want the tune you buy the wax and rip it.
On the other hand, I have no problems torrenting tracks I already physically own (itās the only time Iāll do this. I figure if I already own the vinyl, I have a ālicenceā for the tune itself, and the artist has already been paid)
Record labels wonāt give you digital files for free. You might get a freebie here and there, but basically, fuggetaboutit.
But then, youāre asking the right question: is my time more valuable that the cost of purchasing the tracks in digital format? A definitive answer to that question can only come for yourself. But let me tell you what I do:
1.) Only if both the music on the record as well as the actual media are of decent quality, I select the record for digitizing. E.g., I have some vinyl that is seriously effed up with large scratches on the surface. I wonāt digitize itāitās not worth my time. And also, I have some vinyl containing music I donāt really like (or canāt really use) anymore. I wonāt digitize that, either.
2.) I check if the music is available in an online music store or at Discogs in CD format (used). If so, I generally prefer purchasing over digitizing, especially if itās something where Iām quite sure that Iāll play it out (so that I want the best sound quality and tightest grids I can get).
3.) If itās not available, or I donāt consider it worth buying, I go about and digitize it myself. There are dozens of guides out there. My only point on this is that I consider the resulting FLACs (or MP3s) very good. I rarely ever have issues with drift or bad audio quality or the like. If there is drift, itās usually due to inprecise, analog equipment used in production of the music and not due to the process of digitizing. If the audio quality is bad, itās usually due to bad equipment (think old needle) or user errors (think incorrectly adjusted levels).
i record my records in batches of ten or so, fire them into ableton to warp them so the bpm doesnt drift, then export, analyse in MiK, then beat grid etcā¦
Does it sound good? Yes, if youāre doing it right and use equipment that fits the bill. But its a big āifā. You have to have a decent sound card (most of us here do), have a good stylus on your tt, have the right software to post-process, warp etc.. If you donāt already have all that, donāt bother, itās just not cost effective to buy all the equipment and software.
If you do consider buying digital files, keep in mind that some of the older stuff out there, especially tunes that re-appear from ancient back catalogues and are now sold as mp3s have often been ripped from vinyl by the labels or distributors themselves. It happened to me a couple of times that I bought mp3s which have obviously been ripped very carelessly with bad needles, massive drifting and even had needle skipping in them. So itās not always worth buying digital files.
If buying used CDs from Discogs, Amazon or the like is an option for you, you might think about that and rip those for good digital files. (Although the bad-quality vinyl-rip thingie has happend to me there as well). Beware of compilations though, they sometimes contain weird edits and are often mastered badly, resulting in overcompressed music.
BTW, someone mentioned the Ortofon Arkiv needles. They arenāt worth the money. If you really want to buy something dedicated to high quality playback/recording/ripping, a decent hifi needle works as well or better for a lower or similar price. Something like an Audio Technica AT120E maybe.
Though, if you have some reasonable obscure vinyls you might not find in mp3, you might want to cling on to the vinyl and TT for these beauties.
(It also adds to the attractiveness of your sets. )
Iām going through the process of digitising my vinyl. It has been a mammoth task as I have over 6000 pieces of the black stuff. It has been an unimaginable pain in the ass. It has took me around a year and a half to do and Iām down to my last box of 100 albums.
The only up side is that you can rediscover records that you didnāt know you had. Iāve found loads of tunes that I had dismissed first time round. There are gems to be found. If you have the time and the patience then I would go for it. If not, then steer well clear.
The few songs I have on vinyl that I still want to play, Iāve just bought again. My time is wroth more than the $2 it costs to buy it again considering how long it takes to get levels right, make things sound okay, warp them, and then compress them anywayā¦
Plus, if the file is a bad vinyl rip and you get it from beatportā¦theyāll give you your money back. Itās happened to me a few timesā¦and theyāve never charged me for a track like that. They usually say āsorryā¦came from the label that way. thereās a credit in your account,ā and thatās the end of it. IDK about other stores, because it hasnāt happened with anyone else.
