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Topic: Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise? (Read 21269 times) previous topic - next topic
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Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Asking for advice on software that has a good different range of different 'filters' or 'effects' that can be applied to reduce noise/pops/clicks on records & cassette tapes. I know that Spin It Again has good filters however I'm curious if anyone knows of similar or better software.

Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #1
Asking for advice on software that has a good different range of different 'filters' or 'effects' that can be applied to reduce noise/pops/clicks on records & cassette tapes. I know that Spin It Again has good filters however I'm curious if anyone knows of similar or better software.


Also, If I can add, would it be better quality to record cassette tape audio with the tape type filter selected on the tape deck itself (normal, metal, CRO2) or to record it with no analog filter and do it digitally afterward.

Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #2
ClickRepair is the perhaps the most widely acclaimed software out there for removing vinyl clicks, pops and crackles. They offer a 21 day, full function trail and it will run you $40 if you like it.

Brian Davies, author of ClickRepair, also makes DeNoise. He claims it works well on tapes but I haven't read any reviews.

Other programs with declick/noise removal:
  • Audacity (freeware)
  • WaveRepair ($30)
  • VinylStudio ($30)
  • Groove Mechanic ($40)
  • iZotope RX (free and paid version)
  • SoundForge (not free)
  • pyro Audio Creator (not free)
  • Goldwave Digital Audio Editor (not free)
  • Golden Records

Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #3
ClickRepair is the perhaps the most widely acclaimed software out there for removing vinyl clicks, pops and crackles. They offer a 21 day, full function trail and it will run you $40 if you like it.

Unfortunately there is no one "best" automatic declicker out there. Each one has its own pros and cons.

I second the ClickRepair recommendation (I was an early beta tester for Brian, although I admit to not having kept up to date with latest releases).

Another inexpensive declicker worth checking out is Wave Corrector (no relation to my own software).

CoolEdit's declicker was good, so I would assume the one in Audition should be decent, although I've never used Audition.

IMHO, on balance the Sound Forge (now Sony) Noise Reduction 2.0 plug-in gives the best compromise of performance amongst auto-declickers that I have evaluated.

(I disqualify myself from debating Wave Repair, other than to point out that it's primarily a manual tool aimed at really anal users who want to get in there and make very precise adjustments to small sections of waveform. As an automatic declicker, it does not compete with the programs mentioned above).



 

Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #6
Found another free one, the "Gnome Wave Cleaner":
[blockquote]http://sourceforge.net/projects/gwc/[/blockquote]Has somebody tried it?

Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #7
I use Wave Repair.  It does take lot's of time, but most vinyl clicks & pops can removed completely with no audible side-effects.  And, it doesn't "touch" the sound except exactly where you tell it to.

(I don't have an opinion on the other software....  It's been a few years since I chose Wave Repair...  It worked well and it was affordable.)

Quote
Also, If I can add, would it be better quality to record cassette tape audio with the tape type filter selected on the tape deck itself (normal, metal, CRO2) or to record it with no analog filter and do it digitally afterward.
It would be better to bypass the cassette deck and record directly to the computer.  And if you're recording from microphones, it would be best to get a USB or firewire device with mic inputs because the mic preamps built-into regular soundcards are generally not that good.  Or, use a mixer and run the mixer's line-out into the computer's line-in.  Or, get a digital recorder. 

Otherwise, you should use the setting that matches the tape (for both recording & playback).  It's not simply a filter, it's also bias adjustment.    And, Dolby noise reduction should be on for both recoring & playback.

Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #8
I'd agree with Cliveb. I used Cooledit and Soundforge extensively and found they did a good job - though Cooledit needed a bit more care in setting the various parameters to best effect. However, I've found Vinylstudio to be as good in most situations and better in some and it costs peanuts in comparison. Why not give the trial version a run?

Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #9
Has somebody tried "declick"?
[blockquote]http://home.snafu.de/wahlm/dl8hbs/declick.html[/blockquote]

I haven't tried it but the home page suggests it won't do a good job on vinyl recordings:

Quote from: Declick Home Page link=msg=0 date=
The main purpose of declick is the removal of digital clicks in the input material. It is intended for the automatic removal of clicks produced by scratched CDs or poorly working CD grabbers, for example when using an IDE CD-ROM. It is not designed to remove analogue clicks as from scratched LPs.
(Emphasis added)

Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #10
CoolEdit's declicker was good, so I would assume the one in Audition should be decent, although I've never used Audition.

I was very happy with Audition declick. The noise reduction where you take a profile of the noise and then remove is is very useful, particularly on vinyl.



Good Software for cleaning up various vinyl/tape noise?

Reply #11
I just used a few of the programs mentioned in this thread, and so far for me, ClickRepair wins. There really is no preview button which I didn't like, and the 78 setting wasn't that great, but it did the best job of preserving the original while taking out the clicks and crackle. I prefer to use nothing, but every now and then a track just has a little too much noise and a couple of pops. Thanks for posting here all of you. It helped me out a lot.....