Macworld Forums

Hi,
Just started on digitising my vinyl library. Progress is good but I want to clean out clicks, pops and other assorted noise. Soundsoap2 for OSX would seem to fit the bill but has anyone any experience of this software or any suggestions as to alternatives?

Edit : I've just discovered a click removal facility in Audacity 1.2.6 so will investigate its efficacy. Rumble remains a problem though.

BULLEID34081@mac,

I don't know how good this shareware app is - ClickRepair

Cynic,
Thanks for the link. Have been Googling away and there seems to be a number of possible solutions but it is a help if one can come across someone with first hand experience of them.
Audacity seems to be able to do a fair job with pop and scratch reduction.

BULLEID34081@mac,

I'm afraid that I have no experience of them. Have you thought of posting on some of the audiophile forums?

Cynic,
Just what I need, more forum memberships.
Seems like a logical course of action though.

BULLEID34081@mac,

I always repair clicks manually. Automated systems are often very disappointing.

I generally use a a pro editing system that supports macros and it's very easy. All you do is move the cursor to the start of the click and get the macro to replace the audio with a copy of what was there 2 ms before. That usually does the job perfectly.

Even without running a macro, it's usually possible to use keystrokes to make a simple sequence of actions that you can perform in moments. I would imagine that it might be possible to get AppleScript to help if the application supports it.

AlanAudio,
Thanks. Although I've tried Audacity's auto system I am currently repairing clicks manually. Zoom in, select the click and use Audacity's "silence" command. This flat lines where the click was but as the duration is so short I haven't noticed any deformation in the sound track. Hiss and rumble aren't so easy to deal with. I've tried Audacity's "remove noise" function but even at its lowest setting it removes too much and quieter passages are silenced completely and strange harmonics are introduced

BULLEID34081@mac,

if you can devise a way to cut & paste a copy of what was immediately prior to the click into the slot where the click was, it's likely to be much less detectable than merely replacing the click with silence.

Hiss & rumble removal is always going to be a trade off. Most techniques that are readily available are going to reduce the quality of the 'wanted' audio. There are hi-tech ways of doing it, but you're looking at seriously expensive solutions if you want to go down that route.

AlanAudio,
Thanks. Having mulled over your previous reply I tried the "cut and paste" method and it works a treat. The hiss and rumble is indeed a trade off. Having not listened to my vinyl in years I had forgotten how "dirty" the sound was compared to modern day digital stuff. Even now people pay big bucks for turntables and styli in an attempt to get the "perfect" sound from their vinyl so it would seem that any solution is an expensive one. Looks like I'll have to put up with the background noise and relive the 60s vinyl experience all over again.

BULLEID34081@mac,

Like Alan I've found that pops and clicks are best being manually removed. The app I use (Logic) allows me draw out the click in the waveform, which I prefer to using the cut method - although for very bad clicks there sometimes no option but to cut them out.

For hiss by far the best method I've found has been to record the audio at 24 bit and maximum possible volume without clipping (I run through a high quality multiband compressor/limiter so I don't have to be too precise with level setting) and then when the audio is dithered down to 16 bits for CD I've found that most of the unwanted high-end noise diappears. This has also worked very well for old cassette recordings which I digitised with Dolby off in an attempt to put some top end back into the audio. Worked well enough to use on a proper CD release so I'm pretty happy witrh the results.

As for removing rumble your best bet is to look at the source. I've had mixed results, but getting the turntable as level as possible and adjusting the tracking and weight of the tone arm has resulted in some success. Unfortunately the tone arm settings tend to be different for every record...