So, care to lend me an ear?

[mainegreen]

I've been playing with different software and filters to try and rip my vinyl, and coming off a player with no built in preamp I was getting some spectacularly crappy results. Either I ran the signal through the preamp, and got a signal so strong I was getting serious signal distortion on my computer. So instead I route the signal skipping the preamp and I get the flat, weak signal with a terrible static problem. Two weeks of fiddling later, I've settled on Audacity to equalize and normalize and SoundSoap to clean up the signal. I think I've got everything equalized right, but I've been doing this so many times, I'm not sure what sounds right anymore.

This is what the original file sounds like
This is what the cleaned up and leveled file sounds like

Care to lend me an hear and tell me if it sounds like it equalized and cleaned up right, or if it has a weird quality to it?

[Ptah]

1. What?

[mainegreen]

4. Are the links not working?

They seem to work for me. Basically I was wonder if the file at the second link (based on the original file at the first link) sounds 'good'. Does it sound equalized and normalized properly, or does it have a weird sound to it, resulting from a bad clean up of the file on my part. I can't tell, I've been playing with this so long I'm not sure if it sounds weird or if I've just convinced myself it sounds weird.

:shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. Sounds great to me

Might be a tad heavy in the mid bass, but I like that.

[mainegreen]

5. Thanks!

I was going crazy. I swore there was something weird about it but yet it sounded good.

Edited to add: Yeah, I tend to go heavy on emphasizing the mid base, but I'm fond of that range.

[mike_c]

3. the post version sounds much better-- there were actually bits...

...that I didn't even notice in the pre- version. I can't compare it to your original, obviously, and unless you're planning to distribute these files, the ultimate judge of quality has to be YOUR ear. But the second file sounds pretty good to me. Nice full sound.

[mainegreen]

6. Sweet. Thanks for the input.

I guess it came out alright then.
Stage two: rip about a hundred records.

[NC_Nurse]

7. Post.

much clearer. Sounds cool, BTW! :-)

[mainegreen]

8. Thanks.

I guess it did come out good.
It's Amon Tobin/Permutation (the music).