Thread: Digitally cleaning vinyl = a pain in the arse!

Is it just me or is trying to clean crackles & pops etc from vinyl rips a real pain in the arse...

Some vinyl (even 20 years old) can not have a pop or a click... But the majority of them have loads & i'm quite anal when it comes to removing them... I start recording & i write down the exact seconds of the pops or clicks so that after it's finished recording i can go back through it & 'try' & remove them with Audacity. I reduce the volume to remove them but with the wave patterns it sometimes makes no difference & if i can i will delete the pop.

If i get a good track it'll take about 15 minutes to clean it... But some are beyond cleaning & i've spent 2 hours+ cleaning a single track & it still sounds shite

Am i doing it wrong?

At the end of the day i want the quality to be the best possible but some vinyl the pressings are shit... I've just ripped one & the A side (with 2 tracks) i've had to increase the Treble, Mid & Bass on my mixer just so it sounded half decent & when i flipped it over the B side (1 track) was perfectly clear & i set all the EQ's to 0.

There have been a couple of vinyls that i've ripped that the sound quality is perfect but deteriorates towards the end... Can that be fixed?

I usually run it through the pop & crackle remover on SoundForge. Pretty good as long as u don't try & take the piss. Then with whatevers left i'll hike the volume down on.

Originally Posted by dodders

I usually run it through the pop & crackle remover on SoundForge. Pretty good as long as u don't try & take the piss. Then with whatevers left i'll hike the volume down on.

whats sound forge ??????

Originally Posted by dodders

I usually run it through the pop & crackle remover on SoundForge. Pretty good as long as u don't try & take the piss. Then with whatevers left i'll hike the volume down on.

I've never used Soundforge... I have a few programs that can remove pops & clicks but they didn't... So i do it manually.

If anyone can sort 'dirty' vinyls i will send you one (of many) & you can have a go at it

Originally Posted by DJ Bass Raver

whats sound forge ??????

Its a recorder, editor etc s/w made by Sony. Been using it for eons now - not the same version you understand

Originally Posted by dodders

Its a recorder, editor etc s/w made by Sony. Been using it for eons now - not the same version you understand

cheers dodders didnt have a clue


300 quid fucking hell , think thats out of my price range , anyone know if there a knocked off version floating around

I'm uploading a 4 tracker that is fookin' terrible for pops, clicks & crackles... A vinyl i have considered purchasing myself because all 4 tracks i like... If somebody can clean them so they sound better i will love them forever... I have simply recorded them, i haven't amped or tried to clean as it would have taken me 4 or 5 hours!

I'll post the link when it's upped

Mediafire is being a proper unt...c & won't let me upload the whole file or the single tracks

Originally Posted by dodders

I usually run it through the pop & crackle remover on SoundForge. Pretty good as long as u don't try & take the piss. Then with whatevers left i'll hike the volume down on.

hey dodders, I also use the Sound Forge (7.0), but don't know about that 'pop & crackle remover' option, can you point me where is it?

of course, I do it manually... select the pops and setting the volume about 14 dB down in those little sections... it doesn't mean it disappears, sometimes you still can hear the pop but very low and then the track can be normalized to the desired level.. I like doing it to the -0,30 dB peak...

anyway many of the pops can be removed on the source, I mean, I usually do with a thorough cleaning with isopropyl alcohol...

Originally Posted by cholo

hey dodders, I also use the Sound Forge (7.0), but don't know about that 'pop & crackle remover' option, can you point me where is it?

of course, I do it manually... select the pops and setting the volume about 14 dB down in those little sections... it doesn't mean it disappears, sometimes you still can hear the pop but very low and then the track can be normalized to the desired level.. I like doing it to the -0,30 dB peak...

anyway many of the pops can be removed on the source, I mean, I usually do with a thorough cleaning with isopropyl alcohol...

Its under the tools tab - tho i'm using version 9.0. Its got loads of presets or you can mess around manually. You will lose sound quality however the more you use it on the same tune.

Leon. If You want to send me a WAV file of one of the tunes. I'll see if I can give it a bash at cleaning. Am a bit of a geek when it comes to manually removing pops and crackles with Audacity. And don't mind spending a bit of time copying and pasting. My vinyl copy of that DJ Biz 'D.J. Dub E.P.' was fulla the buggers, but I managed to do a decent enuff job at cleaning it digitally (well, I reckon at least! ). Giz a shout if you want me to give it a try. I don't ever use any 'cleaning' software, just the copy & paste method.

Originally Posted by stuz74

Leon. If You want to send me a WAV file of one of the tunes. I'll see if I can give it a bash at cleaning. Am a bit of a geek when it comes to manually removing pops and crackles with Audacity. And don't mind spending a bit of time copying and pasting. My vinyl copy of that DJ Biz 'D.J. Dub E.P.' was fulla the buggers, but I managed to do a decent enuff job at cleaning it digitally (well, I reckon at least! ). Giz a shout if you want me to give it a try. I don't ever use any 'cleaning' software, just the copy & paste method.

Nice one Stu mate

I'm having all kinds of problems with Mediafire at the minute... I'll see if i can up one for you to have a go at

Originally Posted by Leonized

Nice one Stu mate

I'm having all kinds of problems with Mediafire at the minute... I'll see if i can up one for you to have a go at

No problems Leon! I know what you mean about Mediafire. Is always cutting out on my home line, though that may be a shitty phone connection? Am up for the challenge.

Originally Posted by stuz74

No problems Leon! I know what you mean about Mediafire. Is always cutting out on my home line, though that may be a shitty phone connection? Am up for the challenge.

Here you go then FORMULA 7 - Formula __7__ - Mad Bones E_P.rar - DivShare This is the worst i've had so far, but i've got another 10 EPs in a folder for cleaning

Just had a quick look at the formula 7, other than removing a few pops/clicks there isnt much you can really do as its more of a consistent crackle. Probably be best to try cleaning the vinyl again & re-rip.

Id apply washing up liquid to the vinyl whilst dry, rub in the washing up liquid with your fingers & rinse off with warm water (dont warp em). Let them dry naturally. Next, stick a dust cloth to your needle with a bit of blutack, let the record spin on the turntable so that as it spins the cloth will pickup all the dust as the needle hopefully digs all the shit out. Also put a little sausage shaped bit of blutack on the cloth to add some weight to it. Do this 3/4 times, if it still sounds crackly then just upload as it is.

Excuse the artwork but it should look something like this
needlecloth.jpg

I'm guessing over the years the grooves have got a load of finger skin stuck in them & that's what causes the crackles?

Cheers for the advice Phiz mate, i'll give that a go