Hi Pat, you and I have actually had this discussion before! I wasn't really asking about recording my LPs, I already have a pretty efficient workflow for that (length of LP + 20 minutes). I was really only asking about how to store them.
In case search has lost the original correspondence. My rationale and workflow is as follows: I had about 600 LPs that I had not listened to for about 10 years since getting married (turntable in storage). I did think of replacing "the ones I liked" with either CDs or downloads. But, to be honest, I had forgotten what half of the music sounded like, let alone whether I liked it or not. Also, tastes change so I might have liked something before and not like it now and vice versa. That means, before I decided whether I liked an LP or not, I had to listen to it. So the turntable came out of storage. If I was playing and listening to it, I might as well record it at the same time. No extra time required. Once I had heard the LP, if I didn't like it, I could simply dump the WAV file. If I did like it then I could split it, convert it and tag the files. I have a head start on you as I already have a (very expensive and good) turntable and preamp combination (Linn/Naim) sitting in my study next to my main PC. All I needed was an interface. After flirting briefly with a (flakey) "Audiophile" sound card I ended up buying a Behringer RCA -> USB interface (see sig). The recording software I use is SpinItAgain. Very user friendly software that gets tag data from an online database (while you are recording) and suggests splitting points for the WAV file. There is masses of flexibility included and it is designed specifically for LP to digital recording so the learning curve is very short and shallow. It uses the track length data from the downloaded tag data to split the WAV file into separate tracks. Using a simple GUI you can fine tune the start and end points of tracks, apply de-click filters, gain adjustments and so on. Personally I keep it simple. I don't apply filters or gain adjustments, I just make sure I have the levels right before I record (a 2 minute procedure at worst). The longest bit is fine tuning the start and end points. I can output separate tracks either as tagged MP3 files or WAV files with the tag data in the file name. I generally choose the latter. I then convert to FLAC using dBpoweramp (select files, right click, convert). I then use Tag&Rename to get the tag data from the FLAC file name. It remembers the settings so once I have it set up it is a one click job. That is about it, really. There is some file structure management to do and cover art to download, but I generally do all that while the recording is going on. So, assuming an LP is 40 minutes long and 10 tracks, my workflow is roughly: 1. Record LP (while also getting tag data, creating folder and downloading cover art): 40 mins 2. Fine tune start/end points of created WAV file: 10 mins 3. Output as separate WAV files: 1 min. 4. Convert to FLAC: 2 mins 5. Get tags from file name, add the odd bit of missing tag data, rename file (automatic): 5 mins. 6. Delete temporary WAV files: 1 min. Er... that's it. About an hour in total, give or take 5 minutes depending on the length of the LP. The only extra is conversion to MP3 for the iPod. At the moment I do that on an ad-hoc basis, but am looking into Robin Bowes's simple utility to do that automatically too. I am really enjoying listening to my collection of LPs again, some of which I have not heard for over 25 years. I am finding that I like far more than I dislike and I now have many more albums than I would ever have bothered to replace without listening to them. Just occasionally I will dump a recording part way through - but that happens probably once in every 10 LPs. Also, if an LP is in poor condition and I really like the music I will buy the CD. That happens to about 1 in 20 (I always looked after my LPs well). So far, I have done around 150 albums in just over a year. That lot would have cost me (assuming the odd discount) between £1,000 and £1,500 to replace with CDs. If I do 500 of my collection that is £5,000 saved. Doing it your way I would probably not have bothered, saved the money, and done without the music. I am very glad I didn't! Sorry - did not mean that post to be so long! -- TheLastMan Matt *SqueezeBoxes:* SB Duet (Controller + two receivers) *Server:* Synology Diskstation 107+ NAS (with firmware 2.3-1157) running Squeezebox Server 7.5.0 on Synology Package Manager *Network:* Netgear DG834GT ADSL modem/router, 2 x Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 as access points *Livingroom:* Receiver into Naim 42/110 amp, B&W CM2 speakers *Kitchen:* Receiver into Denon DM37 mini-system, B&W 686 speakers *Study:* Linn LP12, Naim 72/Hi-cap/Headline. LPs ripped usingBehringer UCA202 USB into Windows XP PC ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TheLastMan's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=16021 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=80811
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