Big Al Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 (edited) Ever since I got my record player, and been burning LPs to CDs, I've noticed that the platter is starting to spin a little faster. No problem, right? I never really noticed the change in pitch until I started converting my Styx LPs to CD. Yeeks! Dennis DeYoung's voice is high enough without the platter spinning faster. I've used GoldWave on/off for various reasons and discovered that I could slow down the pitch of the song. So I slowed down a song by 97%, and it sounded right, so I saved it. Then I went back and grabbed all the CDs I'd made in the last week or so and ran 'em all through the converting process, thinking I was pitch-correcting all of them. And, of course, I got rid of all the first-copies that I had. Now, for some unknown reason, the platter is spinning at the correct speed! And, come to find out, I've actually over-corrected all those other CDs: now they're just a TAD too slow. Not that they were ever all that fast to begin with. So, here's the obsessive-compulsive part: I am seriously contemplating re-recording each LP for a THIRD TIME!!! Just to get it ever-so-slightly pitch corrected! And now I'm trying to find a way to have a program automatically pitch-correct a track for me. F'rinstance, if a song is in the key of A, I could tell the program to adjust the pitch of that song so that it is set to A. Does such a program exist? And anyway, is that not the definition of obsessive-compulsive????? Edited March 14, 2007 by Big Al Quote
Spontooneous Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 You're asking the wrong folks. It ain't OCD if it makes the sound better, I say. You didn't check your turntable speed with an A-440 tuning fork? I've reached the point in my life where this seems like a viable idea. Obviously I need professional help. Quote
Late Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 It just comes with the territory of being a jazz recording collector. Sometimes it's OK to embrace it. Quote
Free For All Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 From the "cool t-shirt slogan thread, courtesy of Dan.... "I don't Suffer From Insanity - I Enjoy Every Minute of It" Quote
chris olivarez Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 Obssessive- compulsive-maybe but it sounds to me like you just want to get it right and there's nothing wrong with that. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 It's a sure sign of sickness, Al. Wallow in it! Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 Ah, but what about records that are not perfectly in tune to begin with? Remember, analog tape stretches, machines differ in calibration, and many times what is on vinyl, even on a perfectly spinning turntable, will not be precisely in tune. It's enough to drive you MAD! Quote
JSngry Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 Does your turntable have adjustable speed and a strobe device to check it? If not, you used to be able to buy a cardboard strobe disc at Radio Shack for something like $0.99 to check the table's speed. Doubt you still can, but at least you know that such things have existed, which means that there's somebody somewhere who's got one or some. Quote
Dan Gould Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 (edited) It just comes with the territory of being a jazz recording collector. Sometimes it's OK to embrace it. You missed an important clue about Al's mental state: He is doing this for STYX records!!!! Get help, Al. Seriously. PS - the speed correction on Goldwave is a cool thing - its allowed me to take 78s and magically turn them into 45s. That Four Sounds demo sounded indistinguishable from Lowe's "best possible" transfer on one of his vintage 78 machines. Edit: What I meant to say is take a 78, play it on a turntable that only handles 33s and 45s, and make it sound right. Edited March 14, 2007 by Dan Gould Quote
Teasing the Korean Posted March 14, 2007 Report Posted March 14, 2007 You missed an important clue about Al's mental state: He is doing this for STYX records!!!! Get help, Al. Seriously. Why go through the time and trouble of transferring your Styx albums when you can just go to the thrift store and pick them up on 8-track? Quote
BruceH Posted March 15, 2007 Report Posted March 15, 2007 Ah, but what about records that are not perfectly in tune to begin with? Remember, analog tape stretches, machines differ in calibration, and many times what is on vinyl, even on a perfectly spinning turntable, will not be precisely in tune. It's enough to drive you MAD! Indeed! The main thing is, can you yourself actually HEAR the difference? If so, then yeah, go for it. Quote
Uncle Skid Posted March 15, 2007 Report Posted March 15, 2007 I was waiting to see how many posts before Al was called out for his mental state! Dan, you have to realize that Al is being anal retentive about this now, with his Styx records, in preparation for more serious work: his extensive collection of Night Ranger rarities and his very rare, virgin-vinyl copy of Paul Stanley's solo record from 1978. Quote
7/4 Posted March 15, 2007 Report Posted March 15, 2007 Dan, you have to realize that Al is being anal retentive about this now, with his Styx records, in preparation for more serious work: his extensive collection of Night Ranger rarities and his very rare, virgin-vinyl copy of Paul Stanley's solo record from 1978. And he can only play it one time. :eye: Quote
ejp626 Posted March 16, 2007 Report Posted March 16, 2007 Does your turntable have adjustable speed and a strobe device to check it? If not, you used to be able to buy a cardboard strobe disc at Radio Shack for something like $0.99 to check the table's speed. Doubt you still can, but at least you know that such things have existed, which means that there's somebody somewhere who's got one or some. I started converting LPs over on an old turntable and found that the converted songs were 20-25% too short, according to track timings and so on. Obviously, that really wasn't acceptable. I eventually did replace it with a turntable with adjustable speed (and strobe built in) and found this worked much better. Al will soon find out that depending on the thickness of the vinyl, he should be making micro adjustments for each LP. Quote
7/4 Posted March 16, 2007 Report Posted March 16, 2007 ...you know that back in the pre-digital days, the tape would be sped up to make the song more punchy. Maybe Robert Plant wasn't really singing those high notes... Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 16, 2007 Report Posted March 16, 2007 Is Al really Ron McMaster? Is the band listed as Stxus on the spine of the cdr case? Quote
Big Al Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Posted March 16, 2007 Ah, but what about records that are not perfectly in tune to begin with? Remember, analog tape stretches, machines differ in calibration, and many times what is on vinyl, even on a perfectly spinning turntable, will not be precisely in tune. It's enough to drive you MAD! This is true. I recently got a Fats Waller Bluebird 2-LP set, and more than a few times I was looking over at the record to see if it was changing speeds on me. Definitely some tape wear on that set! Quote
Big Al Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Posted March 16, 2007 Does your turntable have adjustable speed and a strobe device to check it? Yup. I actually blame that for starting this mess. I might've never known my records were spinning ever so slightly faster if I hadn't been looking at that thing. In this case, ignorance would've been much better than bliss. Except for that DeYoung vocal thing..... Quote
Big Al Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Posted March 16, 2007 (edited) It just comes with the territory of being a jazz recording collector. Sometimes it's OK to embrace it. You missed an important clue about Al's mental state: He is doing this for STYX records!!!! Get help, Al. Seriously. Don't I know it!!!!!! PS - the speed correction on Goldwave is a cool thing - its allowed me to take 78s and magically turn them into 45s. That Four Sounds demo sounded indistinguishable from Lowe's "best possible" transfer on one of his vintage 78 machines. Edit: What I meant to say is take a 78, play it on a turntable that only handles 33s and 45s, and make it sound right. I knew what you meant! I've done the same thing with some of my Gramma's old 78's! Edited March 16, 2007 by Big Al Quote
Big Al Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Posted March 16, 2007 I was waiting to see how many posts before Al was called out for his mental state! Dan, you have to realize that Al is being anal retentive about this now, with his Styx records, in preparation for more serious work: his extensive collection of Night Ranger rarities and his very rare, virgin-vinyl copy of Paul Stanley's solo record from 1978. The only way that record gets played is when someone pries it from my cold dead hands!!! As for the Night Ranger rarities, well..... it was ugly. My computer hasn't acted this way since I tried to save my mother-in-law's Mitch Miller record onto a CD for her. Quote
Big Al Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Posted March 16, 2007 I started converting LPs over on an old turntable and found that the converted songs were 20-25% too short, according to track timings and so on. Heavens, I'm much more anal than that: my songs are off by maybe five or ten seconds! Quote
Big Al Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Posted March 16, 2007 Is Al really Ron McMaster? Is the band listed as Stxus on the spine of the cdr case? I'm working on both of those even as I type! Quote
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