recording vinyl for reissue (QR)

KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
edited December 2008 in Strut Central
So... a prominent label has just contacted me asking if i can provide them with a CD copy of a particular Australian jazz track that they plan to reissue. It's never been on CD before, and they want a CD copy of the track, and it looks like I'm the only person that can provide them with it. b, 21b, 21My question is, how do I record a track from vinyl to CD and ensure it is of high enough quality that they can use it to reissue the track? Is there some quality standard for this type of thing?b, 21b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/game02vy9.gif" alt="" 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/870.gif" alt="" 21

  Comments


  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    I should add that the label has all the relevant permissions in order, but no-one can locate the original masters so hence the situation.

  • UnherdUnherd 1,880 Posts
    I'm no expert, and obv not familiar with the budget involved, but it would seem like taking it to a studio and using high quality pre's and converters would be in their interest, especially the way people around here have been talking about the transfer job on that Verocai reish that came out....

  • DJBombjackDJBombjack Miami 1,665 Posts
    ^^^ What he said.b, 21You're going to want a needle as neutral-sounding as possible, and either 1 or 2 inch reel to reel or 24 bit digital mastering. They can EQ the track if required at the studio and believe me this ain't gonna be something you should slap on a 1200 with a 44-7.

  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    Yeah! as soon as I read the first bit I thought, 447s are not gonna cut it. I'm really not ina position to do this in a studio - whatever that really means these days - but i guess what I'm hearing is I need to do whatever I can to make as a higher a quality recording as possible.b, 21b, 21I was a bit suprised when they guy said to me I could just upload the recording and send it to him via sendspace. isn't that a bad look, quality-wise?

  • UnherdUnherd 1,880 Posts
    A wav/aiff will be full spectrum quality either way, but I'm kinda surprised they wouldn't want like 24 bit pro tools files to send to mastering. Its definitely NAGL that they're not at all concerned about the transfer. If you don't have a financial stake in the release, I guess you could just make do, but with a record as rare as you say, its a shame they don't want to ensure that the transfer most people will end up hearing starts with some nice converters...

  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21Yeah! as soon as I read the first bit I thought, 447s are not gonna cut it. I'm really not ina position to do this in a studio - whatever that really means these days - but i guess what I'm hearing is I need to do whatever I can to make as a higher a quality recording as possible.
    b, 21
    b, 21I was a bit suprised when they guy said to me I could just upload the recording and send it to him via sendspace. isn't that a bad look, quality-wise?
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21They obviously either don't know their shit regarding high quality vinyl-CD transfer or they just don't care. In the above case, if you can live with yourself just find find someone with a home recording setup ala protools or something & pump it from the out of your mixer into whatever interface they have, do a bit of tweaking with the eq once it's in there then bounce it down & burn it to CD, done easy. Or if you can extra live with yourself just do it at home like you would usually digitise vinyl.

  • encode it at 64kps so you know that you have the best copy in existence

  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21encode it at 64kps so you know that you have the best copy in existence
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/funnypost.gif" alt="" 21 I was thinking of posting something along the lines of this also. img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" 21

  • /font1
    font class="small"1Quote:
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    h, 21
    b, 21I was a bit suprised when they guy said to me I could just upload the recording and send it to him via sendspace. isn't that a bad look, quality-wise?
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21If it's encoded at 24bit/192kHz and you send it as a full WAV file or lossless file, it will arrive there in the same fashion. You can have it done at a recording studio, but do a straight run of it, don't add any effects or volume adjustments, let the label handle the mastering and/or clean-up process.b, 21b, 21Once you have the song recorded as WAV, then upload it, again you can send the full WAV file (best option) or as a lossless file, but ask them first. If they ask for anything less, I would question that and recommend sending it in HQ.

  • lend them the record and let them sort it out

  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    I offered to... ahem... "provide" them with an adequate example of this LP at a modest fee, but they seemed completely uninterested in the vinyl. They did insist on a WAV file though, so I guess all is not lost.

  • b, 21It sounds like they don't give a F*ck, but you obviously do; they know they can get away with it as long as they have a decent wav file (if they asked for anything less it would be very weird!). I would definitely leave any tweaking to the mastering guys, if you can get them a nice, high quality recording they can do a lot to improve the final cd master. Of course, they can also screw it up majorly, but that's between them and the label...

  • /font1
    font class="small"1Quote:
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    h, 21
    b, 21I offered to... ahem... "provide" them with an adequate example of this LP at a modest fee, but they seemed completely uninterested in the vinyl. They did insist on a WAV file though, so I guess all is not lost.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I'm guessing the label isin't Votary?

  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    Nah man - its American.

  • TNGTNG 234 Posts
    Unless you're going to a studio (and they're paying) that has decent A/D converters, I wouldn't even bother. What we've always done is put a deposit on the record and take it in ourselves. We send a cashiers check for the full value of the record, pay to have it Fed Ex'd both ways, and then get the check back at the end. b, 21b, 21If this is a label with any rep. at all, they should be able to swing 2-3K out of the bank for a few weeks.

  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,789 Posts
    b, 21Send it Jazzman Gerald*. Some of his re-issues sound better than an original.b, 21Was talking to a friend about the difference between Jazzman's "Moody Blues" (Lee Mason) and the one on Dusty Fingers... the Dusty Fingers one was so bad I thought it was an alternate cut or a cover by a different band when I first heard it.b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21* Plus shipping won't be so bad for me if I want to kop!

  • hemolhemol 2,578 Posts
    if you do decide to do it yourself I'd just like to reiterate that you definitely should not EQ anything. If you EQ stuff, you change the recording, and the EQing cannot be taken off, whereas if you just send them a raw file they'll EQ it based on their mastering process.b, 21b, 21If you want to be super audiophile about it then go to a pro studio, it'll probably run you about 100 dollars. However, you can definitely do this at a friend's home studio with decent ADs, and neautral pres and needle. Most people's stereos are inferior to the point that your recording at a friend's home studio will be of a higher quality than most stereos will reproduce.
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