vinyl crackle

So I've been toying with this for too long and decided to get other peeps opinions. When I eq a sample that I want to boost highs, no matter what I do I can't get the crackle out of the sample. When I toy w/filters, it get's too muddy when the vinyl noise goes away. And I'm using an example with a damn clean, fresh peice of vinyl, new needle, and decent pioneer dj mixer. So has anyone checked/used/use soundsoap or pgm.'s of the like? Maybe should I invest in a better mixer (not a dj)? Let me know what you think.

a better mixer/pre amp is going to probably cut some hiss/hum... but crackle is always going to be there in some form. If your talking about old peices then give them a clean, but if your getting bad crackle on new joints i would check your cables and connections, could be that.

yo hah recently i was wondering why my tt had so much noise coming out of it...then i gave myself a thought and checked the ground cable...yeah it had come loose...i made a pretty good beat on ungrounded samples. hilarious - real organic sounding. whatever...i fixed it.

also - are the samples you're trying to grab real low volume? if so the cracks are gonna seem a lot louder.

you could always also edit the more obnoxious pops out in trim mode. i do that sometimes when it's just too much, or when it gets too repetitive.

-Depends on your sequencing program....I use Nuendo, and with it i can zoom in on the audio all supersized, and then you can use the pencil tool to actually draw the "clicks" and "pops" outta there. Like when you hear a large static pop! you can also generally see it on the audiofile as well. Just zoom right in on the s*** and pencil er out. Im pretty sure most sequencing programs allow you to do the same. It does kinda mess with the sound, but only for that 1 split second...

- Also check out "Waves Restoration Bundle" VST's


peas...


Angus

I like crackle but sometimes it gotta go... I had good results with waves xnoise.

Cool Edit Pro has a crackle/hiss reducer that works HELLA good. look around, there's demo versions of it online. Peace1

adobe audition has some nice click/pop filters. does the job for me for the most part. when the record is extremely dirty, im not sure there's anything you could do about that. but i would use some kind of noise reduction.

Smoove03 wrote:adobe audition has some nice click/pop filters.

Also, there is a Sony Noise Reduction plugin pack for Sound Forge that has a very good click and crackle remover. Works great..

not to sound to old school here but.......



do you ever try cleaning your records before sampling them?

equinox20 wrote:When I eq a sample that I want to boost highs, no matter what I do I can't get the crackle out of the sample. When I toy w/filters, it get's too muddy when the vinyl noise goes away.

Adobe Audition has a nice crackle/hiss remover. Used properly you can reduce a the snap crackle and pizzle with just a few mouse strokes.

jaem wrote:not to sound to old school here but.......



do you ever try cleaning your records before sampling them?

I do, and I still get hella crackle. Of course, I'm a $0.50-bin junkie (and I love me that crackle anyway!)

I love popcorn

As a DJ who's been playing foundationa nd dancehall reggae for years crackle is something I deal with all the time. Dubplates get worn, old 45's the same...

Two things you can try, the first is water. have a cup of water and dip your fingers into it, and evenly spread the water across the track you're going to play (so you don't get it all over the place).

Also, you might try easing up on the weight a bit, some cartridges are heavier and depending on the stylus if they're spherical or elliptical you'll get excess noise. i used to work in a record shop as a distributor a few years back, so I always had brand new fresh records, but even still because i was using T II SK's I would hear every little sound, the drag of the needle, etc..Some stylus's are made for scratching, and will allow the record to take more of a beating, some cartridges are made for house/techno guys, they aren't meant for scratching but they have the clearest sound, and if you use those styluses (like the T II's) you'll burn the shit out of your records in no time. So just by wheeling back the record to your sample spot can cause instant burn if you don't have the right type of stylus for you and your turntable (some styluses are better on straight arms, some better on curved)

I'm not trying to come off as some expert either, I'm far from it... I just remember this being a big issue in those days and the Stanton reps would come in and explain the importance of giving the right products to the right customer. What works for me, might not work for you and vice versa.




*edit* I also noticed that someone nominated and seconded Adobe/Cool Edit, i have to third that. The tool included works great (to an extent of course)