Using CoolEdit Pro to clean vinyl LPs

Lamer:)'s guide from alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.d

Technical Note: The album was recorded in CEP as one continuous wave, then the tracks were sliced from it. Most of space in the gaps before and after a song was selected for saving with the song for noise print use. Thus, say, song three got most of the gap between it and song two and most of the gap between it and song four. Of course, when song two was saved, it also was saved with most of the gap between it and song three, if you see what I mean.

Each song was centered: Transform/Amplitude/Amplify, Center preset.

Then it was reversed: Transform/Reverse.

Then it was declicked: Transform/Noise Reduction/Click/Pop Eliminator with these settings:

	Detect column (from top) 35, 25, 12
	Reject column (from top) 50, 43, 20
	Detect Big Pops checked, 45
	Second Level Verification checked
	Smooth Light Crackle NOT checked
	FFT Size Auto checked
	Pop OverSamples 12 samples
	Run Size 14 samples
	Multiple Pass NOT checked

After these settings are entered, the Max, Avg, Min Threshold dBs are filled in by clicking on Find Threshold Levels. Then click OK.

I hoped these settings were suitable for a phonograph record in pretty good condition which had been recorded at a level just below clipping.

After one pass, the wave was reversed again, to its original direction.

Then, the lead-in silence at the start of the wave was zoomed in on, and from it an area of ~2.5 seconds was selected for the Noise Profile.

The settings for Noise Reduction were set beforehand and were:

        Log Scale NOT checked
        Live Update checked
        Snapshots in profile, 120
        Noise Reduction Level, 100
        FFT Size, 6000 points
        Remove Noise selected
        Precision Factor, 11
        Smoothing Amount, 1
        Transition Width, 0dB

Changing FFT Size will erase the profile so you want these set before you go to Transform/Noise Reduction/Noise Reduction, Get Profile from Selection. Then Close.

Click on the left hand edge of the wave to unselect the 2.5 seconds. Click on the Zoom Out Full button to show the entire wave. Go back to Transform/Noise Reduction/Noise Reduction and click OK.

When the transform is finished, select the lead-in silence and click the Zoom to Selection button. If you then have showing in your window, all the lead-in silence and a little of the music's start on the right hand side, right-click at a point about three to four tenths of a second before any sound starts. This should leave all the lead-in before that point selected; delete it.

Now you should have three to four tenths of a second of silence followed by the music showing with the cursor at 0:00. Right-click at a point a little beyond 0.2 seconds to select the first 0.2+ seconds of the wave and then Transform/Silence it. Then click at 0.2 seconds to put your cursor just inside the area you just silenced.

Move your pointer over to just before the music starts and right-click; this should select the area between the starting 0.2 seconds of silence and the music. Choose Transform/Amplitude/Amplify, the Fade In preset; click OK.

All of this is to set up the wave (and mp3 if one is to be made) so that there is no popping sound when it starts.

Click on Zoom Out Full and select the last seconds of the wave; click Zoom on Selection. Click play or press the spacebar to play the end of the wave. Notice where the music completely fades out and choose a point ~0.2 second after that. Delete the empty wave after that point. Then select the area between where the music stops and the end of the wave and go to Transform/Amplitude/Amplify, the Fade Out preset; click OK.

Then click on Zoom Out Full and press the ESC key; then the spacebar. That will start the song playing. Listen to it. If you hear any clicks, defects, correct them by narrowly selecting them and using the Transform/Noise Reduction/Click/Pop Eliminator Fill Single Click Now feature.

Here's a click as seen in Peak: use the Repair Click feature to smooth this out.

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