How Easy Is This? Can I Do It? |
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First, let's get a few things straight. You are not alone. The
idea of taking your favorite tapes and saving them to CD is not a new
idea. In fact, we've made it our business since 1995. The only
thing that's changed since then has been the advent of better and faster
technology for accomplishing the task.
Is it easy? Certainly. Can you do it? Again...certainly. Our customers are all of an age where they basically grew up without computers, so we've designed our products with folks just like you in mind. Our software, which does most of the work is designed much like a tape recorder...only much more powerful. This software is a tool, not unlike your first electric drill. It will take you a few minutes to get up to speed and then you'll be productive. In a few weeks, you'll be an expert. This tutorial will walk you through the entire process from A-CD. It will tell you what you'll need...it will make suggestions that take into account the quality you're looking for and the budget you're looking to hit. In the end, you'll have a collection of CDs that sound better than the original medium they were produced on. Along the way, you'll have a great time reliving the memories those precious recordings evoke. We'll break this into short chapters. Feel free to print things out and read them at your leisure. And of course, you can always feel free to call us toll free and we'll help with any questions you might have. Our number is 866 260 6376 and unlike most Internet companies today...we actually answer the phones and our emails. Crazy isn't it. People who actually help you before and after you buy our products. This chapter will explain the basics of the task you've chosen to undertake. It will describe the various components you'll need to have a simple recording system on your PC. This chapter will tell you what to do once you have the components you need. This will get things wired up and ready to go. Chapter 3- Making Your First Recording Let's launch the software and make our first recording. This will also help you troubleshoot any problems you might encounter along the way. Now the fun begins. You've recorded a song or songs to the hard disk...let's start cleaning. Chapter 5- Finishing The Project You've cleaned the noise...now let's finish it. Chapter 6- Expanding Your Setup Pretty fun isn't it? How can you make things better? This chapter explains ways that you can make your system better and achieve even more stunning results.
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| Chapter 1. The Basics | |||||
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Let's determine what you'll need at the very least to get started
transferring your treasured tape recordings to CD. At this point,
quality is not really the issue...lets' just focus on the basic elements
of the recording system and we'll get into more detail further down this
list.
A. You'll need a computer. The fact that you're reading this on a computer gives us the important clue that you're probably okay in that area. In the world of computers, faster is always better, but it's safe to say, that if you've bought this computer in the last several years and have either Windows 98SE, 2K, ME, XP or Vista, then one of our solutions will work for you. Computers today are designed to handle video recording and playback...our little audio files will seem like child's play to them. No special graphics or RAM needed...Let's check this off the list. Tracer also offers a great lineup of fast new computers that are custom built for audio, but with your wallet in mind. Just click on the following link if you need a new computer. If not. Read on. I Need A New Computer...Tell Me More. B. You'll need a tape deck Nothing fancy here. Your favorite cassette deck will do. As long as it has a stereo output. C. You'll need a sound card. Most computers already have a sound card on board. If your computer came with speakers and you hear sounds every time you start Windows...you most likely have a sound card in your machine. They usually have inputs and outputs on the front and back of most modern machines. You'll see a panel that looks something like this:
There are normally 2 or three holes depending on what type of computer you have (notebook, desktop) and what type of sound card you have. Normally 3 holes means that you have a microphone input (normally pink), a speaker output (normally green) and a Line Input (normally blue). Some notebook computers only have a Mic Input and a speaker or headphone output. If you have the three holed version, you're okay to get started. You'll need the blue (Line Input) and of course, your speaker or headphone output so you can hear. If you have the 2 holed version, you may need to invest in a better sound card to work with material directly from a turntable. Also, it's important to note that most sound cards that are bundled with computers today are not of great quality. But we're talking basics here, so if you have the three holes, let's move on. If you only have two or want to investigate better sound cards, just click on the following link. Otherwise...let's move on. I Need A Sound Card...Tell Me More. E. You'll need our software. Probably the most important part of the equation. We offer several products that work with various versions of Windows and offer features of varying degrees, but for the most part, they all allow you to record your audio from the turntable through the line input on your sound card. After recording, you have a selection of tools to remove noise like clicks, pops, hiss, surface noise, hum, buzz, and just about any other noise you can think of. Then you have a selection of audio enhancement tools...far beyond the equalizers you're used to in the old days for breathing new life into your old recordings. An finally, in most versions of our software, you can then transfer your audio to either CD, DVD or compressed formats like MP3 or WMA. This is pretty important before we go on, so let's pick the product you need. Here are your choices:
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Audio
Mentor
Synopsis: Audio Mentor was designed for complete ease of use. It walks the user through every step of the restoration process with complete onboard instructions called "Training Wheels. Ideal for the beginner, it will talk you through hooking up your turntable, doing your first recording, restoration, enhancement and even spit out a CD, MP3 or WMA compressed file at the end. |
DC
Millennium
Synopsis: DC Millennium was created in 2000 and is still as powerful as most audio editors on the market today. If you have an old machine, don't want to upgrade, but still want to restore and preserve your treasured recordings, then Millennium may be the ticket for you. |
DC
SIX
Synopsis: DC SIX was our flagship product up until November of 2007 when DC SEVEN shipped. This product is a "superset" of tools designed specifically for audio restoration and enhancement. Of course today, the only reason to buy it is because you want the power and the ease of use, but don't have the desire to switch to XP or Vista and DC SEVEN. Click Here To Download A Free Trial of DC SIX. (limited recording and save capabilities) |
DC
SEVEN
Synopsis: DC SEVEN is the newest flagship in our fleet of audio restoration and enhancement products. You simply won't find a better solution on this planet for taking your old recordings and transferring them to CD or MP3 minus the noise of age. All of the tools of previous versions are included, enhanced and optimized to be driven harder without generating artifacts. This is one beefy upgrade! |
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| Chapter 2. Getting Hooked Up | |||||
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Alright...we've got the basic components together now...let's get it
hooked up. Let's not make this job more complicated than it
is. You're basically substituting your computer's sound card for a
tape deck. Here are the steps...in no particular order.
A. RCA outputs of tape deck to Line Inputs of sound card. If you're using a bundled sound card, this is normally the 1/8" blue stereo input we showed you up above. This normally uses a mini jack stereo plug like they use on a Walkman, I-Pod, or portable CD player. You can purchase an RCA right and left to RCA right and left by clicking on this link and adding it to your shopping cart if you don't already have one. That's it. Nothing too complicated here. Outputs to Inputs...You should now be ready to launch your software (either demo version or purchased version) and make your first recording. |
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| Chapter 3. Making Your First Recording | |||||
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Again, let's not make this too complicated. Remember, we think of
your computer like a big powerful tape recorder. It is certainly
more than that, but for recording, it's easiest to keep it simple.
You may have downloaded one of four solutions...here are the steps required. For Audio Mentor...just follow the instructions. Mentor is easy and set up to walk you through the entire process. Make your first recording and then proceed. You won't really need to revisit these instructions until Chapter 6...Expanding your Setup. For DC Millennium, DC SIX, and DC SEVEN...Though not as easy as Mentor, this is still not too complicated. Just follow the instructions...don't overthink it, don't skip ahead, and you'll be fine. First, we should now have our hardware wired into our computer so we're ready to test. A. Launch the software demo or purchased version. Click through the various help windows, intro stuff and you should be staring a blank workspace that looks something like this: Important: DC SEVEN will bring up the Tune Library and ask if you want to fill it up. For now, let's just cancel it. DC SIX and Millennium will just come up blank.
Now we simply click on the Record button. This is the Red Circular button in the top row of all programs. It is with the other transport controls and looks like this:
Clicking on this Red Circular button will launch the Record Window. This has gotten more feature heavy from Millennium to SEVEN, but for the most part, it does just about the same thing. Click on it now.
This is the record window and hey, look at that...it's sort of like a tape recorder...these guys weren't kidding. You'll see VU meters on the left that are sort of similar to those found on a tape deck, you'll see Pause, Rec and Stop buttons...nothing too science fiction here. So let's make a recording. First, we want to check the levels and see if your sound card is reading the audio coming in from your turntable. Start your turntable playing through your preamp system...make sure everything's plugged in and turned on. Hit the Pause button beside the record button. This will turn on the VU meters and make sure we have sound. (again, just like your tape decks in the old days. You hit Pause and Record to turn on the meters) In this case, you only need to press the pause button. If you have levels in the green anywhere from -20 up to the bottom of the yellow on the VU meters, you're good to go and ready to record. Press the record button and record a song. Once you have levels and are recording, record a song and then hit the Stop button. You're almost there. Just hit the Save button and give your new song a name. It will now save the file to your hard disk and draw it on the screen for you. Click here to move to step 4. If you have levels barely touching -50 at the bottom of the VU meters or no movement at all, you'll likely need to adjust your levels. This is accomplished using the mixer software application that is provided by Windows and your sound card. To access this mixer with a standard bundled sound card, just go to your systems tray (show below) and double click on the little gray speaker icon that should be there. It looks like this:
This speaker icon will launch your sound card's mixer, but you're not quite there yet. Most sound cards have 2 mixers onboard. One sets the volume on output through the speakers and the other launches the recording mixer. We want to make adjustments on the Line Input of the Recording mixer. Normally the mixer that opens by default is the Playback mixer, so we're going to have to click on Options/Properties (shown)
And then Recording Mixer
Keep in mind that this example is a standard sound card and Windows XP, which is still the most common Windows available. The most important thing is finding the Recording Mixer...whether you're in a different version of Windows or have a different sound card mixer. The mixer will look something like this.
We want to keep audio playing and find the Line In. Make sure that it is selected and turned up. The example above shows a common sight with the Mic Input activated. You need to click on Line In and turn it up. The software can stay active in Pause record, so keep that window up while you make adjustments on your mixer until you have levels in the green. It should look like this.
Important Note About Levels- Digital recording is not like analog recording as far as level meters go. In the old days, we always let our level meters dance in the red to get the best recording level we could. We were trying to compensate for the noise threshold of tape and cover that hiss that was an understood constant. We no longer need levels of this magnitude. If you have levels at -20, no big deal...it's plenty to get an accurate recording. Green is good, yellow is okay, but not the best, and red is distortion. In digital recording, avoid high levels. Remember, we're going to be enhancing this audio with a full array of enhancement tools. If you record with too much level, any enhancement you do will simply throw your wave recordings into distortion. Leave some headroom and we'll adjust levels at the end of the process to make them perfect for your CDs or other recordings.
If you still can't get levels. Don't get too frustrated...remember the best part about Tracer. You can call us and we'll help you. 866 260 6376 will get you in touch with us and we usually answer all phone calls from 9:00 to 5:00 EST Monday through Friday. If those hours don't jive with your schedule...no big deal, send your questions to sales@tracertek.com or support@tracertek.com and we'll help you. We will get you working, so don't sweat it. This is supposed to be fun.
Once you have levels and are recording, record a song and then hit the Stop button. You're almost there. Just hit the Save button and give your new song a name. It will now save the file to your hard disk and draw it on the screen for you. Let's move on to the fun stuff...
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| Chapter 4. How The Tools Work | |||||
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Alrighty...we just made our first recording. It should look like this:
This is a healthy recording. Not too robust, so we have room to enhance without distorting, we have a stereo file and we're looking at the system in our one screen Fast Edit Mode. Seeing sound is a great thing. Not only can we adjust and edit with our ears, but now we can see things that we may have not easily heard in the past. So, this is recording. Not too bad, eh? Now let's start using the tools. For that, we're going to start with a known file, rather than the one you just recorded, so just go to the file menu and click on File/Open Source. Even though our demo recording is a vinyl recording, there's quite a bit of hiss, so this demo will still train you for removing hiss from tape. Also, all of our tools function basically the same, so this tutorial is a great way to get up to speed for any recording you might make.
Now we want to open an audio file to start the demo.
After DC SIX Opens, just click on File, then click on Open
Source. You’ll see a
Window that looks like this:
Next, open the Demo1 Wave file by double-clicking
on it. Note:
Remember, this demonstration is
applicable to DC Millennium, DC SIX or DC SEVEN, they may all not default
to the correct directory. If your computer doesn’t
automatically open to this “Wavefiles” subdirectory, no worries.
In that case, simply click on the arrow pointing down just under
the Open menu bar and beside the My Documents entry and navigate to C: (or
whatever your main drive letter is) –Program Files-Diamond Cut
Productions- Whichever product you have- Wavefiles and you’ll now see a
screen that looks just like the one above. It should have a wave file in it called Demo1.wav After you’ve opened the file, your DC SIX and
Millennium should look like this:
DC
SEVEN launches in a single screen Fast Edit mode, but you should still see
the waveform in the window. It will probably be blue rather than
black, but no big deal. Now we’re going to activate the
transport system so that you can hear this file.
Listen to this file by
either clicking the Play button or hitting the spacebar – Ouch, this
file is full of clicks, hiss, low frequency noise, etc. It’s a mess.
Stop the playback when you’re done listening. You can do this by either hitting the space bar again or by
using the Stop button.
Now for the fun part. Click the Filter Menu and choose EZ-Clean. The filter looks like this:
Important
Note: DC Millennium does not have EZ-Clean.
Just click here to skip this tutorial and move
to one that you can actually perform with the software. Notice that there are only three sliders, one for
scratches or clicks, one for crackle (or small clicks) and another for
hiss or other continuous type noises.
We are simply going to listen to the audio and move these three
sliders as we listen. Move each slider to approximately
the settings shown above.
We don’t need to be perfectly accurate, just set them similar to
what you see. When you move
these sliders to the left, the filtering becomes more aggressive. Now click the Preview button.
You’ll start to hear the audio. Listen for a second or two.
Now click the checkbox labeled Bypass. This “bypasses” the filter and stops the filtering.
You are now hearing the original music without the filters in
place. Note the large amount
of clicks and hiss. Uncheck
the Bypass box to start filtering again. What a relief! That’s
much better isn’t it? But,
you can do better yet. Move
the Hiss slider a bit farther to the left until you get all the
noise out. Remember,
moving the sliders to the left, makes them filter more, so just slide
them until you are happy with the result. Want to have some more fun?
Click on Keep Residue.
This filter lets you hear the noise that DC SIX is removing…some
times, it’s easier to hear what you’re taking out than hearing
what’s left. This can be a
useful tool when you’re close to finished and want to make sure you’ve
removed only what you want to remove. Now note the Hum filter on the EZ-Clean screen.
If you live in the US, you’ll check the 60hz box to remove power
line hum. If you live in
Europe, you’ll check the 50hz box.
There are many other tools to remove larger amounts of hum in DC
Six, but this one is quick and easy.
Please continue on with the Easy Restoration guide below.
It starts your education on how to use individual tools and goes
into more depth on the overall concept of DC Six.
Easy Record Restoration Step By Step GuideSince EZ-Clean is so easy, you don’t really get a feel
for the overall program. This
guide assumes you will use individual tools and will perform a restoration
in a series of steps. You work with DC SIX by choosing filters to apply to
audio. Some of the filters
remove noise and others enhance the audio though they are all referred to
in this guide as filters. You
choose a filter by identifying the type of noise you want to remove and
then selecting the filter that removes that type of noise.
Make sense so far, right? In just about every case when clicks and pops are
present, we want to remove them first.
Trust us, this is the right first step whenever you get clicks and
pops on records or other recordings. To remove the clicks, we’ll choose the EZ Impulse
filter. Clicks are short
noise impulses so it makes sense to use this filter.
We’ll continue using the demo1.wav file.
Make sure that your top wave file is highlighted in yellow.
To choose the filter, click on the Filter menu item and
choose EZ-Impulse Noise. You’ll see the filter open like this:
Figure 1-
The EZ Impulse Filter Appears Note that the filter takes up only a portion of the
screen. You can still see
part of the waveform and all the menus and icons.
You can move this filter window around on your screen and position
it wherever you want. Just grab
the title bar at the top of the filter window and drag it around.
Try it now.
Figure 2-
The EZ Impulse Noise Filter In the filter window, you will see several features.
First, you’ll notice sliders that control various filter
parameters. These sliders can
be adjusted while you listen to the audio as you did with the EZ
Clean filter, so you will instantly hear the result of any changes you
make. Our sliders are labeled
Scratch and Crackle in this filter. Next, you’ll have Radio buttons that control other
aspects of the filters. Again,
you can change them while listening, so you’ll hear the results
instantly. The radio buttons
in the Impulse filter are Speed and Accuracy. In every filter, just like our EZ Clean demo, you will
have a Preview button. This
is the most important button here. This
button will start the audio playing while the filter is processing it.
You will hear the results of the filter instantly.
This makes for easy adjustment of the filters. Also in every filter, you will have a Bypass
checkbox.
This takes the filter in and out of the audio stream instantly.
When you listen to a filter being applied by the Preview button,
you may want to be able to compare the processed audio to the original
audio. Clicking this checkbox
will bypass the filter and you’ll be hearing the original audio.
Unchecking it will instantly put the filter back into the signal
path. This way, you can
“fine tune” even subtle effects with DC SIX. Lastly, every filter will have controls for Presets.
A preset is a saved group of settings for this filter.
Go ahead and drop down the Preset box now – it’s
the white box at the bottom of the filter.
Click on some of the presets and watch the sliders as
they move to good starting points for common tasks.
You can tell a lot by looking at the name of the presets.
Now select the preset labeled Default.
This one is already set up with good settings for our Demo1 file.
Every filter will also have a Save and Delete button that allows
you to save your own presets under any name you want – and delete them
too! You’re probably ready to try this filter by now, but
there is one more thing that is common to each filter that you should
know. Hit F1 now on
your keyboard. Notice
that our online Help comes up with information on this specific filter.
This context sensitive help is available for each and every filter. Put the Help screen away
and let’s clean some audio. If
you’ve already been listening to this filter, then shame on you for
jumping ahead. Simon has not
said click the Preview button yet. As
punishment, please go back to page one of this tutorial and start reading
again. We’ll wait for you
here. Welcome back. Now
let’s get started by clicking the button labeled Preview.
You will hear the audio as it is being filtered.
You will still hear the low frequency rumble and the hiss, but the
clicks should be gone. Let
it preview all the way to the end of the file.
Notice that once it reaches the end, it will automatically
start over at the beginning. This
is called Looping and is automatic when you are previewing with a filter
(though it can be turned off in the Edit/Preferences screen). Let’s just confirm that the clicks are gone.
To do this, check the Bypass box in the filter while
it is still previewing. Now
the filter is bypassed and the clicks will once again be audible.
Listen for a while and then uncheck the Bypass box.
Now the filter is again doing it job and the clicks are no longer
heard. It’s time to learn how to adjust a filter.
While you are previewing, move the two sliders to the bottom.
This makes the filter less aggressive and it will filter less.
Notice that the clicks return as the sliders are moved down.
Moving them back up results in more and more of the
clicks getting removed. All
the filters work this way – you just adjust them while you listen.
As you might expect, if you move them too far up you’ll make the
filter too aggressive and you’ll get distorted, stuttering
or
otherwise bad audio – just move them up enough to get the desired
result. Set them both
at 50. Now click on Cancel in the Progress window
seen here or just click the Preview button again:
Figure 3-
Monitor your progress This stops the preview from playing. By Previewing, we have adjusted the filter and confirmed that
it is doing its job. The next
step is to click on the Run Filter button.
This takes the filter just as you have set it and applies it to the
demo1 file and creates a new file in the lower window.
This new file has been run through the filter and has the clicks
removed. At this point, click on Close in the EZ Impulse filter
window since we’re now done with it. Look at the two waveforms.
The top one is called the Source.
This is where we normally work on a file, preview filters, etc.
The bottom is called the Destination and is the result of our
filtering efforts. You can
play either one by clicking in the respective window.
You have not changed your original file at all – rather we’ve
created a new cleaned up version. Now it’s time to remove that rumble sound, but how can
we do that if we work on the Source window
and
we really want to remove the rumble from the semi-clean file in the
Destination window? The
answer is a little command under the File menu called Make Destination the
Source. This moves the file
in the bottom window up to the top where we can work on it.
Click on File/Make Destination the Source now. A File Selector box will come up and suggest a new name
for this file; just click on Save to accept it. Note: DC
SIX will automatically assign sequential names to new files.
While you’re new to the program, always just accept its
recommendation as to file names. Now we are ready to remove that low frequency rumble.
To do that, we’ll choose the High Pass filter.
Click on Filter/High Pass now.
A high pass filter will remove all frequencies below a certain
point and allow all higher frequencies to pass.
Drop the preset box and select the preset called “Demo
audio Wave file de-rumble”.
It’ll look like this:
Figure 4-
The Highpass filter We’ll start to go a bit quicker now since you already
know what most of the buttons and controls do on this filter. To find out specific info on this filter, don’t forget you
can call for help by pressing the F1 key.
We are going to free you now to preview and play with this filter
on your own, but when you’re done, return it to these settings by once
again clicking on the demo Wave file preset.
Run the filter when you are ready. Now click on Close to close this filter. You now have removed two of the annoying noise types in
this file. First, we rid
ourselves of the clicks and pops, and then we removed the rumble. Now it’s time to get rid of that loud hiss sound.
First, remember to move our Destination file up to the Source
window. Now click on Filter and select the Continuous Noise
Filter. This filter
is perfect for hiss and other types of continuous noise.
Also, click on View and make sure you have Time Display
checked at this time. The
Time Display box shows you various timing calculations with the program
and will come in handy, as you will see.
Your screen should look something like this:
Figure 5-
The Continuous Noise filter is awake The Continuous Noise filter is one of the coolest in the
whole program so follow along carefully here.
This filter will remove just about any continuous noise in a
program, but it needs you to give it a sample of this noise. Once it is able to examine the noise, it will be able to seek
it out and get rid of it. Play
the file now using the Play button at the top and listen carefully
to the first couple of seconds. You
will hear an area right at the beginning, which contains only the noise
and no good audio. That’s a
great spot from which to grab a sample of the noise.
To do this, we need to click and drag with our mouse to
select this area. The area
highlighted in yellow in the illustration above is the area we want to
select. Just click
about ½ inch from the left edge and, while holding the mouse button, drag
all the way left. Let the
mouse button go and you will see an area highlighted in bright yellow.
This is the area you have selected.
Move the mouse pointer over either edge of the selected area and
the pointer will turn into a Left/Right indicator.
Click and drag as necessary to select an area from the
beginning of the file that is about .5 seconds long.
Use the “Span=” display in the timer window to
confirm that your selection is around ½ second long. Now hit the spacebar.
You’ll play only the selected area.
It’ll be quick. This allows you to audition a selected area to make sure you
are really working on the correct area (does not contain silence or
desired signal). You should
only hear the hissing noise. Again,
your selected area should look like the one shown above. It’s time for the fun part.
You will like this. Hit
the Sample Noise
button
in the Filter window.
The filter will analyze the noise sample and will display the
frequency characteristics of the noise in red.
The blue line is the filter that has been designed to get rid of
this noise. Notice how they
track with each other. Yours
should look like this:
Figure 6-
Continuous Noise Filter does its job If you have jumped ahead again and clicked on Preview,
there will be no lunch for you today.
First, we’ve got to explain those little blue dots on the filter
line. Notice how the blue
line is above the red noise sample? The
higher the blue filter line, the more filtering occurs at that frequency.
The blue dots are called Control Points
and
allow you to adjust the amount of filtering for frequency components in
the vicinity of the control point manually.
We’re going to do that in a second, but the Help file contains
all the complete info on this filter. Before we click on Preview, we need to again select the
whole file so we’ll hear the whole thing and not just our ½ second
noise sample that is now selected. To
select the whole file, just double click anywhere in the waveform
display. Notice how
the whole thing gets highlighted in yellow.
Now, go ahead and click on Preview.
Listen to the audio.
The clicks are gone. The
rumble is gone and the hiss is gone!
Well, not quite. You
can still hear a bit of hiss can’t you?
While Previewing, click the bypass button a few times
to take the filter in an out of the signal path.
Yes, the hiss is reduced, but there is still some of it there.
Let’s adjust this filter to get rid of all of the hiss. Make sure your bypass button is NOT checked and make sure
you are previewing the audio. Now
grab the 2nd control point from the right side and move it up a
bit as shown below.
Figure 7-
Tackling the remaining hiss It’s like magic, isn’t it?
The hiss completely goes away because you told the filter to be a
bit more aggressive on the high frequencies.
Remember, moving the blue line up makes it filter more.
Now stop the preview, click on Run filter, and close the
Continuous Noise filter. You now have a Destination file that is completely restored. To finish, click on File/Make Destination the Source, accept the file name and you’re done. This file is the completed version and all others can be deleted or saved if you want each processing step before and after the saved file. You can now exit the program or close the files using the commands under the File Menu. Let's
finalize things a bit...click here to skip the
Millennium Getting started guide and go to the Chapter 5. DC
Millennium Comprehensive Guide First, let's remove some of those annoying clicks. Just go to the Filter menu and launch the Impulse filter. It looks like this:
And when it launches, it looks like this:
All of the filters in our programs work about the same. You have a Preview button, which auditions the audio with the filter you've set up in place. This is where you experiment with the filters while you listen to the changes in realtime. Go ahead and click on Preview. Slowly move the sliders to the following positions:
Do you hear the noise disappearing? That's how easy it is. Preview dials it in and then when you've got it sounding good, you hit Preview again to stop playback and then Run Filter to make a new file that is what you just heard. It looks like this:
The lower window is called the Destination Window. This is where the results of your filtering are placed after you run the filter. Notice the difference in appearance? All of the big spikes are now gone. Those spikes were clicks. We still have a way to go to make this song sound great, but clicks are not our problem anymore. Now we want to take the file on the bottom and do some more work on it. The top window is called the Source window and that is always the file we're working on. If we want to continue, the first thing we have to do is move the wave file in the bottom to the Source window so we can continue on our quest to perfect that wave file. To do this just go to the File Menu and click Make Destination The Source. It looks like this:
This simply moves the wave file onto the operating table so that we can continue work on it. Our next step is to work on that annoying continuous hissing we hear on this file. Continuous noise means the Continuous Noise Filter. Just go to the Filter Menu and click on Continuous Noise Filter. It looks like this:
When it launches, it will look like this: This filter is perfect for hiss and other types of
continuous noise. Also, click
on View and make sure you have Time Display checked at this time.
The Time Display box shows you various timing calculations with the
program and will come in handy, as you will see.
Your screen should look something like this:
Figure 5-
The Continuous Noise filter is awake The Continuous Noise filter is one of the coolest in the
whole program so follow along carefully here.
This filter will remove just about any continuous noise in a
program, but it needs you to give it a sample of this noise. Once it is able to examine the noise, it will be able to seek
it out and get rid of it. Play
the file now using the Play button at the top and listen carefully
to the first couple of seconds. You
will hear an area right at the beginning, which contains only the noise
and no good audio. That’s a
great spot from which to grab a sample of the noise.
To do this, we need to click and drag with our mouse to
select this area. The area
highlighted in yellow in the illustration above is the area we want to
select. Just click
about ½ inch from the left edge and, while holding the mouse button, drag
all the way left. Let the
mouse button go and you will see an area highlighted in bright yellow.
This is the area you have selected.
Move the mouse pointer over either edge of the selected area and
the pointer will turn into a Left/Right indicator.
Click and drag as necessary to select an area from the
beginning of the file that is about .5 seconds long.
Use the “Span=” display in the timer window to
confirm that your selection is around ½ second long. Now hit the spacebar.
You’ll play only the selected area.
It’ll be quick. This allows you to audition a selected area to make sure you
are really working on the correct area (does not contain silence or
desired signal). You should
only hear the hissing noise. Again,
your selected area should look like the one shown above. It’s time for the fun part.
You will like this. Hit
the Sample Noise
button
in the Filter window.
The filter will analyze the noise sample and will display the
frequency characteristics of the noise in red.
The blue line is the filter that has been designed to get rid of
this noise. Notice how they
track with each other. Yours
should look like this:
Figure 6-
Continuous Noise Filter does its job If you have jumped ahead again and clicked on Preview,
there will be no lunch for you today.
First, we’ve got to explain those little blue dots on the filter
line. Notice how the blue
line is above the red noise sample? The
higher the blue filter line, the more filtering occurs at that frequency.
The blue dots are called Control Points
and
allow you to adjust the amount of filtering for frequency components in
the vicinity of the control point manually.
We’re going to do that in a second, but the Help file contains
all the complete info on this filter. Before we click on Preview, we need to again select the
whole file so we’ll hear the whole thing and not just our ½ second
noise sample that is now selected. To
select the whole file, just double click anywhere in the waveform
display. Notice how
the whole thing gets highlighted in yellow.
Now, go ahead and click on Preview.
Listen to the audio.
The clicks are gone. The
rumble is gone and the hiss is gone!
Well, not quite. You
can still hear a bit of hiss can’t you?
While Previewing, click the bypass button a few times
to take the filter in an out of the signal path.
Yes, the hiss is reduced, but there is still some of it there.
Let’s adjust this filter to get rid of all of the hiss. Make sure your bypass button is NOT checked and make sure
you are previewing the audio. Now
grab the 2nd control point from the right side and move it up a
bit as shown below.
Figure 7-
Tackling the remaining hiss It’s like magic, isn’t it?
The hiss completely goes away because you told the filter to be a
bit more aggressive on the high frequencies.
Remember, moving the blue line up makes it filter more.
Now stop the preview, click on Run filter, and close the
Continuous Noise filter. You now have a Destination file that is completely restored. To finish, click on File/Make Destination the Source, accept the file name and you’re done. This file is the completed version and all others can be deleted or saved if you want each processing step before and after the saved file. You can now exit the program or close the files using the commands under the File Menu.
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| Chapter 5. Finishing The Project | |||||
|
Now that we've removed the noise, there may still be several things you
want to try before you either burn this to CD, MP3 or WMA. There is
a full set of enhancement features provided in all of the products.
Like most things...we've improved them over the years, so DC SEVEN will be
the best, followed by SIX, then Mentor and finally Millennium. All
four products are powerful tools, so you'll have plenty of features in all
of them. You can find them in the Effects and Filters menus.
They range from simple 10-Band EQs to complex tube simulators and other
professional tools. Just like the noise reduction features we've
just studied, you have a Preview button to check out the filter, a bunch
of presets you can choose and a Run Filter when you're happy with the
results. Have fun and make a mess.
Now you've reached the point where you've taken an old recording and breathed new life into it while also subtracting the noise of age and old recording techniques. Depending on the product you've chosen here's how you get to where you want to go. DC SEVEN- Burns CDs WMAs, and MP3s within the product. Just follow the instructions. Audio Mentor- Burns CDs WMAs and MP3s within the product. Just follow the instructions. DC SIX- Can make MP3s using a secondary converter. Follow instructions. Does not burn CDs...you'll need to use Windows Media Player or your standard onboard CD making software. Your software will recognize the .wav files that SIX makes, so all you have to do is tell it you want an Audio CD and point it to your directory of cleaned wave files. It will do the rest. DC Millennium- Does not make CDS or MP3s. You'll need to download a converter to turn the .wav files it makes into either MP3, WMAs and you'll need to use Windows Media Player or your standard onboard CD making software. Your software will recognize the .wav files that Millennium makes, so all you have to do is tell it you want an Audio CD and point it to your directory of cleaned wave files. It will do the rest. |
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| Chapter 6. Expanding Your Setup | |||||
| What we've covered in chapters 1-5 are the basics. It may seem like a lot, but once you've waded through it, it's pretty basic. Probably the hardest thing about the entire process is training your ears to pick the noise you want to remove and using the right tool to remove it. We have some very good educational tools to help with this process as well as lots of things you can do to make your system produce better results. That's what we'll cover here: | |||||
| A. Education | |||||
|
Of course, like any tools, there's no substitute for simply using these
products and learning by doing. But Tracer also offers a full lineup
of DVDs that are basically set up so that it seems like you've invited an
expert into your living room to show you around the product. Our
training DVDs are fun, they're easy to understand, and they have more meat
than a butcher. They're also affordable. For restoration and
enhancement, we offer 3 flavors.
Audio: The Movie: This 2 hour DVD explores audio in great detail, but explains the science behind audio without a bunch of mathematics and complex theories. You will have a better understanding of the terms used, understand MP3 and CDs and why things are the way they are. It's a great educational experience for 39 bucks! Want to learn more about it? Click Here Understanding A Continuous Noise Filter- No one filter is used harder in all of our noise reduction products than the CNF. This tutorial helps you understand how it works and how to get the best results using it. It's only $19.99 and well worth that price. Want to learn more about this DVD? Click Here Everyone's Guide To Better Audio Using DC SEVEN- Our latest product is the topic of this 2 hour DVD. You'll see advanced tutorials on all of the new features of the product and also complete 2 full restorations. This is perfect for the beginner or the advanced user to help you grasp the breadth of this powerful product. Only $39 or $29 when bundled with DC SEVEN. Want to learn more? Click Here |
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| B. Tape Repair and storage Supplies | |||||
| Old audio tape can be pretty finicky. We sell a full line of both 1/4 " (reel to reel and 8-Track) as well as 1/8" (cassette) supplies so that you can repair old tapes you thought might never see the light of day again. We also have a few different storage solutions for your tapes. Click Here To Read More About Our Tape Repair and Storage Supplies | |||||
| C. Speakers and Headphones | |||||
| If you're going to be listening to lots of audio in the coming months...you may want to improve your listening system around the old computer. That cheesy set of speakers that came with your PC is fine for the beeps and boops of everyday life, but for real audio, you can get some pretty cool listening stuff that isn't all that expensive. Click Here To Find Out More About Speakers or Headphones | |||||
| D. Professional Sound Cards | |||||
| The sound card's job is to take the analog audio stream from your phono preamp and digitize it. In a noisy digital electrical environment, like your computer, a sound card has to be pretty shielded so that it doesn't pick up the noise and only picks up the sound you want it to record. Most bundled computer sound cards are worth about $2 and don't care about this shielding. The results are noisy recordings. We always tell you to let your ears be the judge. If you make a CD and pop it into your car or home CD player and your mouth drops open at the quality...don't invest another dime. But if you can tell the difference between your CDs and the ones you buy at the store...most likely, your sound card is one of the culprits. Professional sound cards are not that expensive, but can help you make a major improvement in your recording system. Click Here To Find Out More About Professional Sound Cards. | |||||
| E. Cables | |||||
| The cable issues in wiring up your system for the first time, really can cause people anguish. In order to eliminate that headache, we've developed a complete cable tutorial so that you know what you need and what it's called. Want to see more? Click Here To Read Our Cable Tutorial. | |||||
| A final word. | |||||
| We realize that this was a pretty lengthy tutorial, but keep one important fact in mind...our toll free phone number and email addresses. We love talking to prospective customers and are always happy to help. We're not that unselfish...we just know that if you understand the facts and receive great service...you'll buy stuff from us and we'll continue to make house payments. | |||||
Toll Free 866 260 6376 |
sales@tracertek.com |
support@tracertek.com |
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