Best plugs/techniques for mastering vinyl rips (for CDJing)

[MARKEG]

Hi guys.

something has been utterly doing my head in and I wonder if anyone has any thoughts or had the same problems.

For my DJing at the weekend, I've been ripping from vinyl I've bought and burning to CD. Now when I first started doing this it didn't take me long to realise I needed to Maximize the tracks (especially at the very big scale events). But then I had the bright idea of actually EQing all the tracks I'd ripped too - the type of thing you'd generally do in the mastering process but this allowed me to compensate for shittly mastered tracks and make the flow of my set ALOT better.

OK so I've been doing this a while now and I've realise that NO MATTER WHAT i do, I just can't get that powerful top end brightness in the tracks that I do when I produce in the studio. It's like the vinyl has taken away all that digital brightness and made it, well kinda mushy. If you add top end, you're only adding to the mushyness. I keep the limiting to a bare minimum, but no, shit that power isnt there. And that power really is a good thing in a club if you ask mho.

I've tried the PSP Vintage Warmer but no, and also BBE Sonic Max and again, no. How the hell do I get that clinical sounding brightness back onto tracks recorded off vinyl????

[NAD]

Let me get this straight: You're trying to make something analog sound more digital? I never seem to get this word right, but I think this definitely qualifies as ironic.

[Shy]

I have no idea what you mean without a sample. It could be complete lack of high frequencies (only up to 14KHz or so. I've seen that on some vinyls). Post a 5 seconds uncompressed sample and I'll see what's up.

[MARKEG]

yeah. that's right. i've known since my early first releases years ago that you roll off the hi's for the vinyl cut. and when i used to go and attend the cuts, if i hadn't done it, the engineer certainly did. so yeah you're right, the hi's that are present digitally, will not be there when you cut to vinyl. which is why i can hear a clarity in digital music that you can't hear on a piece of vinyl. sure the bottom end is much nicer and rounder on an analog piece of vinyl but i want those hi's that the vinyl is missing.

funny how you go back through your record collection or old cd's/mixes whatever, right from the beggining of recorded music and you notice just how music has become so brighter on the top end. being able to record onto cd has undoubtably sped up that process even more.

i suppose it's just how i get that digital clarity back, that's what i really need to know. and i've tried everything i can think of with no joy.

[freddemillio]

Let me get this straight: You're trying to make something analog sound more digital? I never seem to get this word right, but I think this definitely qualifies as ironic.

The grass is always greener on the other side

[mauseoleum]

:::maybe:::

http://www.aconas.com/us_StudioClean_Screenshots.html

check "studio rebirth"

(note: from top of my head only, I'm not a user)

[Traverser]

Basically:

- Toneboosters TB ReelBus v2.9.1
(This is the main thing, the mentioned version.)

- Toneboosters TB Barricade v3.3.1
(For regulating peaks, the mentioned version.)

For pre and post EQ-ing and filtering:

- TDR Nova GE
(Applying LP and HP filters.)

- TDR Slick EQ M
(Minor bass adjustments)

The plugin flow:

TDR Nova GE >> TB ReelBus v2.9.1 >> TDR Slick EQ M >> TB Barricade v3.3.1

[psynical]

Maybe mention how you're ripping the vinyl? More than likely, something in recording chain isn't optimal.

[andymcbain]

Hi Mark (DJ Mark EG? )

Maybe another approach rather than (or in addition to EQ and an exciter) might be transient shaping in the higher frequencies? Something like Oeksound Spiff is good for this and might help you bring back some of the punch you need. It's certainly usable on a master.

Have you spoken to any mastering engineers about this? I'm sure it's not the first time they'll have come across this problem?

[Dirk Diggler]

Master the audio just like you'd master your audio normally.

You can't EQ your way out of that hole, if there's no hi-end to begin with, you can't add it in later.

I agree with the irony, most folks want the analog sound if they're using vinyl.

And yes look into your signal chain you could be in trouble before you even start.

[ShawnG]

You can add fake high end through an exciter/enhancer. It’s not real or good necessarily, but you can hype the track up a bit with them. Vinyl has plenty of low end harmonics already, which is why we like vinyl, so you might want to use your BBE on a send, after a high pass filter, and then blend the signal to taste? Just a guess from a non-DJ.

Despite the usual conversation, digital tools are really way better at simulating analog, than analog things are at simulating digital (or even other analog things for that matter). So it would probably be better to start with a digital source and add analog flavor than the other way around.

[LFO8]

You guys are responding to a question from 13 light years away..

[ShawnG]

Ha! Lol, good call.

[andymcbain]

You guys are responding to a question from 13 light years away..

Oops

[Traverser]

I just had the kind problem described in the first post, googled around, experimented with plugins, and I shared one possible solution. This problem can be still relevant for others.

Now the context is djing.

In my experience and opinion, after digitizing many vinyls released for djs: most of them are mastered badly, cut badly, pressed badly, executed without any quality control, and probably everything is done with incompetence and with the lowest possible budget.

Unfortunately there are excellent tunes released only on vinyl and you have to work with that. Their sound is often quite lame, too distorted or too dull or too harsh or too boomy… or all of these and others at the same time. And you have to shape or form it to a more pleasant listening experience.

The TB ReelBus v2.9.1 could be a handy tool for that.

___
(By the way my setup is a Technics 1210GR + Ortofon Concorde MKII Club (VTF 3.7g) + Xone 32 Mixer + Roland Rubix 24 USB audio interface.)