For a change, this is less of a question and more of a (hopefully) helpful post, and certainly a recommendation of a good thing!

I've been very impressed by huge advances on cd-decks over the last couple of years, indeed I haven't bought vinyl since upgrading to CD-decks.

However, like many DJ's investing in the future, I've still got boxes and boxes and boxes of vinyl that I've collected over the years.

I've tried various "Vinyl restoration" software applications over the last couple of years, and not been all that impressed.

Until last year...I bought Steinbergs Clean Plus...(£50 from Dabs direct).

Not only is it easy to use, but the "Plus" version, comes with an excellent Stereo Phono Pre-amp, meaning that you can plug your Turntable directly into it, without the need for lugging your mixer in from the van...

Despite the low price, I've not been able to fault the pre-amp quality at all.

Also the software is (to my knowledge) unique, in that it allows you to listen to what its about to REMOVE from the vinyl (EG: the crackles and pops), rather than just playing you the music...

This feature probalby sounds really strange, but it works really, really well. For example, if you're listening to a record with the usual crackles etc on it, you can adjust the 3 de-noising sliders, to remove it...but what if you're taking away part of the music fidelity too? No problem...if, when you're listening to the crackles, you hear some music, in with the crackles, then just adjust the setting down a little, until the crackles remain in the "about to be removed" sound, but no music.

The software is also available seperately, with no pre-amp (its just called "Clean!", rather than "Clean! plus" (The "plus" being the pre-amp), for about half the price...but for the ease or not rewiring your mixer after/before each gig, I'd suggest going for the Plus package...

QUOTE

Not only is it easy to use, but the "Plus" version, comes with an excellent Stereo Phono Pre-amp, meaning that you can plug your Turntable directly into it, without the need for lugging your mixer in from the van...

Gary, I'm a little unclear as to this Pre-amp that you mention. Do you mean it is a separate unit that sits between the pc and the turntable or is it a card that fits into the pc, and then the phono leads are plugged into that?

Sorry, I could have explained it in a little more detail.

Yes, the Stereo Pre-amp that comes with the "Plus" versions of "Clean" is a seperate piece of hardware. Shaped a little like a sharks fin, standing around 5 inches high, the pre-amp offers a single USB connector on the back (mainly for power I think).

The front of the unit offers you a 3.5mm (Thats an eighth of an inch Mikee ) stereo jack outlet (headphone socket) which you plug into the LINE IN on your PC's soundcard. Red and white RCA (phono) sockets on the front, are for the Turntable to plug into. Two slide switches offer you three settings for "Hi mid Lo" for the input and output levels respectively.

Most importantantly is the wickedly cool looking deep blue LED on the top of the fin.

Ohh. in fact...here's one that I made earlier....

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This sounds EXACTLY like what I've been looking for!

So let me get this straight (Oooer Mikeee) I plug my 1210 into this sharks fin and the lead into my audio in and hey presto no need for amplifier or anything old vinyl into mp3 no probs?

Exactly...no Hi-fi amp...or mixer needed to take your 1210 phono output up to the levels that your PC's Line in socket is expecting to hear.

One slight hiccup, as you've mentioned MP3's.... The software is set to a limit of saving 30 MP's...until you buy the MP3 licence...which was £10 last time I looked into buyng it...but annoyingly the same licence could be bought for just 6 euros on the Steinberg .DE (german site)...if you speak German...

So I've just been creating and burning (The software does that too, but I still use Nero) WAV's, rather than MP3's, then using a separate utility to compress the wavs to MP3, for the sake of harddrive space... I'll go halves with you on the MP3 licence if you like...

I have a turntable permanently wired into a mixer then onto the PC, its only a citronic PD-1 but does the job

and use cool edit to record them as MP3's

Well seems to be a good idea, I am not bothered if its WAV or Mp3 to be honest. WAV files are easily converted to MP3 anyway

QUOTE

One slight hiccup, as you've mentioned MP3's.... The software is set to a limit of saving 30 MP's...until you buy the MP3 licence...which was £10 last time I looked into buyng it...but annoyingly the same licence could be bought for just 6 euros on the Steinberg .DE (german site)...if you speak German...

Try using one of the free online page translators which are available on the 'net. You tell them the URL of the page that you need transating (I.e Checkout page of your German site!) and bingo instant (Pidgeon) English!.

Run a search on google or use the Dodgy Babelfish one on Altavista!.

You can get a trial software package from AIPL Singulator which works very well.It will record tapes direct from your deck to your soundcard but records need to go thro a preamp first

Hey Gary! I ordered it from Dabs and it arrived this morning so I'm now off to try conveting some of my very old vinyl.

(now do these old 1210.s do 78's ?????) LOL