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LP Standard transfer prices LP Deluxe transfer prices Optional extra services for LPs Singles Standard transfer prices (also 12-inch & EPs) Singles Deluxe transfer prices (also 12-inch & EPs) Optional extra services for singles Description of services Vinyl noise reduction

Minimum order value: £15. Payment details are given on the ordering page. Within the UK I normally return media using First Class Recorded Delivery; postage costs are added to the transfer fees, and are not returnable under the money-back guarantee.

Standard 33rpm vinyl LP transfer: £14.40 per record (both sides) Includes:   Professional VPI record cleaning   Maximum-extraction analogue-to-digital capture ("ripping")   Level 1 noise reduction (up to 90% noise removal)   Accurate track division as in the original   Printed disc label with title/artist(s)   Printed text case insert with track listing (audio CDs only; MP3s include basic tag population instead)   Plastic CD slip cover   Limited money-back guarantee   I can provide MP3s as an alternative. Please see the MP3 page for details.

Deluxe 33rpm vinyl LP transfer: £19.90 per record (both sides) Includes:   Professional VPI record cleaning   Maximum-extraction analogue-to-digital capture ("ripping")   Level 2 noise reduction (up to 99% noise removal - for up to 100% removal, consider manual restoration)   Accurate track division as in the original   Printed disc label with title/artist(s)   Printed text case insert with track listing (audio CDs only; MP3s include basic tag population instead)   Plastic CD slip cover   Limited money-back guarantee   I can provide MP3s as an alternative. Please see the MP3 page for details.

Optional extras / individual feature prices for 33rpm LPs:   Track restoration from £5 additional to Deluxe service   Full manual restoration (up to 100% noise removal) from £14 additional to Deluxe service   Custom track division (suitable for "live" albums) £0.90, £1.90, £2.90 (depending on requirements)   Altered track order £0.90, £1.90, £2.90 per CD (depending on requirements)   Eccentric record correction (for off-centre discs) £2.90 per record   Skip correction attempt from £5   I am happy to discuss your detailed requirements, both prior to and after receiving your order.

Minimum order value: £15. Payment details are given on the ordering page. Within the UK I normally return media using First Class Recorded Delivery; postage costs are added to the transfer fees, and are not returnable under the money-back guarantee.

Standard 7-inch 45rpm vinyl single transfer: £2.70 [£2.50] per side (12-inch / EPs £3.90 [£3.60] per side) Includes:   Professional VPI record cleaning   Maximum-extraction analogue-to-digital capture ("ripping")   Level 1 noise reduction (up to 90% noise removal)   Track division with track order as required   * CD blank / Printed disc label with title/artist(s)   * Printed text case insert with track listing (audio CDs only; MP3s include basic tag population instead)  (* provided CD playing time is 20 minutes or more)   Plastic CD slip cover (with each CD)   Limited money-back guarantee   I can provide MP3s as an alternative. Please see the MP3 page for details.

Figures in square brackets show prices for five or more sides. Part of a side counts as a side.

Deluxe 7-inch 45rpm vinyl single transfer: £3.80 [£3.50] per side (12-inch / EPs £5.50 [£5.10] per side) Includes:   Professional VPI record cleaning   Maximum-extraction analogue-to-digital capture ("ripping")   Level 2 noise reduction (up to 99% noise removal - for up to 100% removal, consider manual restoration)   Track division with track order as required   * CD blank / Printed disc label with title/artist(s)   * Printed text case insert with track listing (audio CDs only; MP3s include basic tag population instead)  (* provided CD playing time is 20 minutes or more)   Plastic CD slip cover (with each CD)   Limited money-back guarantee   I can provide MP3s as an alternative. Please see the MP3 page for details.

Figures in square brackets show prices for five or more sides. Part of a side counts as a side.

Optional extras / individual feature prices for 7-inch 45rpm vinyl singles:   CD blank / Printed disc label with title/artist(s) (required if total playing time is less than 20 minutes) £0.70   Printed text case insert with track listing (per CD - free if total playing time is 20 minutes or more) £1.90   or MP3 basic tag population (free if total playing time is 20 minutes or more) £0.29 per track   Full manual restoration (up to 100% noise removal) from £4 per side (12-inch / EPs from £6 per side)   Eccentric record correction (for off-centre discs) £2.90 per record   Skip correction attempt from £5   I am happy to discuss your detailed requirements, both prior to and after receiving your order.

Minimum order value: £15. Payment details are given on the ordering page. Within the UK I normally return media using First Class Recorded Delivery; postage costs are added to the transfer fees, and are not returnable under the money-back guarantee.

In any vinyl-to-CD transfer there are a number of processes to undertake. The ones which are absolutely necessary are marked so: all the others will improve the result in some way. The order of work is as follows:

How I carry out each of these processes is outlined below.

Professional record cleaning
Before extracting the music signal I clean your record thoroughly using a professional VPI wet/vacuum record-cleaning machine imported from the US. Your record will contain much less noise and be sparkling-clean when you get it back. If you were to have professional cleaning done elsewhere it could on its own cost several pounds. (View the VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine at the VPI UK site.)

Off-centre (eccentric) record correction
If, like many LPs, your record has an off-centre hole, causing pitch variation in the transferred signal, I can correct this by enlargement of the hole and careful exact placement of the record on the turntable prior to digitisation. The transferred signal will normally then be as pitch-stable as the original recording. This service must be specifically requested if required, though I'm happy to check your record for you.

Not sure if your record is off-centre? If you have a turntable, you can check (provided you're sure that the turntable/stylus won't damage your record). Put the record on the on the turntable and set it turning. Carefully place the stylus on the groove fairly near the middle of the record, using the cue control if possible. Look along the tonearm. If it is visibly moving from side to side, your record is off-centre. Don't be misled by an up-and-down movement - that's warping, not an off-centre pressing. If you don't want to put your stylus on the record, you may still be able to check for off-centredness. Crouch down and look across the top of the record where the stylus would normally be. Depending on lighting conditions, you should be able to fix your eye on a between-tracks band. As before, watch for it moving from side to side. If the band appears to remain in the same place as the record rotates, there is no problem. Don't forget to check both sides of the record - I've seen several cases where one side was correct and the other was wildly out.

Maximum-extraction analogue-to-digital conversion
The signal from your cleaned record is captured on hard disc; this process is also known as "ripping". I use high-end hi-fi equipment (Linn Sondek LP12 / Ittok LV II / Goldring cartridge) for this digitisation process, ensuring the maximum extraction of quality detailed sound from your record. (View the Linn Sondek LP12 at Linn's site.) At this stage I trim the recorded signal. Your CD won't contain the sound of the stylus dropping onto the record, for example, or leaving it again. Gaps between tracks will be appropriate.

Noise reduction
The captured signal from your record will still contain noise: how much is dependent on the condition of the record. I can digitally remove all or most of this annoying background noise, and I can do so without affecting the quality of the music detail as some competing services do. I remove not only clicks and pops, but surface noise and rumble (depending on the level you choose). Even very noisy records will be vastly improved. You will be amazed at how good the music from your old record sounds on your new CD. This service is available at different levels and price points, depending on how much noise reduction is required. More information about noise reduction is given below.

Division into tracks
I divide the music from your record into individual tracks so that you can use your CD skip control to find them. I don’t leave it to the computer to find the starting points, as some other services do, because the computer doesn’t do this job very accurately. Although it takes a lot longer, I search out the track beginnings myself and mark and test their positions before putting the music onto the CD. (Because of the way data is organised on audio CDs, it is important to make sure that the track markers are positioned at data sector crossover points to ensure seamless transition from one track to the next on the finished CD.) I can divide your CD into tracks following either the band layout of the original (Standard Track Division) or any layout you specify (Custom Track Division).

Custom track division
You don't have to have the track layout exactly the same as the original. Instead, you can have the individual tracks of your transfer start wherever you like. When you listen to the whole CD, the joins will be seamless, but you will be able to use your skip controls to move between the tracks you have specified. Obviously, you need to explain your requirements clearly when ordering. Custom Track Division is particularly suitable for live albums, where there may not be any track indications in the original. As I have to search through the recorded sounds to find the places you have specified, there is an extra charge for this service.

Altered track order
If you would like to have your tracks in a different order to the result of either standard or custom track division, you can ask for Altered Track Order. Having the tracks in any order you like comes as standard with singles transfers or compilations.

CD blank
This means the blank recordable CD on which I provide your transfer. For transfers totalling at least 20 minutes of playing time, these are provided at no extra charge. A CD transfer with a total playing time of less than 20 minutes will incur a small charge for the recordable disc. Transfer of a complete LP always includes the blank recordable CD at no extra charge.

Burning to CD
Once the signal has been tidied up and organised according to your requirements, I create your CD using a quality CD writer, and I use a fairly slow writing speed in order to avoid errors in the finished CD. The CD-text option is used. This means that track titles are included with the the music on the CD; a CD-text-enabled player will be able to display them while the CD is running. (CD-text is not normally provided when a case insert is not included with the transfer.)

I can provide MP3-CDs as an alternative. Please see the MP3 page for details.

CD label and case insert
On the front of the CD case insert I put the name of the original record (or the name of the music on it) along with the artist(s). On the inside of the insert I list the track numbers along with their names and playing times. To the CD itself I affix a label which also contains the name of the original record (or the name of the music on it) along with the artist(s). I don’t normally provide a jewel case, because these are often damaged in transit and in any case may cost more to send than they're worth. Your CD will arrive in a slip cover, and you can easily buy a CD jewel case for pennies at a local store.

If your transfer is to an MP3-CD, instead of a case insert I populate the Title, Artist and Album MP3 tags. Details are on the MP3 page.

Money-back guarantee
If you are not delighted with the transfer work I do for you, you can return your CDs, inserts and slip covers to me undamaged within 14 days and I will refund your transfer charges up to a limit of £20.
 

"Level 3" is now known as "manual restoration", which hopefully makes its nature and purpose clearer.

Level 1 (simple two-stage automated) noise reduction
This process is provided with Standard vinyl transfers. The first stage is the removal of rumble. For the technically-minded, it should be pointed out that this is not a simple high-pass filter, which would remove all the power of the low bass from the music. This stage removes low-pitched rumble (and a certain amount of hum) leaving bass notes intact and clean-sounding. The second stage takes out clicks and pops and crackle. It doesn't do this as efficiently as the optional multi-stage process, because making it more aggressive would affect the quality of the sound, but it still removes a great deal of noise. The two-stage noise-reduction system disposes of 80-90% of the noise from a record in good condition. For records that have scratches, Level 1 includes some manual improvement of very large noises (up to 10) that have not been fully removed by the automated system. If you need more noise reduction, you should request the optional Level 2 (complex multi-stage automated) noise reduction.

Level 2 (complex multi-stage automated) noise reduction
This is a more sophisticated and highly developed noise-reduction process, and forms part of the Deluxe vinyl transfer packages. In my testing I have found that it can remove almost all of the noise (around 99%) from a record in good condition, without degrading the sound at all. Even less-good records are remarkably improved. It removes some noises that previously would have required manual intervention to fix. What little noise remains is usually not intrusive.

The first stage of the Level 2 treatment is again the removal of rumble and hum as described in the previous section, but following this is a chain of processes each designed to treat clicks and pops of different types and sizes, along with other noises. There is an extra stage applied only to mono records, which further cleans up their sound. For records that have scratches, Level 2 includes some manual improvement of very large noises (up to 20) that have not been fully removed by the automated system. If you need more noises removed manually, you should consider a detailed restoration as described below, unless a better copy of the record is available.

It has taken many hours of experimentation and testing with experienced ears to bring the Level 2 system to the standard it has now reached. Only a detailed restoration (as described below) with time-consuming manual work could improve on the results obtained using this multi-stage system.

Manual restoration
While it is remarkable how much noise a well-designed noise-reduction chain can remove, unless your vinyl record is a particularly good pressing and in pristine condition, after automated noise reduction there are likely to be a number of noises still apparent (the last 1% or so, if it was a record in good condition), even if they have been reduced in intensity. A manual restoration involves listening to all of the music carefully to find these noises, and when they are located, removing them completely by hand one by one, or further reducing them if complete removal is not possible. Records in good condition can be virtually noise-free after this procedure has been carried out, depending on how much time is spent on it. I offer both a full restoration service and one which concentrates on part or parts of a record transfer.

Records which contain a great deal of noise can be significantly improved, but it may be considered uneconomic to spend a large amount of money (at £25 per hour) for a full restoration on a very noisy record. It will usually be preferable to obtain a better copy of the record and transfer that one. If a top-quality transfer is required from a noisy record and money is no object, though, then it may be possible to do it. As long as the signal on a vinyl record is not itself damaged (by being played with a badly worn stylus, for example), then any record in reasonable condition can be transferred to CD with near-perfection in the sound, if sufficient time and effort is expended on the noise-reduction part of the transfer.

The full restoration procedure is suited also to copyright holders who require a remastering service. Please see the remastering page for more details.

Track restoration
It is often the case that a record which is otherwise in good condition contains one or two scratches which give rise to loud noises at each revolution of the record. Automated noise reduction cannot remove these loud noises fully. In a case like this I can offer manual restoration only of the tracks which are affected in this way, at a considerably reduced cost compared to full manual restoration. Any part of a record (your favourite track, perhaps) can be given the manual restoration treatment without having to pay the cost of a full restoration.

Skip Correction Attempt
Records which contain scratches or other damage which cause the stylus to jump can benefit from this. Using a proprietary technique, I can often adjust the alignment of the stylus' path as it tracks the groove, and have had success in treating several cases of serious skipping prior to digitisation of the record signal.
Please note: (1) Success with this procedure cannot be guaranteed. (2) The attempts to fix a skip problem will mark the record surface. (3) If the scratch is deep, the affected tracks cannot be considered for transfer at all.

Home | Testimonials | Vinyl services | Tape services | Ordering | MP3 | FAQ |
Compilations | 78 rpm services | Remastering | LP or CD - which is better? | Privacy | Links