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any advice greatly appreciated re the following.

ive got a bunch of old songs done on tape, i'm gradually tarting up....i like the mojo of.
ive posted one such oddball called HT Man in user showcase that some rb/bb features helped me with.

just wondering , as i'm no resto expert other budget alternatives...eg vst plug in .
heres my needs for such resto software.
1. achieve more "clarity" from the master.
2. bringing out a vocal better would help.
3. dont muck with existing song mojo.
4. dirt cheap or free..lol.. , cos i'm upgradeing pg bb//rb this month.

thanks.
om


Last edited by justanoldmuso; 12/02/21 05:32 AM.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I understand your budget will go toward BIAB. Good decision.

I use the old Adobe Audition for simple noise reduction and EQ. It’s based on the old free Cool Edit Pro, if that’s still available.

JFord from this forum knows the developer of Diamond Cut software that I believe would include what you seek.

If it were my file, I would look at offerings from Izotope. No, they are not free, but they are powerful and effective, and their interface is easy to use.


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Cassette Tape or Reel to Reel?




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Good question, Steve. If cassette, it could be encoded with Dolby B or (unlikely) Dolby C. Just having the right playback might sound a lot better.


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Also, regardless of tape type if you happen to have the same deck you recorded on that will help a little on quality playback.




Steve

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thanks all.merci.
the tape deks are long gone as are the mtr's.
the songs i digitised to wav awhile back in the hope that in the future i could tart them up with some type of advanced resto software.
i have noise reduction software etc. plus eq plug ins.

all the songs have a common need. maybe some way to bring
more clarity to the songs.
is that where spectral editing might be beneficial ?


best...merry xmas to all.
om
ps all were reel to reel .ampex 406 if i remember or 456.

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 12/02/21 07:58 AM.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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My local studio borrowed my Teac 4-track 10" deck to do just this for another client. Then they used their own software to enhance the sound. Might be the easiest way for you to proceed.


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Izotope would be a great choice.

Seeing this can be non-destructive (you can save your results in separate files), you might be surprised what you could achieve with Audacity also.


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Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
Izotope would be a great choice.

Seeing this can be non-destructive (you can save your results in separate files), you might be surprised what you could achieve with Audacity also.



I was just about to recommend Audacity. It is free. Be sure to DL all of the effects as they are a separate DL. It contains noise reduction, multi-band EQ, and other effects that may help.


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thanks everybody.
tried audacity. didnt really do it for me.
already have nr etc etc.
actually i'm getting somewhere with "carefull" use of features in rb in vinyl plug in. and some reaps js plugs.
gonna check out isotope next.

i wish i could find a plug in with one dial...
"gimme more clarity"...lol.

mario, ht man you listened to in showcase ...i had futzed with rb n bb features.

best
om
ps mario my wife loves your jokes...she was laughing her
head off re the jewellery one. lol


my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Originally Posted By: justanoldmuso
...................
ps mario my wife loves your jokes...she was laughing her
head off re the jewellery one. lol



I wish my wife was laughing her head off grin grin grin

PS I need bail money whistle


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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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You can do HEAPS in Reaper...I restored a mono cassette dub done on the day we were recording in a local studio in about 81.
I do also use Wavrepair for LPs etc as it's VERY specific to that - not sure if it's still available.
Recorded LIVE at Warrawilla Studio...direct to 12 track I think...Bass was DI and sounds it.

This link will take you to two .wav files of one of the songs recorded in that session and mono dumped to the cheapest possible type I cassette (Govt issue) available.

https://we.tl/t-UIxJ6qIPGD


I tried four cassette machines to get the best playback and, strangely, a Sony Walkman was THE one.
I recorded INTO WaveRepair (CD standards).
Casio keyboards WITH the built in drum machine would you believe...it was the early 80s.
I did some light EQing in WavRepair to remove a little noise back in 2006 and then left the files for yonks, (The SIMPLE EQ was step one I used when archiving the cassette into a digital format), until a member of the band mentioned, in 2019, that he didn't have a copy.
I pulled up the sessions, did some careful noise reduction with ReaFir and did some very surgical subtractive EQing in Reaper using the native effects, I did some VERY light exciting and increased the level with some parallel compression.
I TRIED artificial stereo widening but it wasn't an enhancement. I haven't attempted Mid Side EQing because I don't have any plugins for, or experience with, it.
The band mate was happy enough as something is better than nothing.
The results, (Andre Done), aren't miraculous...but the MOJO is, relatively, intact.
The point, the tools are available but they take time & patience to get a so so result.

Last edited by rayc; 12/03/21 12:01 AM.

Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I was looking for something else and found my WalkMan, yesterday.

I am going to give it a try. Thank you!

....Deb

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Originally Posted By: DSM
I was looking for something else and found my WalkMan, yesterday.

I am going to give it a try. Thank you!

....Deb

It's use for this was very tape specific...and I did clean/demag before using it. I suspect it is a decent and unfussy/generalist machine. Other, better quality, tapes played back on better machines.


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rayc
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I don't have anything like this so I downloaded to see what it is all about. Unfortuantlely, I am confused by the interface. I have 3 drives that I know of C, G and F. But the interface shows me this??? And the RED is concerning. Is there something I can or should do about the RED?

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Dan, that looks like a copy of the view you would get if you went into Disk Management in Windows. That RED drive looks like an .ISO or backup image of some sort. You can usually access Disk Management in Computer Management.




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Thanks Steve,
But here is what I see in Win 10 Disk management: No indication of the RED

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Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.

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Wow, Mario, that "research" is really above and beyond! Thank you for clearing that up. I owe you one for this. grin

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Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
Izotope would be a great choice.

I've used RX for years, it's great. The newer versions of the most basic "Elements" version includes a basic standalone editor which would probably be effective for you.

I've also had very good results from Acon Digital Restoration Suite (better than RX in some cases), but they're only plugins vs the standalone app with RX.


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