Cleaningup old recordings

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 31 May 2005, 00:57

I am not a sound engineer or expert. In fact I am an aging physician with very limited technical know-how. But my love for CM is unbounded and hence I collect and listen to lot of CM. In that process I use some cheap softwares to "massage" the recordings. Some folks in sangeetham.com have asked me to share my techniques. I am glad to.

Here are three versions of recording from 78RPM uploaded by raju. I want you to rank them in a scale of 1 to 10 (higher number means better quality). I will wait for a week and then decode the recordings and explain what I did. Unfortunately I cannot hide what anyone scores and please do not get influenced by another's opinion. Be objective and true to your taste..

We can discuss the different techniques others use in a separate thread if you please.

Here are the links
http://rapidshare.de/files/2072560/ManavyalaA.mp3.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/2072616/ManavyalaB.mp3.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/2072644/ManavyalaC.mp3.html

Pl do not discuss the merits of your selection so as not influence others

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 May 2005, 15:41

cml,

while we finish the assignments, kindly see if you can tackle this wonderful track as well.I think i am missing some part of the fun there!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/2077726/chem ... s.mp3.html

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 May 2005, 16:15

cml,

on a more serious note :
probelms generally faced fall under two categories
1) when we are converting from tape ourselves
2) when we have mp3s with these defects.
it will be nice if you can keep us updated on both the modes ,in your decoding exercise.

my own experience is that once the music has been converted to mp3, there is very little we can do.MAY BE I AM WRONG HERE.
I would love to be proved otherwise .Following is a link to an extract from a Bade Ghulam Ali Khan concert at Rama Seva Mandali Bangalore 1956.i would be thrilled if you could teach me how to improve this..(It is priceless concert where he sings
Yaman -Hamsadhwani- Kedar -Malkauns and finally a magnificent Darbari Kanada for nearly three hours !)
http://rapidshare.de/files/2084155/Bade ... n.mp3.html

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 31 May 2005, 19:22

CML, here is the evaluation of your samples, taking 10 as a good CD quality rating.
SampleA - 1 out of 10
SampleB - 3 out of 10
SampleC - 4 out of 10

Coolkarni, there is no single particular way to improve the bad music through editing. I go by my ear and when I think the resultant music is good, I stop experimenting with the sound/noise. You just have to get used to a software and experiment with it to know what each function will do. I use Goldwave, while others use Cooledit, Audacity etc.

If the original is too bad, like in the Manavyala clip uploaded by CML, then it might not be possible to improve it any further.

By the way, here is the (hopefully) improved version of the Chembai speech file which you made available to us. Thanks a lot, I didn't have this earlier. I cut out certain frequencies and normalized the volume of the music and boosted the higher frequencies till they reached their natural levels.

http://rapidshare.de/files/2087100/chem ... s.mp3.html

pramodh · Post by **pramodh** » 31 May 2005, 20:16

Sample A 2/10
Sample B 4/10
Sample C 5/10

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 May 2005, 20:44

srkris.
thanks.(i had thought you must be having it.i remember you mentioned about it one of your posts elsewhere).
have you seen the calendar brought out by the information and broadcasting ministry.It has a magnificent photograph of chembai.(just in case it had escaped your attention.)
also of TNR and Palghat Mani iyer,Dwaram and MS.I have the cxalendar with me .It is also available at Govt Offices -Excise and Income tax)
wonder if i can scan a 24" by 18" photograph anywhere in chennai!

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 31 May 2005, 20:53

coolkarnai

We can discuss the techniques after the folks have graded the exercise. Ramakrishnan has done a nice job on chembai. I cleaned it up just emphasizing chembai only and killing the rest. Here it is

http://rapidshare.de/files/2088295/chem ... n.mp3.html

I selected the area with ambient noise fingerprinted and cleaned the file. It shows off chembai better but kills the comments of the audience. You cannot get something for nothing :cheesy:

I am just blown off by the Bade Ghulamali Khan sample. It requires microsurgery (I am no good at even plain surgery

). We will see!

meena · Post by **meena** » 31 May 2005, 20:56

kularniji
2005 calendar issued by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting:
DELETED

pramodh · Post by **pramodh** » 31 May 2005, 21:01

Guys please,

try and concentrate on grading the files that CML has posted and we can disuss other things elsewhere.

Thanks

divakar · Post by **divakar** » 01 Jun 2005, 05:31

thanks a lot sri kulkarni for B_G_A_K piece.
i'd love to listen to the whole conert...

cmlover,

A: 3/10
B: 5/10
C: 6/10

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 01 Jun 2005, 10:30

cm lover

A: 2 out of 10
B: 3 out of 10
C: 4 out of 10

Pramodh

Other things elsewhere...

The BGAK Clip was my way telling cmlover that the subject has a wide range which may not probably be covered with his track alone.Leading to the next point that most problems can be solved easily-in noise reduction-if care is taken before recording as mp3.In anycase he had specified that there would be a One week Holiday .
The reference to Chembais photo -and also the chembai speech , which was actually a teaser-was my way of checking out if srkris had these in his possession.
If one has followed srkris's posts -as i have done for so long- one gets into a mood of gratitude for his clean approach to all matters pertaining to CM Music in general and Chembai in particular ,and look for something give in return ,however insignificant.
I presume this got the better of me.
Meena .. I have to say thanks here since the private message has been disabled- wonder why?

pramodh · Post by **pramodh** » 01 Jun 2005, 17:50

It was mainly the calender that I was referring to and I just didnt want this topic to side track off. But thanks kulkarni for the grades.

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 23 Oct 2007, 15:13

This is nothing todo with the topic ' cleaning of old recordings' instead easy method to clean worn out c ds. An interesting message I read is being shared here. I hv not tried this sofar.

"Don't you feel like crying every time you add another disc to your pile of scratched discs? Trashing that disc which contained your favorite songs, pics, files, games or videos is not easy"

Read-on, if you find yourself wishing for a miracle every time your fav CD is scratched:

Home Remedy :

Here's an easy home remedy, which might give you the desired results. Rub a small amount of toothpaste on the scratch and polish the CD with a soft cloth and any petroleum-based polishing solution (like clear shoe polish). Squirt a drop of Brasso and wipe it with a clean cloth.

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 23 Oct 2007, 17:20

will the homeremody of yours, give the appearance to the poor cd ,akin to that of Mr.Cho's head? gobilalitha . excuse me , simply a joke