Click Repair questions - vinyl

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GOS

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If I own a vinyl, that is either out of print, or the vinyl is the go to version of a title in terms of fidelity....I end up ripping it.
Now, we have to worry about clicks and all that good stuff. I had been using Audacity to manually deal with all the clicks and it does take forever honestly.

A few here have said that the program, Click Repair works great. I downloaded a trial, but I cannot find very much info on the web that is for "dummies". :)

My very fist question is - once I drag a wav file and click ;) start and it finishes. Where in the hell is the new file? I can't find it, nor do I find anywhere to save that new file....

Leave it to me to get stumped in the likely easiest part of the process. lmao

Anyone? Kap'n??
 
I'm almost certain this might be more than you're looking for GOS but I'll share this anyway.

Click/pop removal can be a frustrating exercise. You want those artifacts removed but you don't want to touch the music even slightly! You find that there is never a single setting on a click removal plugin that does this for you for the whole program of music you are trying to clean. If it's something rare and out of print, nothing but perfect removal of noise with strictly no damage is acceptable. So you resort to hours/weeks/years of manual work.


I have a method I like using that autmoates click removal as much as possible while letting you supervise it and be certain you are doing strictly zero damage and only removing 100% clicks. I use iZotope RX click removal plugin.

You'll see in red text on the plugin GUI: "Output clicks only" with a box to tick. (Or similar wording, I'm not in front of it now.) That makes it output the clicks/pops it would normally remove instead. So render that instead. If you flip the polarity on the clicks track you now render and mix it with the original, it nulls the clicks out. That's basically what the plugin is doing internally. It let's you toggle it to output the clicks and separate that for yourself.

See where this is going?

You can never find a perfect setting for click removal with zero damage for the whole program. So compile a perfect clicks track!
Find the setting that does no damage and still removes a lot of clicks. Run a track of that.
Now go through and hit the spots that need heavier work and run tracks with those settings.
Now cut together pieces from the different runs to build a track with all the clicks and nothing but the clicks.
Reverse polarity on it and mix it with the original. Perfect click removal with a lot of automated sections but managed manually for perfection.

You can do stuff like listen along to the original with the clicks track in view (muted). You want to see a click for every one you hear. (You'll clearly see the isolated clicks in an otherwise silent track.) If you see a spike but don't hear a click, that means it's a false positive. You slice those out of the clicks track as you go along! Then for sections where there are clicks that were undetected in the main clicks track, cut in sections from stronger runs. Just like you'd comp together different vocal takes into a final perfect version.
 
I have a few ways to look at it. If I have a high quality vinyl, then I would be mortified if the de-click program removed pieces of music. But, if I have an older vinyl that is far from perfect.....I don't want to do that much work. Just get rid of the harder clicks....
 
Yeah, I get that. This is a method for when it was important enough to do manually. You can save a LOT of hours and still have 100% confidence you aren't leaving anything unsupervised to chance.

It's quicker and more exact than doing the converse of compiling de-clicked sections made with different settings too. You get to look at the 'clicks track' and directly observe clicks vs. sections of digital silence. The sections of digital silence between the clicks in your nulling track means you know for certain that not even the slightest damage is being done to the music. Otherwise you have to A/B work with critical focused listening for every moment and rely on your control of your perception bias. Exhausting when that's done for work instead of pleasure!
 
Hey GOS, here's my take;
SINCE there is NO program that will do a PERFECT JOB, and , personally , I don't mind if SOME "Music" gets taken away (CR has improved on that A LOT!!!!, it's the blue stuff on the top wave), cause , come on, it'll STILL be there (now, ANOTHER thing is for the program to f*ck the SYNTH wave in the recording ...which is usually the case...)

For example, let's take a really nice clean rip which doesn't have ANY LOUD pops (THOSE you have to remove manually: no biggie; zoom in , select the area and go "CMD+F"), the "Clean" rips you can use a low setting, from 10 to 20 in the "Declick" slider , on the bottom left, and it'll be fine. Maybe a click or two will slip by , but that is why you have to do it in real time (unless you are in a hurry)...

My settings are:
BOTTOM : "METHOD WAVELET x2" Deckrackle: Off (you can either declick or decrackle, can't do both at the same time, and I still haven't mastered decrackling!), and "Automatic: All" ,...of course , at real time it's "Sound Output:Out"
I also have checked "Pitch Protection" and "Reverse"(it samples it in reverse too...neat!)

Since the DeClick slider is "Rideable", meaning you can change it on the fly when you are cleaning in REAL time, I usually go for 50 to 60 at the start and the end of each side.

Remember the "buffer (the wave on top) in which you can zoom in and listen and clean stuff you may have missed

Now, the question about where is the end result NEW file , you can choose it in the Properties menu (I always use "Same Folder as input" so it's easier, and you will wind up with a file with the SAME name as the original PLUS a "-cr" at the end....)

BTW, The trial version is not 100% of the program and , man, it's SOOOOO CHEAP, it's ridiculous for how AWESOME it is...give Brian Davies the $30+ bucks...you won't regret it


Funny that you mention this cause yesterday I emailed Brian with a question and he responded on the same day..he's that cool!!!
 
Hey GOS, here's my take;
SINCE there is NO program that will do a PERFECT JOB, and , personally , I don't mind if SOME "Music" gets taken away (CR has improved on that A LOT!!!!, it's the blue stuff on the top wave), cause , come on, it'll STILL be there (now, ANOTHER thing is for the program to f*ck the SYNTH wave in the recording ...which is usually the case...)

For example, let's take a really nice clean rip which doesn't have ANY LOUD pops (THOSE you have to remove manually: no biggie; zoom in , select the area and go "CMD+F"), the "Clean" rips you can use a low setting, from 10 to 20 in the "Declick" slider , on the bottom left, and it'll be fine. Maybe a click or two will slip by , but tat is why you have to do it in real time (unless you are in a hurry)...

My settings are:
BOTTOM : "METHOD WAVELET x2" Deckrackle: Off (you can either declick or decrackle, can't do both at the same time, and I still haven't mastered decrackling!), and "Automatic: All" ,...of course , at real time it's "Sound Output:Out"
I also have checked "Pitch Protection" and "Reverse"(it samples it in reverse too...neat!)

Since the DeClick slider is "Rideable", meaning you can change it on the fly when you are cleaning in REAL time, I usually go for 50 to 60 at the start and the end of each side.

Remember the "buffer (the wave on top) in which you can zoom in and listen and clean stuff you may have missed

Now, the question about where is the end result NEW file , you can choose it in the Properties menu (I always use "Same Folder as input" so it's easier, and you will wind up with a file witht he SAME name as the original PLUS a "-cr" at the end....

BTW, The trial version is not 100% of the program and , man, it's SOOOOO CHEAP, it's ridiculous for how AWESOME it is...give Brian Davies the $30+ bucks...you won't regret it


Funny that you mention this cause yesterday I emailed Brian witha question and he responded on the same day..he's that cool!!!

Tha'ts what I thought - but when I go to the folder, there are only the original wav files. Maybe I'll reboot my laptop and try again.
 
If all else fails, reboot. Now I see the files. Nice.

OK - so I notice CR only doesn't take Flac, but will take wav. I've never converted any of my vinyl to wav, so not sure what the advantage or disadvantage to that is.... ??
 
Reaper DAW lets you work natively with FLAC files FYI. So does iZotope's editor app.

Again, I realize I'm offering more of an advanced restoration tip than a quick casual listening fix. You already know how to make a quick render of click repair. If you were sitting down and rolling up your sleeves for manual work however, my method will save you hours/weeks of work and possibly give you higher accuracy.
 
If all else fails, reboot. Now I see the files. Nice.

OK - so I notice CR only doesn't take Flac, but will take wav. I've never converted any of my vinyl to wav, so not sure what the advantage or disadvantage to that is.... ??

Well; I am not a HUUUGE fan of FLACs , but they do the trick..since I'm a MacHead I have them in AIFFs..they take less space than WAVs but not a big diff...
 
Reaper DAW lets you work natively with FLAC files FYI. So does iZotope's editor app.

Again, I realize I'm offering more of an advanced restoration tip than a quick casual listening fix. You already know how to make a quick render of click repair. If you were sitting down and rolling up your sleeves for manual work however, my method will save you hours/weeks of work and possibly give you higher accuracy.

I gotcha Jim, and no worries. I like to hear both sides of the puzzle. There are times when I am as thorough as the next guy......obviously in my job I am. Other times, I'm not quite so much. This "might" be one of those times. Again, depends on the end result. :) Thanks for taking the time to explain.
 
For the record... :banana: I just ripped an Andy Williams vinyl I have. It's an original from 1963 - Monaural CL2015. It has good fidelity, but my copy is pretty beat up. I just went for Click Repair easy way and holy cow! I am way more than happy with the outcome. I can't believe it works that well. :mad:@:

Without looking at side/sides, I simply would never suspect that anything has been removed or edited...except the clicks.
 
For the record... :banana: I just ripped an Andy Williams vinyl I have. It's an original from 1963 - Monaural CL2015. It has good fidelity, but my copy is pretty beat up. I just went for Click Repair easy way and holy cow! I am way more than happy with the outcome. I can't believe it works that well. :mad:@:

Without looking at side/sides, I simply would never suspect that anything has been removed or edited...except the clicks.

For the record, Gene, they used to manufacture a 'click and pop' device which was inserted between the TT and the pre/pro. I had one. What a joke. Instead of an audible tick and/or pop it made an audible BLIPPING noise. :yikes

Needless to say, it was put out to pasture.
 
For the record... :banana: I just ripped an Andy Williams vinyl I have. It's an original from 1963 - Monaural CL2015. It has good fidelity, but my copy is pretty beat up. I just went for Click Repair easy way and holy cow! I am way more than happy with the outcome. I can't believe it works that well. :mad:@:

Without looking at side/sides, I simply would never suspect that anything has been removed or edited...except the clicks.

CR IN ACTION!!!!! It IS a beautiful thing!
Now are you gonna buy it?
 
As many vinyl's as I have...yes. :) That is, when my 21 day trial expires. (21 days seems like an odd number of days.....well...it really is an ODD number of days) :)

Ahh..get it right away (you can use it on many machines, as long as they are yours!)...

Don't now how many times I've sung the praises of CR....such a "simple" program , dirt cheap and , to me THE BEST!!!!!


Now, if I could only master the "decrackling"...
 
For the record, Gene, they used to manufacture a 'click and pop' device which was inserted between the TT and the pre/pro. I had one. What a joke. Instead of an audible tick and/or pop it made an audible BLIPPING noise. :yikes

Needless to say, it was put out to pasture.
Possibly the SEA-500, don't know, never had one But I do have the Burwin transient noise eliminator 7000A and it works very well but it's not a set and forget, it has to be calibrated for every record. Of course the first thing to do is get a good copy of an lp then I clean it on my Nitty Gritty. Then on the Denon. I have about 2K lp's and have always planned to convert but that would be a full time job even with Reapers help.
 
For the record... :banana: I just ripped an Andy Williams vinyl I have. It's an original from 1963 - Monaural CL2015. It has good fidelity, but my copy is pretty beat up. I just went for Click Repair easy way and holy cow! I am way more than happy with the outcome. I can't believe it works that well. :mad:@:

Without looking at side/sides, I simply would never suspect that anything has been removed or edited...except the clicks.

I've settled into a routine that works really well for me:

1. Capture an entire side at 24/96 (this gives your manipulation software, including ClickRepair, more to work with)

2. Use CDWave Editor to cut the whole-side file into multiple tracks and save the sequentially-numbered so they'll sort properly. I put each song into its own track, but I also put the between-track noise into their own tracks, sometimes including the song's fade-out. CDWave Editor is supposedly shareware, but the last time I tried to give the author some money he wasn't accepting it. The non-registered version is 100% functional.

3. Use the Batch mode in ClickRepair to load all the tracks. You'll then be able to set the parameters separately for each track. This is useful because you need to be careful during the music but can crank both DeClick and DeCrackle up all the way to 100 for the between track noise. I've also found that if a song has a fade, I can usually get away with going to 100 during the fade as well. You'll need to use much more conservative settings for the main music, though.

Optional: I then downconvert the final results to CD quality because I can't hear the difference. I do the 24/96 for the benefit of the software, for a vinyl capture my ears are perfectly happy with 16/44.1. But I'm not going to tell others what to do in that regard.

I go through all this trouble because ClickRepair sometimes just does its job without trouble and other times can REALLY damage the music. What it likes and what it doesn't is sometimes predictable, sometimes not. Prior to breaking everything into pieces, I'd sometimes get 90% through a side only to find that something was going wrong. Working with individual tracks saves time in that situation because if you hear something going wrong, you only have to start again with different settings from the beginning of that particular track instead of having to do the entire side again.

Once you're done, you can either stitch the files together in your audio editor ("Open Append" in Adobe Audition, presumably something similar elsewhere) or if you're a real nerd like me just have SoX do it at the command line.

Another thing I find helpful is to toggle the audio out between input, output and noise. The noise output is especially useful if you're worried about removing music because you'll hear it as it happens.
 
For the record... 🍌 I just ripped an Andy Williams vinyl I have. It's an original from 1963 - Monaural CL2015. It has good fidelity, but my copy is pretty beat up. I just went for Click Repair easy way and holy cow! I am way more than happy with the outcome. I can't believe it works that well. :mad:@:

Without looking at side/sides, I simply would never suspect that anything has been removed or edited...except the clicks.
You didn't get many useful replies to your original post. A bunch of suggestions on other software, and then no tips on settings in CR. But glad you did get the Andy Williams LP sounding rather good and clean in the end.

I'd like to give you some setting tips that I have found useful after nearly 8 years and thousands of LPs transferred to digital but in 16/44.1 and the 24/96kHz digitally captured vinyl.

Do a first pass in reverse (check box reverse)
Setting at level 14 (out of 1 to 100)

then listen to the treated tracks and if you had a particularly bad tick and click ridden LP, go for another pass in forward (reverse box unchecked).

14 I feel is a good and rather low setting and unlikely to do any damage to the fidelity at all. I can tell it's low because sometimes a tick or click can have made it past this low setting.

No crackle repair checked, and normal settings, "simple" checked.

There are two types of recordings that flag false positive ticks and clicks, these should not be treated with CR, or maybe but only in the worst circumstances. LPs with loud horns like Chicago, TJB, and LPs with synth like Kraftwerk or parts of Pink Floyd like "Welcome to the Machine" generally cause CR to see and repair tons of ticks that are not there. My SQ copy of WYWH really freaked out CR on that track.

Feel free to pm me if you would like to ask about other tips or settings.

Someone emailed the developer with questions about the software, Brian Davies emailed back that he is ill with no time to work further on it, and does not expect to recover. Very sad news, but he leaves a legendary piece of software for vinyl transfer process. So much better than others that I tried.
 
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I like to use the click/pop eliminator feature in Adobe Audition. Another good program that I have used for years and now is freeware is "Wave Corrector". With it you can split tracks and automatically set the channel balance. It supports 24bit files as well Welcome to Wave Corrector

I prefer to rip clean vinyl as much as possible, then manually declick.
 
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