Re: [ARSCLIST] Beginner's question RE: digital recordings

[Eric Jacobs <ericj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lisa,

I would add Wavelab to the list of audio software that you are considering.
It has an excellent BWF editor for your metadata, and has well integrated
track marking and disc burning tools to support a simple end-to-end
audio process.

Eric Jacobs

The Audio Archive
tel: 408.221.2128
fax: 408.549.9867



-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Lisa NnNnNn
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 7:18 AM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Beginner's question RE: digital recordings


Dear list,

I have been reading your emails silently for a while, and finally have a
couple questions of my own.  I am quite the beginner in the world of audio
preservation, and signed up to see if I could learn more from those who are
more knowledgeable in the area of sound recording preservation.  I am
currently an intern at The Field Museum in Chicago, and have just had a
grant approved to complete an ongoing project to preserve a collection of
recorded interviews on sonoband format.

Half of these bands have already been converted to digital format, and the
other half is now slated to have the same done.  I have already designed
proper storage containers for the bands and players when they are returned,
but now I need to know a bit more about working with the digital media
(mainly re-mastering them a little bit).  These recordings were made in the
mid-1960s, so their quality has deteriorated some, due to a combination of
recording at too high a level initially, slight decay in the bands over
time, and improper storage causing warping.  The quality of sound ranges
from very good to inaudible in sections, and varies from band to band, and
throughout each recording.

I recognize that some problems may not be resolvable, but I know there are
ways to clean up static bursts and ambient noise.  At times there are also
issues with the recordings playing either too fast or too slowly, which I
think could be corrected somehow if there were software with a pitch
adjuster (apologies of that is the wrong term, I?m thinking of a turntable
pitch adjuster).  I also need to be able to break long recordings into
tracks in order to make them more easy to use for researchers.  Basically, I
guess I am just looking for suggestions about good programs to utilize for
this project, and any other tips and advice you all might think would be
relevant.  Thank you so much for your time!

Regards,

Lisa