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How to clean an old recording.

nazmac21

nazmac21

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 25, 2007
507
0
Digital World
I have a song that was published in 1902. It has a lot of old hissing noise and sounds like it's coming from a radio. Any tips on how to modernize this song?
I want to make it sound like it was made today.
 
Sigh, another fantasy. :(

You are never going to get it to sound like it was recorded recently. The recording, besides having hiss and scratches and pops, simply does not have the dynamic range or the frequency bandwidth.

You can't put back in what is not in the original in the first place.

You can, using some software like Bias Peak, or SoundSoap, or various shareware utilities (check versiontracker.com) reduce some of the popping and artifacts, and partially remove some broadband background noise (hiss) and use some EQ and expansion to artificially boost the sound up.

But it's like saying: "I took a photo of a house, in the winter, with gray skies and snow falling. I want a program that will make that photo look like a summer day, with blue skies, grass and leaves on the trees" You can't restore what is not present in the original information !!
 
nazmac21 said:
Can't you mess with some EQ in GarageBand to make it sound a little bit better?
Click to expand...

Yeah, or make is sound worse, could go either way.

But what I am saying is, it doesn't matter how much you boost the bass on the EQ if there isn't bass information there in the first place. Same thing with the treble. That 1902 recording will have a usable bandwith of about 200 Hz to 4000 Hz, that's it. No amount of EQ will put in the missing frequencies.

It's like saying: the well is dry -- but I'll just get a bigger bucket so I can get more water out of it. No - there;s nothing there.
 
I am going to give this song a Vocal Presence, Increase Bass Pluck and Add Sharpness Equalizer sets and a Large Stage reverb. I am going to see if this helps.
 
CanadaRAM said:
It's like saying: the well is dry -- but I'll just get a bigger bucket so I can get more water out of it. No - there;s nothing there.
Click to expand...

If people keep pestering you, will you keep coming up with new analogies? :D ;)

I had an audiophile co-worker play with an old opera record I had from the 30's...he got it to sound a lot better after fiddling with it on the computer, but obviously there is no way you'd mistake it for a "modern" recording.
 
After I set those EQ presets in GarageBand, the song sounds better and is little bit louder(the original version was quiet). Still sounds like from a radio when I listen through speakers. Anything else in GarageBand I could do to improve the song?
 
nazmac21 said:
After I set those EQ presets in GarageBand, the song sounds better and is little bit louder(the original version was quiet). Still sounds like from a radio when I listen through speakers. Anything else in GarageBand I could do to improve the song?
Click to expand...

Yes, re-record the instruments yourself...

The reason it sounds like bad AM radio is that the original material is bandwidth limited. The bass and treble are missing because the recording equipment of the day couldn't record the lows and highs. They. Ain't. There. To. Boost.

It's apparent you don't read anything I say anyways, so, bye bye naz.
 
I can't upload the MP3s because it said invalid file (on the attachment). How to do I post those before and after versions of the songs?
 
Well you could always try some sort of subharmonic plug-in to make it sound like there is more bass... but there is a 99.99% certainty that it will sound rubbish. But it's worth a go if you are desperate.
 
Any free subharmonic plug-ins for GarageBand? Also, how do I upload those MP3 to webserver? I really want people to hear this and help.
 
CanadaRAM said:
Yes, re-record the instruments yourself...

The reason it sounds like bad AM radio is that the original material is bandwidth limited. The bass and treble are missing because the recording equipment of the day couldn't record the lows and highs. They. Ain't. There. To. Boost.

It's apparent you don't read anything I say anyways, so, bye bye naz.
Click to expand...

I really like this idea (re-recording). Only you have to wonder how your going to get a 1902 sound, today. (instruments?) I'd love to hear the track...

sounds like a fun project. If you dont get anywhere throw it at someone who has experience in remastering, see what they can do on the big-boy equipment...

music restoration :)

speaking of. My father has truck loads of great vinyl... I was over there the other day, looking at some of the records, when I turned to him and said "wouldn't it suck if your house burnt down and your vinyl was gone". He went silent, and turned white :)

I said "we could get all this on a computer or on CD". his response was "so when the house burns down, takes the vinyl, the computer, and the CD's, I'll still have my music?" hahaha nice one dad.
 
nazmac21 said:
Any other way I could transfer the songs?
Click to expand...
what we're talking about is remedial intarweb stuff. i'm sorry if you don't understand what i'm on about, but my initial interest was really pretty small to begin with. at this point, i'm just sleepy.
 
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