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Here is something for the nostalgic people that still have
all those old records and tapes lying around. Record and tape players
are getting harder to find, replace, and repair now as well as getting
much more scarce in cars, though I don’t think a record player in
a car would ever work. Now in theory you could convert all your old records
to computer files using windows sound recorder however this does not have
much flexibility, ease of use, or the tools to help clean up the recording.
MAGIX has developed the Audio Cleaning Lab 2004 to allow people to take
there old music collections and transfer them to the computer and/or cds
as well as clean up the downfalls of the older media formats with just
a slight loss in volume.
MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab 2004 is packed full of features
for recording, cleaning, and adding effects to all forms of media including
records, tapes, radio, internet radio, CDs, MP3s, and anything else you
can think of.
Installation
Installation was a breeze; as soon as you insert the CD an auto play menu
will pop up allowing you to install the software. The installation process
is like any other piece of software, chose which directory you want it
to install to and wait around till all the files are copied. Two intro
videos are included to help anyone get started on just what this software
can do. The first one shows you how to connect devices to your pc for
recording and the second one shows you the basics of cleaning, mastering,
and exporting your projects.
Features
• 2-Track mode for arranging, cross fading and cutting
• 25 non-destructive studio effects for all applications
• Object Editor: Real-time mastering effects can be applied to a
complete project, CD, or individual title
• Surround Sound for spectacular sound dimensions
• NEW! Sound Cloner: Copy frequencies and clone reference sounds
& masters
• Sound cleaning, restoration & filtering tools: Declicker,
Decrackler, Dehisser, NEW! DeEsser to remove annoying "S" noise,
and NEW! DeRumbler for filtering vinyl rumbling
• Sound Optimization: Compressor for adjusting volume fluctuation,
Normalizer for maximizing volume
• Realtime Effects: 10-Band Equalizer to get thumping bass &
sharp treble, Stereo Enhancer, Brilliance Enhancer, Reverb, and Delay
• Built-in preset equalization tailored to different music styles,
from Techno to Classical
• Multi-band Compressor: Dynamic frequency adjustment
• Correct tempo and pitch: Time-stretching, Pitch-shifting, Resampling
• Remove clipping and DC offset
• Tools to correct noise from voltage interference
• Acoustic processor
• Plug-in support for more effects (DirectX™)
Performance
 For the
amount of real time effects that this program contains this reviewer was
surprised at how well it handled the addition of such effects. Even on
a computer as meager as a PIII 750mhz (mediocre by today’s standards)
there was still generally plenty of processing power left over unless
you really start going heavy on the effects. For most applications where
you only need to get rid of a his or crack just about any modern day computer
will get the job done as well as any other. There is a slight delay from
the time you change settings to the time you will actually hear the changes
which can get a little frustrating when you are experimenting around but
its still quick enough if you have an ounce or two of patience. The built
in wizards do a good job of cleaning up a dirty track. You may still need
to make a quick change to a setting or two but the wizard does most of
the guesswork and tedious work for you. The mastering wizard on the other
had does not do much. You must still select all the effects manually and
you might as well just do everything manually so that the results will
fit your taste.
For doing manual edits there are two different modes you
can make your changes. The first way is the more simple method with less
flexibility. This method involves selecting a preset then adjusting how
much you want it to affect your piece. There is also an expert button
next to each effect that can be pressed that will bring up a picture of
a device designed to look like what someone in a recording studio would
have. There are different knobs you can play around with or use the graphical
display if one is provided.
Overall
 To
establish if this product would be worth the cost or not, I went by the
local record store to find out how much they charge for converting records
to CDs. This came out to around $20 per record and they offer the same
effects as the ones Audio Cleaning Studio 2004 possesses. For a price
of only $39.99 this reviewer sees Audio Cleaning Studio as a great deal,
there is one slight problem though with the $39.99 purchase price you
only get 20 tracks you can convert into mp3 unless you pay more money.
It will pay for itself with only 2 complete records converted to CD. The
software will clean up most of the problems faced with older media, though
it is recommended that you clean the media up of things like dust particles
as much as possible before you attempt a recording. The interface can
be easy or complex depending on what you want to do which makes this useable
for both the casual newbie as well as the expert.
There are a couple of sample .mp3 files below that
were all recorded using the Audio Cleaning Lab 2004.
Sample 1 - Original
Sample 1 - Edited
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8 / 10 |
OVERALL SCORE
86%
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10 / 10 |
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10 / 10 |
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7 / 10 |
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8 / 10 |
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8.6 / 10 |
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