Excellent music restoration software

[Panama Red]

In a thread on PCMech back in May, someone suggested Audio Cleaning Lab by Magix as a good recording software. I had already used Easy CD Creator 4, Nero that came with my Liteon burner, and a couple others. I checked reviews and several other site recommedations before I ordered the Magix product. Price was reasonable, $29.99 for full retail boxed version (cheaper for a download, but no manual or CD). I received my copy this week of Audio Cleaning Lab 2004 and was blown away by how easy it is to learn and amazed at the quality of the recordings. The wizards within the software make it simple to set track markers and clean up the snap, crackle, pop from old LP's and cassettes. The wizards eliminate the need to start and stop after each track. Just record the entire piece and let the wizards do the rest of the work. With a little practice, even a novice can create quality reproductions of his/her old music collection. Another plus, unlike Roxio products, is having my Nero software still on the system and not having the two conflict with each other. Both work clean, fast and without conflict. You still need quality hardware to play your old music and a good sound card to provide the onboard connection. Now, with this software, you can complete the package and be pleased with your system's performance. I recorded an LP last nite that was made in 1957 and had been played many times. It was full of noise. I couldn't believe the CDR I made after the cleanup. Incredible.
One negative that I noted (maybe correctible, I've got some research to do yet) is that the maximum burn speed with the ACL2004 is 32X while the Liteon burner is rated for 52X. The Nero burns at 52X, so I know it works. In conclusion, if you are looking for quality software to manage your old music collection for a reasonable price and you don't have a degree in "audiophilia", then check out Audio Cleaning Lab 2004 by Magix. It's a definite 9.5 in my book.

[morriswindgate]

Audacity
It's free and can be used for home recording. It also will use any of the VST (Virtual Studio) Plugins and loops you can find.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

[RayH]

I got some stuff so rare, people will take them with snap, crackle, and pops! Anybody heard of Lord Buckley?

[Panama Red]

Never hear of LB until you posted. Did a google on him and sure nuf. He was an old school hepcat! Looks like he has/had quite a cult following. Regular Maynard G. Crebs at the coffee shop, eh? Bet it's strange stuff to listen to. Check out this site, Ray
http://www.salon.com/people/feature/2002/06/26/buckley/