A time-limited demo version of DART XP Pro is available from DARTECH, Inc. . When you try this great program, and learn how to use all the magic things this powerful program will do, you’ll want to use it again and again to move your music collection to CD. After downloading and installing the program, go to the Quick Start Guide in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf) and scan the tutorial to gain an understanding of the vast capabilities of this powerful program. Then do the Kick Start to jump right in and see how much fun it is to restore a typical music track from a noisy and badly scratched record.

When I analog-record my records, I plug the amplifier with the phonograph attached to the input on my sound card. Be sure and ground the phono to the amplifier and to the computer to reduce hum distortion. For cassette tapes, just plug the tape player directly into the sound card. Start DART4. After setting the record level with Windows, I record the entire side (usually 6 tracks) of the vinyl record to one wav file. Then I use Unpack to divide the recorded wav file into 6 individual wav files. This is a good time to add the song title for each track.

Then open DART XP Pro and load one of the wav files. Listen to the music track at a moderately loud level to evaluate what needs to be removed or enhanced. Register the file to keep track of the changes, and open some undo space. My first action is to remove any power line 60 cycle hum from the music. Choose Dehum from the Restore menu. A great little graph will pop-up to help you find the 60 hz or multiples that sneak-in from bad grounding or unequal bonding. When identified, click process to remove on the destination copy. Always work on the destination copy of the music track — that way, you still have the original track to start over if necessary. Believe me, when you are dealing with filters this powerful, you will have occasion to start over. Then I go after the wideband noise. First block the lead-in before the music starts, or the lead-out when the music stops to the end of the track. That way we can zero in on the background noise. Click NoisePrint in the Restore menu. Click Take to execute a noise print and close. From the DeNoise Plus control panel we can make many adjustments to reduce the background noise. Click Process to apply the filter when you have found the best settings. I only use the DeClick Plus filter if absolutely necessary. It will remove any sharp percussion sounds (like drums) and can hammer your track if you are not careful. One of the best features in this program is the Filter Builder. It allows you to cobble together a set of filters to apply the settings to all the other tracks on the record. You can even run the filter backwards on the music track which is more effective sometimes. The Toolbox menu contains some real useful tools. Maximize (boost the volume level without clipping the sound) and reverb (adding that concert hall ambiance) can really sweeten some tracks, while Crossfade can fade out the track you are playing while fading in the next track without the dead space between the tracks.

There’s many more capabilities to shape music in this program than I’ve found in any other software. You can increase the tempo or slow it down, change the pitch, sculpt the overall music form with a ten channel equalizer, as well as convert mono to stereo. You can also use any DirectX filters you have to the music track. It boggles the mind. And when you’re ready to burn a CD, click Recorder and DART4 springs to life to make a sweet sounding CD of your cleaned-up music tracks.

Now I’ve been a DART Software user for many years. Starting with DART CD-Recorder4, which I reviewed in the PC Alamode magazine back in February 2001. I recommended it to all of our members then. I continue to recommend and demo it in all my music classes. When I learned to use DART Pro 98, I recommended it as the best music restoration program available and show my music classes its powerful features.

Now, with the introduction of DART XP Pro, I can recommend it to all our members as the premier music restoration program. Like upgrading to WindowsXP Pro, DART XP Pro is a powerful program and requires a judicious use of the filters. Fortunately, the tutorial and help files are excellent and complete. Online support is really outstanding and fast. Andy has been holding my hand for years, and has always come through when I needed help. The regular price of DART XP Pro is $199.95. However, they have a special price of $99 if you are a DART4 owner. And, you can buy DART4 for $13.95 if you have competing software. Check it out at DARTECH, Inc. .