Restore your Vinyl Records or Cassette/Reel-to-Reel Audio Tapes by transferring them to CD

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LP to CD restoration costs R50.00 per side per LP plus R20.00 for the CD. That's normally R120.00 per CD. If you have a double album and both LPs fit 1 CD the cost is R180.00, otherwise the cost is R240.00 for 2 CDs.  This Studio does not normally offer any form of "bulk discount", but is prepared to negotiate for an order of over 50 LPs. All work is performed by the Studio owner, and for bona fide owners of the original source material. We will not accept orders from 3rd parties under any circumstances, due to possible infringements of the Copyright Acts, both local and worldwide. A 50% cash deposit is payable on delivery of the order. Please read further down for other costs and applicable terms and conditions.

Here is a direct quote from a satisfied customer: "Personally I think R120 is about right. I would (and will in the future) happily pay the average going rate for a commercial CD to get something I can't buy from a shop, especially when I get the quality that you provide".

Using professional recording, filtering and editing software, The Studio transfers 33rpm LPs, 45rpm Seven Singles, old 78s, audio cassette tapes (C60) and reel-to-reel audio tapes to CD. C90 tapes takes 2 CDs or can be converted to MP3 for dedicated MP3 players and computer CD ROM drives up to 52x maximum speed.

Customers' records are thoroughly cleaned to ensure noise and crackle reduction. The turntable stylus is replaced frequently. Only one recording is made from the original source material, and no copies are retained on computer systems or other CDs, except at the client's request; for possible re-arrangement at a later date.

There is no remedy for stylus jumps or warped tape, and clicks from badly scratched records cannot be entirely removed.

The professional software used by the studio performs noise, hiss and crackle reduction, and can enhance the resulting sound. Only when The Studio is satisfied with the quality of the result does The Studio transfer the recordings to CD. The surface quality of the original source material greatly influences the quality of the material transferred to CD. However, from reports from former SABC broadcasters (among others), they cannot hear any clicks on the resulting CD taken from a 1937 78rpm recording of pipe organ music recorded in Liverpool Cathedral! If you need a reference, The Studio has clients who are prepared to give their opinion of our work telephonically.

To produce full-colour Jewel Case inserts, The Studio scans the original record cover (if available) and types out the full track list, with individual track duration, and a total playing time, if requested. The Studio prints a colour CD label. Where no cover exists, as in the case of many old 78s, The Studio chooses an appropriate graphic for the Jewel Case front cover. The Studio uses TDK Audio CDs, when available, and running speed up to 52x. These are 80 minutes in length and can be played on any CD player.

The cost for the transfer of reel-to-reel audio tapes is determined by the value the customer places on the recording, with a minimum charge of R350.00 per CD. Keeping ancient reel-to-reel players in good condition is expensive!

Should you wish to supply a compilation list together with your LPs, The Studio welcomes these. Put all your favourite music together on one CD. This could be as many as 28 tracks; or even more in MP3 format!

The Studio also converts audio sources to MP3 to be played either on your computer's CD drive or a dedicated MP3 player (such as a DVD device) with a maximum speed of 52x. This way you can get up to 10 hours of music on one CD. MP3 Stereo is very heavy on electronic resources but the quality can be astounding! Even MIDI these days has improved ...

TABLE OF COSTS
33 RPMR50.00 per side
45 RPMR15.00 per side
78 RPMR15.00 per side
C60R30.00 per side
C90R45.00 per side
Add the cost of CD, CD Covers,
Track Lists and Labels		R20.00 per CD

However, please note that C90 tapes do NOT fit on one 80 minute CD except in MP3 format.

Applicable Conditions are that the original LPs/Seven Singles/78 disks/audio cassette tapes/reel-to-reel audio tapes remain the property of the owner requesting the CD backup. The sound source may not under any circumstances be given away or sold and no copies of the resulting CD may be made on any CD-duplicating equipment as this is an infringement of international Copyright Acts. To remain legal and ethical, The Studio does not make multiple copies of CDs, nor does The Studio keep copies of recordings on its computer system. The Studio does not take selections from various sources to create backing tracks. The Studio does not transfer VHS to DVD, yet, due to the enormity of the hardware requirements for such transfers. It is, however, very willing to accommodate any suggestions from customers to assist us in making this service available!

The Studio does not generally accept Opera (including Operatic Arias, warbling Sopranos with their melodyless notes, or Violin Concerti, those ubiquitous recordings of solo Violin and Orchestra [yuk!]), Eastern or Oriental music, Asiatic or Arab music, RAP, Acid Rock, Jazz, Elvis Presley (except for very early releases that are not available on commercially produced CDs), Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Underground, Deep Purple, Beatles, Janice Joplin, Black Magic, ethnic or tribal music. The Studio has no objection to accommodating the aforementioned genres on single LPs only, but reserves the right to charge extra should an album of such music be requested to be transferred to CD. The Studio will also not have anything to do with any music that is of occult nature or origin, or from musicians or owners of such music who are known, or reputed, to be anti-Christian or anti-Semitic.

However, having said that, we also say we just love "Rock around the clock tonight" and the early 60s hit, "Rock-Roll Music".

The Studio owner is a classical musician (organist, pianist, flautist, bass singer) and has played church music for a number of denominations for more than 30 years, hence the above requirement. Imagine this: you absolutely love listening to Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Reggae and never listen to anything classical because it irks you; your radio is never tuned to ClassicFM and when heard elsewhere, it is respectfully requested to be turned off or the volume lowered, because it makes you feel uncomfortable. Now you know why we stipulate the above. We have to listen to that "noise" while it is recording and while it is filtering, taking out the pops and clicks, hiss, and scratches, etc., — and a lot of time goes into each track. It is only reasonable to anticipate to pay more when requesting that this Studio handles music distasteful, distracting or objectionable to The Studio owner. If you are unable to accept this, please feel free to find another studio to accommodate your specific musical tastes, without prejudice.

The Studio prefers cash or internet transfers for payment, but not cash deposits into the bank account due to so-called "cash handling fees". Cheques are also not accepted due to the restrictions on cheque clearance imposed by banks.

For further information, please contact:

Ian Samson Sound Studio
Telephone: 011 476 4176
Cellphone: 076 784 4112
ian.samson@telkomsa.net
iansamson3@gmail.com

This page was last updated on: Friday, May 2, 2025.