In both cases, 44,100 sample rate, and 16-bit rate recording is usually the default settings for most recording software. ( Read the Wikipedia article about bit rate) Audio for high definition video is 32-bit. The same concept applies to the bit rate.
Since I'm recording for both high quality and for digital preservation, this high rate seems like the best option. I use a sample rate of 44,100, which is CD-quality audio. I first used CoolEdit 2000 back in 2001 when I did my first conversion of LPs to digital files. Audition was formerly known as CoolEdit 2000 or CoolEdit Pro. I was using Adobe's Audition 3.0 for all the editing, but mostly use WavePad now. I save the recorded file as an uncompressed WAV file. I use WavePad to do the initial recording, which is a single file that I leave running as I either turn the vinyl disc over, or flip the cassette over to record in the other direction. Both are connected to the computer via a stereo miniplug that is adapted from RCA plugs from the separate components. I use a program called WavePad to capture the sound from either a separate cassette deck for cassette tapes, or from a separate RCA-brand turntable for vinyl LPs.
( Read more about the Railroad Audio project.) Capturing Audio I've been asked how I do my digital audio recording, especially during the last six months of 2013 when I was digitizing over 80 vinyl albums of railroad sounds, as well as my own collection of vinyl albums, which includes numerous music albums as well as additional railroad sounds. This page was last updated on January 27, 2021.