LPs to MP3s?

[musclemom]

Anyone experienced? I'm looking for equipment recommendations.

Ah it's the holidays again, and my husband has a rather extensive LP collection taking up valuable space. He has expressed that he would LOVE a USB turntable with which to turn this unwieldy vinyl into CDs.

There are several available, and price seems to have no particular bearing on reviews of satisfaction. I don't get out to stores, I'm not very techie, so if anyone has any opinions or experience I'd be most appreciative.

TIA

 

[the_clockwork]

I've never heard any good reports of those turntables.. I had one and it sucked so bad I sent it back.. it was iona brand

 

[the_clockwork]

This is the guide I used and it works better than the 200 dollar turntable I bought


Step One
Since the output from a record player is very low, you don't want to connect your turntable directly to your computer. Connect your amplifier's output (try the tape-out jacks) to the line-in jack of your sound card. Connect your headphones, speakers, or stereo (through the auxiliary input jack) to your sound card's output. By doing this, you'll be able to hear the LP as it spins around on your record player, but the sound will come through your receiver and computer, then out to your headphones or speakers. Make sure the receiver's volume is all the way down, then play an LP to test the incoming sound level, adjusting volume as necessary on both the receiver and your sound card's line-in volume control. Once you've arrived at what sounds like a good level, you're ready to record.
Note: Some WAV editors let you see recording levels before you record. Make sure that the bars never get all the way to the zero dB mark, or your MP3s will sound ugly due to unforgiving digital distortion.

Step Two
Fire up your WAV editor. If the program has preferences, set them to 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo. Press Record in the WAV editor, and lower the needle of your turntable onto the LP at the beginning of the song you want to record. When the song is over, press Stop in the WAV editor, and then press Save. You now have a digital copy of the song from your LP, in the WAV format.

Step Three
Use the WAV editor to trim any silence or unwanted noise from the beginning and end of the WAV file, if necessary. You can also chop a WAV recording of an entire LP side into its separate tracks.

Step Four
Use your MP3 encoder to convert the WAV file to MP3 format. When choosing a bit rate for your MP3s, keep in mind that 128 kbps is a good balance between file size and sound quality. At that bit rate, an MP3 file averages about 1MB per minute, so make sure you have enough disk space. Once you have the MP3 file encoded, listen to it to make sure it sounds good. When you're satisfied, feel free to delete the huge WAV file.

 

[needtogetarmy]

I had to laugh at this because I collect vinyl and appreciate the special sound it has. Nothing sounds better than vinyl. I can't fathom converting vinyl into digital format - that would ruin it!

 

[musclemom]

I had to laugh at this because I collect vinyl and appreciate the special sound it has. Nothing sounds better than vinyl. I can't fathom converting vinyl into digital format - that would ruin it!

While I basically agree with you we have a problem of simple logistics. We don't have the room inside the house (frankly, we don't have the room for 3/4s of his shit and I've run out of things to get rid of, it ain't my fault, out of 5 closets he has control of 2.5 o them, hell, he's even got more shoes than I do, okay?) For all we know, the records could already be ruined, we've been forced to store them in our porch, which is fully enclosed, but not heated or cooled so it gets into the 90s in the summer and very close to freezing in the winter.

I wish we had the space that he could have a room devoted to them, and have a proper sound setup, but that is not the case. He has to get rid of other things if he wants to bring the vinyl in. As a serious collector, I'm willing to bet you have the room to store them properly.

 

[needtogetarmy]

While I basically agree with you we have a problem of simple logistics. We don't have the room inside the house (frankly, we don't have the room for 3/4s of his shit and I've run out of things to get rid of, it ain't my fault, out of 5 closets he has control of 2.5 o them, hell, he's even got more shoes than I do, okay?) For all we know, the records could already be ruined, we've been forced to store them in our porch, which is fully enclosed, but not heated or cooled so it gets into the 90s in the summer and very close to freezing in the winter.

I wish we had the space that he could have a room devoted to them, and have a proper sound setup, but that is not the case. He has to get rid of other things if he wants to bring the vinyl in. As a serious collector, I'm willing to bet you have the room to store them properly.

I learned the storage issue the hard way. A while back I left some in my attic and never thought thought it would get hot up there...

...a bunch of my LP's got warped

 

[musclemom]

I learned the storage issue the hard way. A while back I left some in my attic and never thought thought it would get hot up there...

...a bunch of my LP's got warped

Our attic is brutal. It DOES go over 100 in the summer and below freezing (yeah, I know, insulate, it's on the list *sigh*)