Vinyl to CD Recording

[Linkmeister]

Has anyone tried to do this? There are a lot of ways to go. The simplest seems to be a stand-alone recorder with lines in from the receiver/turntable (if your turntable has a pre-amp), but it's not cheap.

Another way is to record directly into your pc/mac via the line-in jack on the soundcard, although most stock soundcards aren't particularly well-thought-of for this purpose. Buying a new soundcard would certainly be cheaper than buying a $300-$1000 stand-alone device, though. But if you don't have the turntable/amp in the same room as the computer...

Any experienced recordists here?

[lurkah]

Re: Vinyl to CD Recording

Another way is to record directly into your pc/mac via the line-in jack on the soundcard

That's the way I've done it before. Line-out from turntable to line-in on PC sound card, then using a decent sound editing program (e.g. Sony's Sound Forge Audio Studio) I usually edit the recorded .wav file by boosting the volume and filtering out any needle-scratch type noises to get it as clean as possible before converting it to .mp3 format which that same sound editing program can usually do.

[Linkmeister]

Re: Vinyl to CD Recording

That's the way I've done it before. Line-out from turntable to line-in on PC sound card, then using a decent sound editing program (e.g. Sony's Sound Forge Audio Studio) I usually edit the recorded .wav file by boosting the volume and filtering out any needle-scratch type noises to get it as clean as possible before converting it to .mp3 format which that same sound editing program can usually do.

Yeah, but...this presumes you've got a lot of hard disk capacity; the rule of thumb seems to be one LP equals 500mb. Add in the software required (one-time only, I presume) and you're using up one GB for the first album and 500mb for each one after that.

The larger problem is that the max cable length for USB seems to be 15 feet, and if you've got a desktop and the stereo gear is in a separate room you're SOL.

I ran across an interesting turntable which will do the conversion from analog to digital. Sells for $139 or so at Best Buy. But if you've already got a turntable, it seems like overkill to buy another just for the ripping purpose.

[lurkah]

Re: Vinyl to CD Recording

Yeah, but...this presumes you've got a lot of hard disk capacity; the rule of thumb seems to be one LP equals 500mb. Add in the software required (one-time only, I presume) and you're using up one GB for the first album and 500mb for each one after that.

Welcome to the world of digital editing. It's a given that any kind of digital audio or video recording/editing will require gigabytes of extra storage space. With digital audio, a file recorded in .wav format will be huge compared to that same file compressed and converted to .mp3, which is the format I prefer to use. For example, a 40 megabyte .wav file converted to .mp3 will compress down to just 6 megabytes while still retaining the same sound quality. You can try using that yardstick to roughly estimate the project you have ahead of you.

[tvguy]

Re: Vinyl to CD Recording

Mac folks check out griffintechnology.com

There's a a few cables and connectors that also come with recording software that will do the trick. There's a turntable adapter cable and a product called imic which plugs into a USB port. Good stuff.

[Linkmeister]

Re: Vinyl to CD Recording

Welcome to the world of digital editing. It's a given that any kind of digital audio or video recording/editing will require gigabytes of extra storage space. With digital audio, a file recorded in .wav format will be huge compared to that same file compressed and converted to .mp3, which is the format I prefer to use. For example, a 40 megabyte .wav file converted to .mp3 will compress down to just 6 megabytes while still retaining the same sound quality. You can try using that yardstick to roughly estimate the project you have ahead of you.

Yikes. With roughly 300 albums, even if I went through them and only selected half for conversion (hey, I bought some junk back then for my $2.50/album), I think my 130gb drive might get eaten alive. This could get really fiddly; convert, burn, delete; convert, burn, delete. Oy.

Trouble is, though, the audiophiles tell me that you lose a lot in compression at both high and low ends of music files, so .mp3 might not be good enough for the vinyl reproduction.

[mel]

Re: Vinyl to CD Recording

I've been using Griffin Technology's iMic analog to digital device to convert my vinyl as well as cassette tapes to digital. Been working like a charm since I got my Power Mac G4 in late 2001. iMic sells for about $40. Griffin also makes another device called PowerWave I believe that costs about $100, that does pretty much the same thing, but allegedly better. I'm not too sure. The digital recordings I get from iMic is acceptable enough for me to make CDs off of and play in my iPods.

On the software side, Mac people use Roxio Toast's CD Spin Doctor which initially records the analog file to CD compliant AIFF, not MP3. Griffin I think also bundles their utility Final Vinyl with some of their hardware purchases. I think AIFF is a lossless format. We can use iTunes to convert the AIFF to MP3 or AAC, with no DRM.

Be aware that the entertainment / music industry is trying to mandate that all digital devices by the year 2013 not support analog to digital recording/conversion. They want to eliminate the so-called analog hole that allows us to do this.

[lurkah]

Re: Vinyl to CD Recording

Trouble is, though, the audiophiles tell me that you lose a lot in compression at both high and low ends of music files, so .mp3 might not be good enough for the vinyl reproduction.

Are you doing this to preserve those albums for posterity, or just for your personal listening pleasure? It all depends on what you're wanting to achieve.

I'm perfectly happy with the .mp3 format, and would probably sell all of those LPs on eBay for the cash, but that's just my personal preference.

[Linkmeister]

Re: Vinyl to CD Recording

Are you doing this to preserve those albums for posterity, or just for your personal listening pleasure? It all depends on what you're wanting to achieve.

I'm perfectly happy with the .mp3 format, and would probably sell all of those LPs on eBay for the cash, but that's just my personal preference.

Oh, just for me. At some point the turntable parts are gonna be too hard to find. I can't stand the new budget turntables, so I'm trying to restore my old Pioneer. So far I've had no trouble finding a new belt (online), a new stylus (online), and new headshell wires (online), but who knows how long that's gonna be true.