Need some kokua with MP3s

[LovinLK]

I have a lot of Hawaiian vinyl albums and can't convert the songs to MP3s. I've done some searches and come up empty handed. Can anyone help ... who has a lot of MP3s of some of the songs/albums I'm looking for.

Some of the artists I have the albums for but want a few of the cuts in MP3 form are:

Frank Kawai Hewett, Haunani Apoliona, Jerry Santos, Olomana, Ho'okena, Aunty Edith Kanaka'ole, the first Kahumoku Bros. cassette, Ernie Cruz, Sr., Gary Haleamau, Lim Family, Jerome Gray's country songs, and some of the country songs recorded by other Hawaiian artists.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Need some kokua with MP3s

Sounds like you need a USB turntable.

[TATTRAT]

Re: Need some kokua with MP3s

Sounds like you need a USB turntable.

exactly, +1

[johmbolaya]

Re: Need some kokua with MP3s

I have a lot of Hawaiian vinyl albums and can't convert the songs to MP3s. I've done some searches and come up empty handed. Can anyone help ... who has a lot of MP3s of some of the songs/albums I'm looking for.

While the USB Turntable is a quick solution, most of those turntables are nothing more than souped up kiddie record players, or the same type of record players that are used in current portables, such as Gemini and Vestax. I myself have a Vestax portable:


It's not audiophile, but it's decent enough, so a USB turntable is essentially that with USB capabilities.

If you already have a turntable at home, you can just run it through your soundcard, and then record it with some of the audio freeware programs that are out there, such as Audacity. Once you fool around with getting the right levels, you record, save as a WAV file, edit, and encode to MP3. You can discard the WAV file if you know you're not going to use it, or save it and burn it to a data DVD-R so you can upgrade if need be, as it's not recommended to edit from the MP3 file.

If you don't have a turntable and are wondering if the USB turntable is worth the price, then it can be. If you want to maintain your collection, I myself would recommend a better quality turntable in the $200-$500 range and then doing that through the soundcard. The process is not too difficult once you've learned the process.

For some songs, I know Mountain Apple has acquired the masters to a number of defunct labels and have either individual tracks or the full albums available to download as MP3's. Of course, some of the best stuff are from those records whose masters were long destroyed in that big warehouse fire, making those records of value so... there are solutions to what you're trying to get. If you need any other information, post a way or I can help you if you send a PM.

[mel]

Re: Need some kokua with MP3s

I've mentioned the Griffin iMic in several threads regarding moving music from vinyl to a digital format. I use my old Technics turntable plugged into the iMic which from there goes to my Mac.

Griffin iMic sells for around $39 to $49 last time I checked. Cheaper than a USB turntable assuming of course you already have another turntable from which to play the records on.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Need some kokua with MP3s

If you already have a turntable at home, you can just run it through your soundcard, and then record it with some of the audio freeware programs that are out there, such as Audacity.

I might throw in one additional thought, from my professional experience. The standard soundcards in most home computers are pretty "noisy," so consider investing in an external A-to-D converter, and do the digitizing outside the box (as it were).

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Need some kokua with MP3s

I might throw in one additional thought, from my professional experience. The standard soundcards in most home computers are pretty "noisy," so consider investing in an external A-to-D converter, and do the digitizing outside the box (as it were).

You mean something like my latest CompUSA buy?

But I'm sure this will work as well.