Putting My Vinyl To CD

I have a lot of old LP's that I would like to put onto CD's my question is could anyone advise what I will need to do so. I have done a bit of reading about this and am a bit confused.Will my onboard realtek sound be OK or do I need a sound card also can I use my existing turntable run through amplifier or will I need a usb turntable and what software would be best,paid or free it does'nt matter so long as I can get a decent recording and also what would be the best format to record to eg MP3 etc I have over 500 albums a lot of them irreplcable and I know it is going to be quite a chore to do this any suggestions,hints,tips will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
Bright Blessings To All

Do you currently have a turntable? Or are you in the market for one?

I do a lot of audio recording from external sources and I personally would recommend getting an external sound card. I have had little to no success using the onboard audio for recording. But that's just my past experiences.

You can get an OK external card for about a hundred bucks, or you can go a bit more high end for about $200 - $300.

I see you have an existing turntable... Sorry I missed that the first time around.

What I would suggest investing in is a brand new quality stylus for your turntable.

How does your current needle mount to your turntable? Do you mount it to a head shell? Does your head shell screw into the tone arm, or is it just one piece? I'd be able to give you some recommendations on needles for your budget.

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about.. I'm posting an image of a head shell.

Hi,

First to try you could use your existing turntable and amplifier and soundcard to see
if you're happy with the quality.
Just connect a tulp/cinch to jack 3,5mm cable from a tape out on the amplifier to the line in on your soundcard.
If you're not happy with the quality you can always go for a better sound card or a usb turntable.
A great free program to record and edit is Audacity: Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder
As Borg 386 say's you can record in MP3 format, the higher the bitrate the better the quality, or to get even better quality you could record directly to Wav files.

MK2

electrotune1200 said:

Do you currently have a turntable? Or are you in the market for one?

I do a lot of audio recording from external sources and I personally would recommend getting an external sound card. I have had little to no success using the onboard audio for recording. But that's just my past experiences.

You can get an OK external card for about a hundred bucks, or you can go a bit more high end for about $200 - $300.

Goodaye electrotune yes I have a turntable that runs through my amp and is not hooked up to the computer would a usb one be better? As I said I have done much reading about this but to much information has over loaded my brain box and what software is good for the job freeware or paid I don't care if I have to shell out for a good programme
Thanks for replying
Bright Blessings

electrotune1200 said:

I see you have an existing turntable... Sorry I missed that the first time around.

What I would suggest investing in is a brand new quality stylus for your turntable.

How does your current needle mount to your turntable? Do you mount it to a head shell? Does your head shell screw into the tone arm, or is it just one piece? I'd be able to give you some recommendations on needles for your budget.

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about.. I'm posting an image of a head shell.

I have 8 new stylus got em when parts started to become scarce and I was terrified of not being able to listen to my babies
Turntable is a Bang and Olafsen

G'day BrightBlessings!

You should hve everything you need.

Audacity is a freeware audio recording program and does the job quite well.

You have the new stylus's covered.

Try running from your amp to your onboard soundcard. Do a few test recordings and see if your happy with the quality.

Good luck and happy recording! If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

electrotune1200 said:

G'day BrightBlessings!

You should hve everything you need.

Audacity is a freeware audio recording program and does the job quite well.

You have the new stylus's covered.

Try running from your amp to your onboard soundcard. Do a few test recordings and see if your happy with the quality.

Good luck and happy recording! If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Thanks I am going to start tomorrow I've got a big job in front of me I love my vinyl they sound better than CD's but this way my LP's can remain safe.
And thanks to all who shared their knowledge on this thread.
Take Care
Bright Blessings To All