Putting My Vinyl To CD

[BrightBlessings]

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

 

[Borg 386]

Depending on your setup and software you have, you may already have the necessary software and programs to do it. If not, there are freeware programs that can help.

Go to this site & give it a read. It will also point you to some freeware for this task.

Converting Vinyl Records to CD

There may be a topic covering this in the tutorials section, but I'm not sure

Tutorials - Windows 7 Forums

MP3 is the most widely used format, you can choose the quality level, anywhere from 96 to 300+. The higher the quality, the bigger the file, but the better the sound.

Most CD burner programs convert on the fly (ie., drag the MP3 into the program and it automatically converts it to WAV format before burning).

Hope this helped you out some

 

[electrotune1200]

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.

 

[electrotune1200]

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.

 

[MK2]

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

 

[BrightBlessings]

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

 

[BrightBlessings]

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

 

[electrotune1200]

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.

 

[BrightBlessings]

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

 

[steve-pressman]

While not vinyl but cassette I have used the direct input on my on board sound card to record over 300 90 minute cassettes just connecting direct from my tape player to the input on the card. I have experienced no loss of quality at all and I would recommend this route as the way to go.

As a former DJ of 30 years experience I also have tons of Vinyl that I eventually want to put down on the PC, I have tried USB turntables in my local store on high end rigs and the quality was not good, most likely down to the cartridge and needle an awful lot of noise from them.

I see you are using a Bang & Olufsen turntable and have I assume quality needles for it, I would just plug it directly into your PC and see how you go from there. As for software I would go with what the other guys have said.


Steve

 

[BrightBlessings]

While not vinyl but cassette I have used the direct input on my on board sound card to record over 300 90 minute cassettes just connecting direct from my tape player to the input on the card. I have experienced no loss of quality at all and I would recommend this route as the way to go.

As a former DJ of 30 years experience I also have tons of Vinyl that I eventually want to put down on the PC, I have tried USB turntables in my local store on high end rigs and the quality was not good, most likely down to the cartridge and needle an awful lot of noise from them.

I see you are using a Bang & Olufsen turntable and have I assume quality needles for it, I would just plug it directly into your PC and see how you go from there. As for software I would go with what the other guys have said.


Steve

Hello Steve I did'nt skimp on the needles as they are for my music.I only get tight fisted for things like food and clothes and I will try the onboard sound first and see what reproduction is like.
Thank You
Bright Blessings

 

[ignatzatsonic]

You can try a standard turntable connected directly to the PC, but you probably won't be happy with the results. Turntables need RIAA equalization and you usually get that from your amplifier or receiver in an ordinary sound system.

You can get a $35 USB sound card (Behringer UF0 202). It connects to your USB port and has a proper turntable input and can also accept any line level source--tape deck, etc.

Audacity is an excellent way to do the recording once you have the turntable hooked up the right way. It has some built-in processing capabilities--click repair, noise and hiss reduction, etc and they work pretty well. You can spend 15 minutes trying to get rid of clicks and pops in a particular song if you want--one click at a time. It's just a matter of how much time you want to spend on that.

There are software packages out there that attempt to automate the click and pop removal.

I would use mp3 format, but be sure to keep the bit rate fairly high. Probably 192 kbps. Joint Stereo is good. VBR is good. Avoid constant bit rate if you can. Avoid low bit rates. You can set all that up in Audacity. You capture the recording in Audacity and then "export" it as an mp3, with whatever mp3 settings you have chosen.

You could use a USB turntable, but they are not likely to be as high quality as a traditional turntable.

 

[gogreen]

I would use mp3 format, but be sure to keep the bit rate fairly high. Probably 192 kbps. Joint Stereo is good. VBR is good. Avoid constant bit rate if you can. Avoid low bit rates. You can set all that up in Audacity. You capture the recording in Audacity and then "export" it as an mp3, with whatever mp3 settings you have chosen.

I hope you don't mind my asking, but why record at joint stereo and not just stereo? And why avoid a constant bit rate? Thanks.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Joint stereo and VBR are both designed to produce smaller files than would be the case with stereo and constant bit rate with no negative effect on sound quality. Joint and VBR have come into prominence in the last 4 or 5 years. Some still refuse to use either. That's fine.

Likewise, you can cut file size in half on mono files compared to stereo with no effect on quality.

Those who are unconcerned with file size would presumably not use mp3s to start with.

You can google more info or check various sites such as hydrogen audio.

 

[gogreen]

OK. Thanks for the info.