Transfer Vinyl to MP3 format

[KILOHMUNNS]

I'm getting old :p

So I have a fair bit a Vinyl that I can't get in CD/MP3 format and want to copy these records onto my PC so I can listen to them again.

There seems to be a number of Record decks with a USB connection (with a programme) to do this but I don't know which one I should go for. I have heard there are some that only record it in one lot (eg the 1 side of an album) which would be a pain to listen to on MP, while others recognise the breaks between tracks and save them as individual tracks. Also there is a varied difference on sound quality.
Can anyone give some advise?

Thanks

[Drew]

I have no experience with them whatsoever, but if you buy one and it does just record the whole thing as one mp3, you could easily download "audacity" With audacity you can easily edit songs, making separate MP3s for each song.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

[Captain VXR]

There's a shop in Bath that converts vinyl into cds, which could then be put on a pc/mp3 player

[ShiftingGears]

It might be cheaper to transfer to CD, but really just buy the CDs. You don't really want to listen to CDs with background static on them.

[edv]

I've done vinyl ripping on various occasions with very good success.
Your success depends upon how willing you are to work at the project.
There is no 'magic pill' application that will digitise your records to the most optimum level. You will need to intervene and perform some audio signal processing in order to achieve the best results...and this is not something that you would want to have to do over again.

The method that I have used in the past is to hook up a good quality turntable to an amp or pre-amp and feed line-outs into your PC sound card. The alternative is a newer USB turntable that hooks directly to the PC.
The vinyl must be as clean as possible. Some people even use a special fluid bath immediately prior to capturing.
To capture, I used 'Cool Edit Pro' to generate uncompressed WAV files. This is similar to days gone by when you might record cassettes from your vinyl by monitoring the levels to ensure that they never go 'into the red'.

The WAV files can then be processed and you should have a good 'pop' 'click' and 'hiss' filter available to your application. Last step is compressing into mp3 (better to use ''FLAC, I say). You'd also need to consider archiving your raw WAV files because a) disk is cheap and b) better technology may arrive in the future.

The last step is to properly tag your mp3 files. A consistent set of tagging rules is a much needed quality control feature for any music collection, especially as it grows. Any music that I rip goes straight to a music-staging area where it undergoes rigorous QC before making it into my collection.
For mp3 tagging, I use 'The Godfather', but there are many other apps available.

I've used this method to successfully capture tracks from a WW2 vintage 45rpm disc to create an audioCD. The output, after processing, was certainly much better than the original, and the 80-year-old lady to whom I presented the CD was overjoyed.

I also demonstrated the technique to a friend, who has since been very busy capturing his vintage 3,000 album collection with great success.

Your results will depend on how willing you are to establish a good process and how willing you are to conform to decent standards. Good luck.

[Mark]

It might be cheaper to transfer to CD, but really just buy the CDs. You don't really want to listen to CDs with background static on them.

Agreed. Unless they are particularly unusual you might find there are CD's, or even downloads available of the same thing. Even getting rid of DRM on downloaded music is going to be easier than taking it straight off the record. But of course sometimes this is just not possible.

[Dave B]

There seems to be a number of Record decks with a USB connection (with a programme) to do this but I don't know which one I should go for.
I'd say none of them. As far as I can tell they are - without exception - awful quality. I'd only use them for transferring stuff I didn't care about transferring :p

If you have a decent turntable at the moment you'd be better served connecting it direct to your PC (or more likely via a pre-amp) and using Audacity, Goldwave or similar. There'd be more work involved making individual tracks and removing pops and scratches, but if you care enough to be doing this in the first place the rewards will be worth it.

[Mark]

I'd say none of them. As far as I can tell they are - without exception - awful quality. I'd only use them for transferring stuff I didn't care about transferring :p

Especially with analogue equipment you get better results the better quality the record player is you are using. Rubbish in - rubbish out!

I don't have old records I want to transfer, but what I do have is lots of old 16mm cine films which my Dad took of me when I was a wee bairn, plus tonnes of photos. I'd love to be able to transfer the videos and pictures into a more usable format but it's always seemed a lot of work or really expensive to do.

[Dave B]

I've got literally thousands of vinyl records in the loft which I keep promising myself I'll transfer one day, but I'm gradually finding them available digitally one way or another, often in better quality.

[MrJan]

It might be cheaper to transfer to CD, but really just buy the CDs. You don't really want to listen to CDs with background static on them.

A lot of people like the hiss and buzz of vinyl, they feel it gives the music more depth. I'm not one of those people.

Someone at my work is a big reggae fan (and I mean a BIG reggae fan) and lent me a few DVDs full of music (about 4gig I think) that he'd got off ebay. The bloke that sold them had spent years copying all his vinyl and tapes onto MP3 and archiving them. Although a lot of the stuff was available in newer formats he kept the authenticity of the old lot.