Putting LPs onto CD?

[Conor]

lol, thats not saying much

[applepie]

Originally Posted by MattS

For free stuff have a look at audacity and the lame encoder.

It's a bit more powerful than Sound Recorder.

I use the above and they are very good, however, audacity can be buggy and occasionally crash if the files are too big. as a side note you can use EAC with LAME to rip CDs better as well.

you will also want something to remove the crackle from the recording from the LPs. they are not considered necessary but nice to have (depends on your quality tolerance).

something like Sound Restoration or Wave Repair

there are many other similar programs widely available. They usually only cost about $30

Forgot, I think I have instruction guides for copying music (LPs, tapes, etc) to wav (then mp3 --> CD) somewhere, if I find a scanner will scan them for you. or right a short summary.
if your nearby you can borrow the book.

[Bantam]

You need to work out if your turntable has a line out (line level - same as a CD-Player's output, for example) or a phono out (much much lower and needs a phono stage).

I use a Project Debut SE Turntable but I switched the Ortofon Cartridge for a Pickering XV15 and to bring it from Phono out to Line out level, I use a Project Phono Box SE.

It took a while to set the turntable up properly, but now I have a line-level output which runs into a Griffin iMic which is plugged into my mac, and a piece of software which comes for free with the iMic (for Mac OS only) called Final Vinyl.

So I play the LP into the Mac's software, it essentially rips the album onto the Hard Disk as AIFF (WAV) format PCM Audio - usually at 48Khz 24Bit. I then edit the tracks, and burn to CD, downsampling to 44.1Khz 16Bit (but I keep the original masters on DVD at 48Khz 24Bit).

Most of the time most people can't tell the source was originally Vinyl cos it's so clear.

But I'm a bit anal about sound quality - although that setup wasn't expensive in the scheme of things - the turntable was £150, the cartridge £70, the Phono Amp £100, the iMic £30 and the software free - you just have the cost of the PC or Mac you're using to 'record' the audio.

More recently I bought a TEAC Reference 300 MkIII system, which allows me to record directly to USB, so the turntable's connected into AUX1 on that, and I can record directly to a 2Gb memory stick, and then edit from that if I wish.

In fact - I'm just editing a Booker T and the MG's album I ripped from vinyl this evening onto the memory stick!

[GLOC]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Whilst I am okay with technology and would be able to spend time doing this, my mum (no offence meant Mum ) is a complete numpty when it comes to IT, so I am not sure what I will do!

Regards

[applepie]

Just got home and checked, I have a copy of "Burning down the house" which is like an idiots guide to ripping and mixing, etc.

theres a chapter roughly 21 pages (medium size not A4 pages) long with illustrations and step by step guide on the use of audacity all the way to burning from wav straight to CD or encoding to mp3

I can photocopy the pages or take digital pics of it and post them over to you if you want them.

It states difficulty rating of 3, which is quite high-ish. The highest from a quick browsing goes up to 4 (creating a DJ set). Ripping a CD is rated at 1.

the complicated part is hiss reduction but the rest is easy. Once its setup, only have to click a few buttons and your set.

[David]

Originally Posted by GLOC

To the gathered intelligent masses on YD, I have just had an email from my Mum who is contemplating putting all her Mum's LPs (my Gran) onto CD.

They have a record deck which I am sure has a headphone socket or phono out and a pretty basic PC.

What else do I need, hardware, software? Oh and I know she needs loads of time to do it

Regards

what about looking for the same records already on mp3 and id tagged you are going to have to spend sometime recording an entire collection of vinyl on mp3. Why not just make a txt file to start with and see if anyone else has an mp3 version of the same record. FYI i think you own a licence for this record so downloading a copy might even be leagle ?

David

[Tonto]

Originally Posted by David

what about looking for the same records already on mp3 and id tagged you are going to have to spend sometime recording an entire collection of vinyl on mp3. Why not just make a txt file to start with and see if anyone else has an mp3 version of the same record. FYI i think you own a licence for this record so downloading a copy might even be leagle ?

David

No, I don't think so, any recordings from any media - even just a copy of a cd for the child upstairs to use as a load spreader for the swivel chair - is illigal in this country, so stupid just makes people think "well if its illegal to make a copy of something I already own, I'll just download stuff I don't own, same penalty but cheaper.

[Seadart Bob]

Gareth
If you want something simple, then try this.

Download sound recorder software, save cassette to cd & lp to CD

I have been using this one for the last 8 days and works well.
Copying a load of old tapes, it works with LP’s as well.
You get a full free trial for 14 days and then to continue using it you pay £21.00,
Nothing to technical, all you need is a line out of your tape deck or player,
that will connect to your sound card input and you’re away,
you can even control the sound/record levels.
It will also separate the tracks for you as long as there is a 2 second gap between them.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Bob

[GLOC]

Thanks Bob.

I am going up this weekend and will have a look at what LPs they have and with some links I have, see what is available online as MP3. When I spoke to my Mum last night, there are 40-50 LPs! Just playing the music is going to take some time, let alone getting her to get it right!

Once again, thanks for the help.