By Lou Dolinar
Eighth in a series
Updated Feb. 14, 2006

Converting a music CD into mp3s and other digital audio formats is a snap - largely because the CD is stored in a digital form to begin with, just like any other computer file. What about vinyl, that box of '70s vintage LPs you have in the attic, or maybe those old 78s you inherited from formerly swinging Grandma?

Readers have asked for a how-to on the subject. I've done it, so it isn't that big a deal, just tedious and demanding of equipment. Let's start with the reasons not to bother:

It takes forever. CDs can be ripped at 1/5 or less of their original playtime. LPs have to be recorded in real time.

CDs, because they contain unique ID codes, can be tagged with artist track and album information automatically by most ripping/ playback software. You have to enter this data manually when you convert a record into digital form.

Quality can be terrible if the records are in bad shape, with scratches and dirt clogging the tracks.

Most popular music of the past 30 years is available free on illegal file-sharing services.

Having said all that, you probably have most of the gear you need sitting around the house.

The basic hardware: a turntable, a stereo preamp or stereo receiver with phono input, and your computer sound card. Depending on how you are connecting all this, you may also need some adaptor cables.

The preamp function is the big deal here. The low-level signal that comes out of a phono cartridge distorts badly, if it is audible at all, when routed directly through a sound card. It has to be amplified first. Unfortunately, most contemporary home theater receivers don't have phono inputs. The old stereo you have stashed in the attic probably does, or you can pick up something cheap at a thrift shop. Radio Shack has a $24.99 (Cat# 42-2824) preamp, but it was out of stock last I checked its online catalog.

You plug the turntable into the "phono in" jack on the receiver/ preamp, then run an adaptor cable (RCA on the receive/preamp side), usually a 1/8-inch stereo plug for the "line in" jack on your sound card.

Software? If you eventually get serious about recycling old albums, you'll probably want to invest in software that will remove clicks, pops, hum and other audio nasties. A good mainstream program suitable for beginners is Easy Media Creator 7.5, ($69.95) which, although primarily aimed at burning CDs and DVDs, also includes an "LP and Tape Assistant" for recording and denoising analog music. It can also split an album into individual tracks/files. This type of software isn't perfect - the more automated it is, the more likely it is to remove parts of the music along with the sound. If you're the sort who likes to fuss manually and adjust settings, you might want to try Dart XP ($99) a dedicated program for cleaning up albums.

Before you spend any money, however, you can experiment with your existing software. Most popular free ripper/players, including MusicMatch Jukebox and Winamp, have options for recording from tape or LP and dividing the music into tracks, though you won't get the denoising function.

Generally, the most confusing part of recording from LP is selecting the correct input, i.e. line in, in software. Every program and sound card is a little different, and 99 times out of 100, if you're not getting any music out of the PC, you haven't correctly selected the line-in settings. You may have to adjust Windows, your sound card software, and your recording software to get everything working correctly.

The second potential problem is the recording level coming out of the preamp. Too high or too low and you get distortion or lose detail in the music. It takes a fair amount of trial and error to get this just right. It's a good idea to mark the volume setting on the preamp.

Incidentally, one major non-digital improvement in your albums can be had by physically cleaning the record. Various home-brew formulas, usually based on distilled water and rubbing alcohol, are available online at http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/fluids.html. If you're looking for the best possible results, you may be able to rent a record-cleaning machine from a high-end audio dealer or one of the handful of vinyl specialty record stores.

PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY, Lessons on digitizing your old vinyls

[NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

Newsday - Long Island, N.Y.

Author: LOU DOLINAR

Date: May 16, 2005

Start Page: A.42

Edition: Combined editions

Section: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

Text Word Count: 726

Document Text

(Copyright Newsday Inc., 2005)