need help....music conversion

[Les Davis]

OK, I'm going to show my age on this one:D

I want to take some old 7" hardcore albums that I have and convert them to a mp3 format. Any ideas on how to do this and what equipment is required. HELP...I need to rock some old school ****:devil:

[wvspeedfreak]

Les,I actually have no idea but maybe this guy could help ya :p :blah: :D

[Les Davis]

hahaha...good one Jason:D

[standardryder]

I got this thing for my old analog camera, you plug it in to the analog output and some rca's go to a little box that converts its to a digital format. It has a usb out that you just plug into your computer. Its called a digital video converter, maybe something like this would work for you?

[Conman007]

Yes, It think I can help a little. First I need to know if they are on your computer. If they are on your computer it will be no problem. But if they are not, I have no idea how to get them on the computer.

[Les Davis]

Thanks standardryder. I'll look into that.

Conman007 there on vinyl and not my cpu. I'm trying to get them from vinyl to my computer.

[Conman007]

Oh I thought you just wanted to convert the formats so you can put on ipod or whatever.

[trailrider1156]

I've done a little research on this very subject. If you have a phono that is hooked to a stereo it is not too hard to do.
you need a patch cord with RCA's on one (L/R) end and a very small single plug in that is compatible to your PC jack for sound in (mic-in?).
I do think that you will need a software program to get it all done with any quality.
I did a search on the internet for 'transfer music from LP to PC'

[coryatver]

You can try downloading the songs already in mp3 format. Since you already bought the songs I don't think it is illegal

[trailrider1156]

I got this from my friends at AudioKarma.

You have to get the signal from your LP into your computer. Two ways.

Do NOT come directly off the turntable. It has a signal that requires RIAA Equalization, and I wont' go into this, just take my word, it is not right.

Come off the receiver's or preamp's Aux Out, Tape Out, or any other line level out. You can use a Y-cable that has phono plugs on the Y, and on the other end, a 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo plug. This is a common Y-cable used to connect Discman or other portable music units to stereo gear. Only we are going the other way.

I'll bet your stereo gear is some distance from your computer. Use a 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo headphone extension cable made for Walkman, Diskman, etc. This cable will have a 1/8" stereo jack on one end, and 1/8" stereo plug on the other, and will be shielded. You can get them in various lengths. Mine is 10' and works fine with no noise pickup.

There are two ways to connect... if you have a desktop PC, plug into the Line In (NOT Mic In) on your computer's sound card.

If you have a laptop, you can't do that, so you need one more item. The signal from that 1/8" plug is way too high for the "Mic" input of your laptop.

Griffin Technology's iMic to the rescue.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/

This little gizmo has a 1/8" stereo jack, which is where you will plug into it, and coming out on the other side is a USB cable which you plug into any USB socket on your laptop. It is "Plug & Play", at least it was for me with XP and Vista.

You will also need some recording software. You have a Mac? iMic has software for you.

For Windows, lots of other software out there, but I use Goldwave from www.goldwave.com. While there, find Lame32, and install that as directed. You will never have to click on it, do anything with Lame, but it will provide a wav to mp3 converter. After you install Lame, when you record with Goldwave you will have in the Save As file type drop down the choice of wave and other file types, and now, with Lame, the option of saving as mp3. So, install Lame and forget about it.

With Goldwave you can do some editing, trimming the front end and tail end of the recording, doing a neat short fadeout rather than an abrupt end, change the volume level of the recording, run various filters, graphic EQ, parametric EQ, high pass, low pass, 60 hz, etc. And you can also run a "pop and click" filter to get rid of noise, all after the recording. Then you can listen, and if you don't like the result, you can "un do" the filter or other effect applied.

[Les Davis]

Thanks for all the good info trailrider1156. I'm going to give this is a shot. I'll let you know how it went in a few days. Thanks do much for the info.

[300exOH]

I have also seen a couple of turntables that have USB hookups. I think I saw them on guitar center's website. I think musicians friend sells them also. If I remember correctly they come with software also to allow you to convert them to MP3 etc...