Vinyl to MP3

Lichen

Well-known member
Rather a luddite question this.

What kit do I need?

I have a turntable and a mac book pro (and records, obviously).


What if I wanted to flow tracks into one another to create single MP3 files?
 

kidlogic

Member
The only thing missing from that equation, and possibly the reason your recordings sounded bad, is a phono pre-amp. Without going too into the specifics, vinyl is pressed at a different level, volume and eq-wise, and you need something to bring the sound back up to 'line' level. You should be able to get a cheap one for around $20-40US.

If you have a dj mixer, running the signal through that first will also fix the problem, as would a home stereo unit with a 'phono' input.

The other alternative is a USB turntable, but the reviews Ive read on those havent been stellar just yet.

Hope this helps.

Oh, and there is a free program online called Audacity thats good for recording simple stereo audio like that.
 

Lichen

Well-known member
Ok

My amp has a phono input...do i go into that and then out to the imic, instead of going straight from the turntable into the imic?

Should I use Tape Out?


thanks!
 

mixed_biscuits

_________________________
The only thing missing from that equation, and possibly the reason your recordings sounded bad, is a phono pre-amp. Without going too into the specifics, vinyl is pressed at a different level, volume and eq-wise, and you need something to bring the sound back up to 'line' level.

Yeah, vinyl is cut very treblily (to prevent the needle skipping from bassiness) - if you try to record sound without plugging your turntable into the PHONO input of your pre-amp, then you won't get any bass to speak of. It is very important that you use a pre-amp and that you use the PHONO input - the others won't do the job.

When sound is sent through the phono input, a compensatory bass-heavy equalisation is applied to the signal and the music from the record comes out sounding normal. If not, then you're renting out a one person bedsit in treblehampton.
 
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