Transferring Collectible Vinyl Records to a Computer or Audio CDs

There are too many methods of how to clean vinyl for me to cover. Do a search and you will find plenty of different ways to clean records. Some simple, some curious and a few downright complicated. Most agree that the best way to clean records is by using a vacuum-type cleaning machine. You have to be a serious collector to buy one, as prices for one of these machines is several hundred dollars. In regards to this article, you may even consider purchasing one to earn some extra cash transferring records to CD.

There are many reasons why we transfer vinyl to CD. It could be that certain material on a record is not available on CD. Greatest hits or compilation CDs often lack overlooked gems not considered 'hits'. Others prefer the analog sound quality that vinyl produces. Some even want to preserve the integrity of the original release as the artist intended it to be at the time. Whatever reasons the question becomes, how to get my vinyl records transferred to CD?

First the legalities, the government allows you to make a single duplicate of your record (or other media) for personal use. The idea is that you are preserving your original while enjoying the copy. This is how the many duplication services out there can legally make copies of your store-bought media, but they cannot legally make multiple copies. So put your worries aside. You are within your legal rights to make a copy of your record. You could hire a service to do this for you, but it is just as easy to do yourself.

Basically all you need is a turntable, a receiver, computer and audio software. You need a receiver because you cannot plug a turntable directly into the computer. A turntable does not produce enough of a signal, and needs a receiver to boost it. Both the turntable and receiver outputs are RCA connectors, so you need an adapter to plug the receiver into the computer.

All computers have an audio card built into the motherboard with an input and output. This audio card can be used in a pinch, but integrated (built-in) motherboard cards usually do not capture audio very well. Most will agree that you should upgrade to an internal plug-in audio card. As far as brands go, most plug-in audio cards will do the trick because anything is better than your motherboard. The input/output plugs are 1/4-inch stereo 'mini-plugs'. This is what you need to adapt the RCA connectors from the receiver.

Then you will need some kind of audio recording software. Now you can go out and spend lots of money on audio recording software that will do all sorts of neat things, and you might even get better results. Personally I use Audacity (see link below) an audio recording software that has been around for years, and best of all it is free. Audacity is an Open Source software with most of the features found on others, including filters, effects and multi-track recording. But all you need to do is digitize vinyl to computer. Most audio software will do the job just fine. This is the basic setup. Enough to get you going, but there are other things you can modify or add to get better results.

Let's start with the turntable. Yes they still make turntables, but you will be spending a few hundred dollars for one. Unless go out and buy a brand new turntable or already have one, you will probably have to find a used one. Preferably you are looking for a direct drive turntable, one that works with gears or rollers. It should have some way to monitor and finely adjust the speed. Avoid turntables that are belt driven. Something to keep in mind, turntables that will play 78 rpm records are often older belt driven and they do not use needle cartridges. These would be useful for playing 78s or as a back up turntable, but try not to use them for playing later LPs. One more thing, you will almost always have to electronically ground the turntable to your receiver. Turntables usually come with an extra wire along with the RCA connectors for this purpose.

It really doesn't matter what kind of receiver you plug your turntable into, although it may have to be an older one with a turntable input. The quality of the receiver won't matter much because you'll be using its Tape Auxiliary or CD outputs for the computer. Receiver functions like volume, treble, bass etc. will not affect these outputs. Oh yeah, do not connect the receiver's speaker outputs into the computer's input! Bad things will happen.

Because there are no audio functions for Tape and CD outputs, the recording will be what it is. You will not be able to make sound adjustments other than volume, and only by using your computer's audio levels. You can fix the sound quality later after digitizing, but there are other options. I'm sure there are more high-tech ways to get a better recording, but I'm old school. I remember how they used to make vinyl and audio transfers back in the day.

I use an audio mixer in between the receiver's output and computer's input. By using a mixer the sound can be adjusted in real time while digitizing. It's not like you want to add reverb or anything like that. The main advantage of using a mixer is that it provides some means of making minor adjustments to the sound equalization. Not all records were recorded or sound alike.

Another advantage of a mixer is that other components can be added. Like I said, I'm old school. When making vinyl transfers they used to use what were known as 'aural exciters'. These were add-on audio boards that enhanced the frequencies of the sound signal. In this way you could preserve the frequencies you'd lose when transferring to tape. The only drawback is that they have a tendency to also add noise, so they must be carefully adjusted when being used.

This can be corrected using computer software. In fact you can do all this later with software. I just use a mixer and aural exciter to save a step and I already have the equipment. To avoid just adding more noise to your recordings using equipment like this, follow these simple guidelines. First the equipment must be high quality. Use high-grade cables, and quality adapters if necessary. The less cables you use in between, the better. But if you'd rather sweeten the sound in 'post' later, then you are ready to begin transferring your vinyl to CD.

Most software I know of will not automatically create each track during the digitizing process. I have heard that there are some software packages that can do this, but most of us digitize a track at a time. In order to have separate song tracks, that is. Before doing anything, first clean the record. How you do this is your choice, but the idea is that the grooves should be clean as possible. And here's the thing about that. You just about have to leave the turntable's protective lid up the entire time to digitize each track of an LP. This will leave it susceptible to airborne dust during the process. Just be aware of this.

Adjust your computer volume levels to make sure you do not peak or distort the sound. Try a test recording to do this. Most of the time you don't want to go over 0 db, or when the meters start turning red. Also use your turntable's cue arm. This is a small lever near the needle arm's base that allows you to lift and lower the needle onto the record. Try not to do it by hand. You won't be able to do it as gently as the cue arm.

After each recording you may want to make some modifications before creating an actual audio file. I recommend trimming the song at this time, removing any extra silence at the beginning or end, which will often happen during the process. I will usually leave about a half-second of silence on each end. I will also 'silence' those sections and add a fraction of fade in and out. No matter how clean your record is, there will almost always be some kind of sound. Silencing and fading the ends helps to avoid any 'pops' when they start playing.

Speaking of pops. There are things you can do to eliminate pops, but the best way is to work with a clean record. I have heard of software that will minimize pops and crackling on records, but have not tried any of them. Occasionally I will delete an extreme pop from a soft passage in the music or dialogue sequence, but I try not to do it often. Sometimes you can get away with it, but it affects the integrity of the recording. It is just better to use a clean record if possible, and there are times you just have to learn to live with a little audible noise if the song is hard to find.

So what audio file format do you want to make your recording into? You can sure fit a lot of MPEGs on a CD, a lot more on a DVD. MPEGs are okay if you are listening to the songs on a digital audio device. You'll never play them loud enough on headphones to create distortion. Play an MPEG through a sound system and it's a different story, especially when you crank the volume up. Also keep in mind that in spite of the improvements in technology, MPEG is still a compression format. Compression means that it takes things away to compress a file down. This is the exact opposite approach you were taking to digitize them in the first place.

Loss-less files like WAVs do not compress its contents, but are larger files. It sort of depends on how you will be listening to them. Old school here, I burn audio CDs like a record and don't use digital devices. In fact the songs are deleted from the computer once on CD. As a general rule I don't put more than sixteen to eighteen songs, or about forty minutes on a playable audio CD. CDs record from the center out, and there is more chance for audio CDs to skip on the outer tracks. So try not to pack them with every song you can think of. Also record audio CDs at a lower speed, like 32 or 28. Some CD players have trouble with high-speed recordings.

It's up to you which format you make them, but I'd at least consider making loss-less master copies of important records and put them away. Once you get rid of the vinyl, you can never go back. That's the bottom line really, the reason why you want to transfer your vinyl to CD. You are preserving what is important to you. Now that you see how easy it is to make the transfers yourself, you can start preserving those memories right away. Have fun!