h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

wow all this is very technical. i'm pondering how to get my vinyl into the computer and on to cd. then i can think about turning all this plastic into flower pots...i remember as a kid with others throwing 78's and pretending they were flying saucers. they always smashed on impact!!worry not i think they were all nellie melba and her contemporaries.

philip4

Hi Philip, welcome aboard.

Don't be put off by the technical bit. We're all really here because we love listening to music, the gear's just a bonus!

Tell me what gear you've got and I'll have a stab at telling you how to archive your vinyl. Though there's a fair few folk would say don't get rid of themafterwards. They probably wouldn't net you much money, but lots of people still think records sound better than anything else on a half-decently set-up system.

hi spinky
thnx for the reply, i really don'thave any gear to down load vinly from bogstandard hi-fi to my cd re-writer and not sure what i need to do the job
philip4

Okay, well you can get a record turntable new for around £120 (check out the Pro - Ject range) and you'll then need a phono amp. You can't just plug the outputs of a turntable straight into your computer because the signal's too small, but you could use your hi-fi if it has a phono input. If not, you can buy a little phono amp in a box for around £40. Try the QED DiscSaver, or the company NAD make one too. One of these is battery powered and the other comes with a plug-in mains supply like a mobile phone charger. Turntable plugged into the box, output of the box plugged to your computer audio input, and off you go! And if your hi-fi has spare inputs, you can use the turntable with it as well.

I'll try to be more specific if you think you might give this a go.

hi spinky,
great to hear from you, your news is one of bliss! i have a turntable and amp. pioneer sx600L its knocking on a bit but runs like a dream,and i have a phono input (r&l)and next to it aux (r&l).and i have a bag of wires and connections kicking around in a bag (somewhere). look foreward to the next episode .lol.

many thanks.

Spiny, by the way (no 'k')

Right, you've got what you need as long as your computer has a sound card and some sort of recording program.

Plug your turntable into the phono input sockets of your amp. Now take a lead from your Tape Out sockets and connect that to your computer sound card's input. This will probably have to be a twin phono-plug (sometimes called RCA plug) to a 3.5mm stereo jack, because that's what the input to most computers is. If you don't have such a lead in your pile, you should be able to get one in any electrical or computer store.

Then boot up your sound recording program, play a record and adjust your levels. Your amp's volume control won't adjust the level into the computer, only the volume of any speakers connected to the amp, so you'll have to adjust things on-screen with your mouse. Once you've set that up, you should be able to record your vinyl onto your computer's hard disk as a file, and from there, burn that file to a CD. That's the bit I can't help you with without knowing what audio/CD burning program you have. My Mac G4 comes with all that built in, and I also use Adaptec Toast.

Let me know how you get on.

hi spiny
sorry i have been so long in replying ....have been away and only home 2 days before i go on hols till 25 sept.so will corry out your instructions on return.... cheers philip4

Well, have a good holiday and I'll hear from you when you get back.

hi spiney
thnx for all your help. can you belive i'm away again till neaxt week i' will get my head round this as s a p ..cheers mate .hang in there

It's okay, Philip. I'm sure your vinyl will still be playable when you get back