Just thought I’d ask if anyone has used a record player to convert to MP3 format? I have a bunch of 12” & 7” singles that I’d like to keep, but don’t have a record player & they’re taking up space, some limited editions too, so I’m thinking to convert them to my iTunes & then see if they’re worth anything instead of taking up space. I’ve seen a Fenton player for just over £50 on Amazon, just wondering if the quality would be there or if it’s a case of needing to get a more expensive one which would be better?
I've had 2 turntables in the sub-£100 arena, they seem to work fine but I think the software that comes with them is at least as important. The second one I had allowed me to play records at speed 78 to make it all a bit quicker then you use the software to play it back at the correct speed and fiddle about with it. It all seems to work well enough but it doesn't half eat up time!
Another thought, if you can find your songs on YouTube it's much quicker to download them from there to mp3, still a pain though imo. I just listen to old stuff via Spotify these days.
I was a 12” junky in the early 90’s, so I thought I’d give them a last listen while getting them to my iTunes, also might have that record player click too. Any specific brand recommendations?
I think this was the one I liked the most, felt like a 'proper' turntable. It wouldn't have been this particular model, I bought mine about 15 years ago, but it was definitely an ION. https://www.gear4music.com/Home-Aud...NoJMJFT8rUDdujTiAjfcVKMYo3BjPN9BoCIREQAvD_BwE
I did this with a lot of vinyl about 15 years ago with a cheap analogue to digital turntable I got from QVC. The quality was fine ( it was actually nostalgic to hear the scratches, hisses and jumps that were all too familiar on my 70s and 80s records which had been played to death at the time). The software and indexing where the biggest pain however. That'd be what I'd be looking at now if I was to repeat the process. I've got them all stored on a hard drive which I never use as I listen to everything off Spotify these days, so it was all a waste of time really.
I bought a Pro-Ject Debut Recordmaster last year which has a USB output. Not used it yet for copying vinyl as most of what I have is on Spotify. Any of the Pro-Ject turntables with Recordmaster in the name will offer the same usb and also give you a switch for changing 33-45. Sound quality beats my old Dual CS505 hands down. I bought a new turntable as I saw a bargain, but there seem to be a few on eBay at times. You could probably buy one, use it for a few weeks and resell it, for better quality and lower overall cost than a cheap turntable.
I am using an Audio-Technica LP60X-USB turntable connected to my PC to convert my vinyl to MP3. There is a Bluetooth version of the turntable which may be more convenient than connecting through a USB cable depending on your environment. I use it in conjunction with the free, open source Audacity software suite to capture and edit the audio. It's pretty simple to set up and use the basics of the software. I have the Linux version, it also supports Windows and MacOS. This setup works well for my needs. I have somewhere in the region of 700 albums and 3000 singles so it's taking a while.
We have a Brennan - very rapid transfer of CDs to it's hard disk and real time transfer of vinyl or tapes. Excellent quality playback and easy to copy or transfer your recordings. I did notice how much better the stereo effects were on the vinyl than the CDs.
