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How to Transfer Vinyl to PC

Vinyl albums are bulky. Records tower over CDs and MP3 players, the latter potentially capable of storing tens of times more audio information than a standard two-sided LP. Records are also susceptible to scratching, wearing out and breaking. Backing up your record collection to digital audio is a sound decision. Although there are specialized tools for converting vinyl to digital, you can complete the process using tools you probably already have or which are available to you.

Things You'll Need

  • Turntable
  • RCA cable
  • Audio amplifier with connected speakers and a "Phono In" connection
  • RCA to stereo 1/8-inch cable
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Instructions

    • 1

      Connect the RCA cable from the "Phono Out" connection on the back of the turntable to the "Phono In" connection on the back of the amplifier.

    • 2

      Connect the RCA to 1/8-inch cable from the "Line Out" connection on the back of the amplifier to the "Line In" jack on your computer's sound card. The "Line In" may be labeled with an arrow pointing to the center of two or three concentric circles.

    • 3

      Play the record on the turntable and select the appropriate input on your amplifier. Make sure sound from the record is coming out of the speakers; this ensures that the phono signal is passing through the main outputs.

    • 4

      Click the Start menu, then"Control Panel." In the Control Panel, click "Sound," then click on the "Recording" tab. Click "Line In," then click "Set Default." Click "OK" in the Sound properties window, then close both it and the Control Panel window.

    • 5

      Click on the Start menu, choose "Accessories" and click on "Sound Recorder."

    • 6

      Click "Start Recording" and immediately begin playing the first song on your record. Click "Stop Recording" once the song has finished, then stop the record player. The "Save As" dialog box will automatically pop up.

    • 7

      Navigate to the desired destination folder and type the name of the file into the "File Name" box. Click "Save."

    • 8

      Repeat Steps 6 and 7 for each song on the record.

Digital Music

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