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How to Convert Vinyl LP Records to Digital

Old-fashioned vinyl records are back in style, offering vintage sound for your classic collection of LPs; according to Amira Jensen's ABC News article, "Dust off the Turntable: Record Sales Jump," vinyl records have been on a comeback since 2007. Unfortunately, purchasing vinyl LP records limits your ability to take music with you when you're on the go. Even though LP records offer a great home-based playback experience, it's obviously not feasible to take your turntable with you to the gym or in your car. Luckily, in just a few simple steps, LP records can be converted to digital sound files for use with iPods, Zunes and other MP3 players.

Things You'll Need

  • 1/4- to 1/8-inch audio cable
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Instructions

    • 1

      Go to blazemp.com/mp3_recorder_software.htm (see Resources).

    • 2

      Click on "Download," located near the top of the screen. Save the download to your desktop or any preferred PC folder.

    • 3

      Go to your desktop or the folder containing the downloaded file; double-click on "setup_blaze.exe."

    • 4

      Follow the onscreen prompts to finish the automatic install process.

    • 5

      Plug the large end of a 1/4- to 1/8-inch audio cable into the headphone jack or output jack on your turntable.

    • 6

      Plug the smaller end of the cable into the microphone jack on your computer. On older desktop computers, this jack is typically on the back of your computer. On newer desktops and most types of laptops, the jack is on the front of your computer.

    • 7

      Turn the computer back on.

    • 8

      Double-click on the recently installed Blaze Media Pro desktop icon.

    • 9

      Click the "MP3" option located near the top right-hand side of the screen, inside a box labeled "Output."

    • 10

      Click the "Start Recording" button, then press "Play" on your turntable and cue up the LP record. When you have finished playing all the LP tracks you want to digitize, click on the "Stop Recording" button to finish recording and automatically render the playback into digital, MP3 format.

Digital Music

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