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Purchasing a turntable to convert records to mp3s
RhalloTonny
Of the BrownlandsRegistered User regular
Of the BrownlandsRegistered User regular
Okay, so as the title suggests, I'm looking to give the gift of a turntable (most likely USB) that can easily be used to convert records to mp3s.
After looking around, I see a few options- some look rather gimmicky and overpriced, but mostly I am concerned about the quality of the software to record/convert. The person using this isn't technologically capable by any standard, so ease of use is the priority.
Are there any models and/or software that won't make the user sit and listen for when tracks change, then manually slice, edit, tag, and then convert? If there aren't any decent solutions, then it might be worth it to switch up to a different gift idea.
Any suggestions would be welcome?
After looking around, I see a few options- some look rather gimmicky and overpriced, but mostly I am concerned about the quality of the software to record/convert. The person using this isn't technologically capable by any standard, so ease of use is the priority.
Are there any models and/or software that won't make the user sit and listen for when tracks change, then manually slice, edit, tag, and then convert? If there aren't any decent solutions, then it might be worth it to switch up to a different gift idea.
Any suggestions would be welcome?
!
RhalloTonny on
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He wouldn't name them till we tossed the files on his computer.
Some time into him trying to convert his huge library we ended up getting him addicted to Zune pass.
We got him a netbook dedicated to it (hooks into the stereo) and eventually a Zune.
He's never looked back. It was a great way to get all his old music going without any hassle.
He thinks its the coolest thing in the damn world haha.
It's almost something else entirely but it gets you the music you were looking for and sometimes gets over the fact that some of those old records have scratches etc.
And lets not even get into the amount of time it might take to get all your music copied/named/organized.
There's quite a bit of music that's not available on CD or any sort of digital service.
Pretty much anything in the $100 range will do just fine. Read the reviews and you're good to go.
He's told me there were maybe two songs he couldn't find on there. Not that anecdotal evidence is the best but asking about this he brought up what he says is one of his favorite things about it, that he can find songs he loved for years by various different artists.
Anyone that loves music will love the Zune pass.
It's always worth checking out considering how cheap one month is.
I think I've even seen a few free trials that last two weeks.
Not everyone listens to the same kind of music. Perhaps your dad listens to more readily available bands/artists? Age 60+ would have put him in his 20s in the 70s and that era is probably the easiest to find music in. Trust me, having worked in record stores for years there is gobs of music which you simply cannot buy in any other format.
I'm not knocking digital downloads (besides the terrible quality they're usually encoded in), but just attesting that often a vinyl -> digital converter is necessary. Besides, the OP isn't asking about digital services, so it's a moot point.
OP, my friend has this turntable and says it works great.
I think that some of the USB turntables have pretty bad ADC (Analog-Digital Converters), even compared to motherboard sound. If you have a soundcard, it's probably even better.
As for purchasing music and/or a Zune pass, there are quite a few records in the gift recipient's collection that are either bootleg albums or ones that are not available otherwise, but otherwise that's certainly a good suggestion.
After reading some of the reviews, it seems that manually tagging albums is kind of unavoidable- which would mean I (as the tech support) would probably end up having to do so, and at that point ease of software/use wouldn't really be an issue anymore.
$100 dollar range seems doable. Thanks the help.
I like it. I prefer the sound I get off of USB, although I can only get CD-quality 44.1kHz 16-bit stereo sound, whereas with an analog connection and a good DSP, I could get a better resolution.
The levels are always good (and if the vinyl was recorded at a lower volume, it's easy to amplify later.)
I use Cool Edit Pro 2.1 (old, became Adobe Audition, and got more complicated) because it's click/pop filter is really good. You can automate it or just go in and correct the audible clicks (when you have exceptionally pristine vinyl.) I usually just record each side as one file, and only rarely cut things up into tracks, but that's because most of the vinyl I listen to is old prog, where the whole album is worth a listen.
There's a better model of the same turntable that includes a memory card slot, letting someone record straight to that without a computer.
My only gripe with the ProfileLP is that it seems particularly sensitive to certain kinds of scratches, and I've had completely new discs jump the groove, in a specific spot. Better turntables let you adjust the counterweight at the end of the tone arm, or at least, they have an anti-skip option. This one doesn't.
One other thing: I find that the needle on my turntable causes some "s" sounds to distort (kind of like a lisp when you talk into a microphone.) It's subtle, though, and I only hear it on some records.
If you'd like to hear some samples of what I've ripped using that turntable, PM me, and I'll send you some uncompressed samples.
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