Copying Music to CD
Question: Could you please tell me what I require to transfer my tapes and vinyl records to my computer to put on Cd's. I am new to computing but old in years so a simple explanation would be appreciated. Thank you in anticipation.
Bill
Answer: You need:
- A computer with a cd burner and software to burn audio cds (which usually comes with the burner).
- To copy records you need a record player with a built in pre-amplifier or alternatively a separate pre-amp. To copy tapes you need a tape player.
- Cables to connect the line output from the record player/preamp or tape deck to the line input on the sound card on the computer.
- and finally, software to convert the sound input on the computer into a suitable format for burning to cd. The software I use to do this is LP Recorder (to record the entire side of a record) and LP Ripper (to split the file into the separate tracks). I got this software free on CDs that came with a magazine subscription but they can be purchased online. There is other software that will perform the same tasks so you might decide to use something different.
With everything connected up you play the record (or tape) using the software on the computer (eg. lp recorder) to save it to a file on the computer hard disk. You then divide that file into separate files (eg. lp ripper) and then you use your cd burning software to select all of the separate sound files and burn them to a cd.
