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I want to hook my old record player to my computer mic plug in and record some of the old records I have. How?

February 18th, 2010 by admin

Analog record player, old records not available on CD, period. Never were. What’s the cheap and dirty way to do it, short of putting the stereo in front of the computer, and what would be the best way to do it for best audio possible.

Depending on what kind of record player you have – you might be able to just get an RCA to 1/8" stereo plug adaptor and plug it directly into your microphone (or line in) on your computers soundcard.

Some record players require pre-amplification, which would require plugging it into a stereo – and then running out the headphone (or line out) jack on the stereo into the computer.

The main trick is to keep the gain on the input down as much as possible to keep from overdriving the input on the computer which will cause distortion (and can damage your soundcard). I used to always use my analog 4-track multi-track recorder as a pre-amp for turntables, since it handled the pre-amp requirement, and gave me a level meter to keep from clipping.

I would recommend using a decent recording program on the computer – sonic foundry makes a program called ’sound forge’ that is my suggestion – but there are probably plenty of others out there specifically for taking stuff off vinyl – complete with tools for cleaning up the sound.

Posted by admin in stereo record player |
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4 Responses to “I want to hook my old record player to my computer mic plug in and record some of the old records I have. How?”

  1. #1
    origamimark
    February 18th, 2010 3:39 pm

    YOu need an adapter to go between your record player output and the PC. Ask at your local hifi or computer shop.
    References :

  2. #2
    It's Kippah, Kippah the dawg
    February 18th, 2010 4:28 pm

    RCA out of player, 1/8" in to sound card. Should be able to find such a cable at just about any electronics store.

    There’s also USB record players out there that come with the software to convert your vinyl to MP3s.
    References :

  3. #3
    Joe M
    February 18th, 2010 4:54 pm

    Depending on what kind of record player you have – you might be able to just get an RCA to 1/8" stereo plug adaptor and plug it directly into your microphone (or line in) on your computers soundcard.

    Some record players require pre-amplification, which would require plugging it into a stereo – and then running out the headphone (or line out) jack on the stereo into the computer.

    The main trick is to keep the gain on the input down as much as possible to keep from overdriving the input on the computer which will cause distortion (and can damage your soundcard). I used to always use my analog 4-track multi-track recorder as a pre-amp for turntables, since it handled the pre-amp requirement, and gave me a level meter to keep from clipping.

    I would recommend using a decent recording program on the computer – sonic foundry makes a program called ’sound forge’ that is my suggestion – but there are probably plenty of others out there specifically for taking stuff off vinyl – complete with tools for cleaning up the sound.
    References :

  4. #4
    gkk_72
    February 18th, 2010 5:43 pm

    Is this a record player with line outputs or a turntable that needs a phono preamp? Also does your sound card have a line input jack?

    If a record player with line outputs then just buy a cable to go from the record player to the sound card. If a turntable, then you will need to buy a phono preamp to hook up between the turntable and sound card. You’ll have to buy the correct hook up cables too. Once you have that you will need to get software that will record you music. Here are a couple of sites that give you more information.

    http://www.br0wn.co.uk/vinyltocd.htm

    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/knowledgecenter/howto/FromVinyltoComputer_StepByStep.aspx
    References :

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