There are a lot of old, rare and out of print LPs that I want to add to my music collection and access via my music server. So I took a flyer and ordered an Ion USB turntable. It came today, and I tried it out tonight. Here are my first impressions.
It was very easy to assemble and connect to my computer. I already use Audacity for making podcasts, so I didn’t need to install the version that came on the CD. I just put the CD in my CD Drive and plugged the turntable into a USN port and, presto, it installed the drivers and I was ready to convert an LP to MP3.
I selected the most excellent and hard to find 1969 self-titled debut by Area Code 615, a band comprised of some of the best musicians in Nashville, including Mac Gayden, who I know a little through a mutual buddy.
Recording from the LP to the computer was simple, once I got the levels right- all LPs will record too low and need to be boosted up, which Audacity makes simple. Splitting the tracks took a little more time than I’d hoped, but overall the process was easy and relatively quick. I haven’t tried it yet, but you can save a little time by recording 33 rpm LPs at 45 rpm and adjusting the speed via Audacity. There is a preset adjustment for doing that.
I’m sure there are other software applications specifically designed to record LPs and convert them to MP3s. I’ll look around for some of those and see what I come up with.
But I can already tell that I’m going to be trolling eBay looking for some hard to find LPs. I’ve aleady bought one out of print LP by Billy Swan.
Here’s Nashville 9, N.Y. 1, an excellent song off the recently converted Area Code 615 LP.
This is good news for our podcast listeners who like hearing the hard to find stuff we like to play.
Tags: lp, mp3, digital music
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