Transferring vinyl & tapes to PC/CD

fizzylizzy_2

Hi

I've done a quick search and seen a few threads relating to this but wondered if someone would be able to help me.
I wanted to get something for my boyfriends birthday which would enable him to transfer his vinyl and tapes to the PC so that he could then put them on CD/iPod.
We don't currently have a turntable/hifi system as we use the ipod/docking station for playing music.
I've had a look and have found the following but, although I'm usually pretty good with technology, the audio jargon is confusing me slightly to say the least:rotfl:
I've seen this USB tape deck which I'm worried would become obselete after he has copied them.
This one from Maplin seems to be able to do tapes and records but looks a bit tacky (!) and have also seen this at Richer Sounds.
As I am completely clueless about all this I wondered if anyone had any advice?
I'm also wondering whether getting a micro system and separate turntable with the relevant cables might be a better way but again am not sure which adaptors I would need!
Any help would be really appreciated. It is his birthday in a couple of weeks and I know that if I could sort this out for him he would be absolutely made up! :j

sleep2much

most computer have an audio line in socket, mini jack, as long as any old cassette player has line out, or even from an amp if it's an old set up, you can get a cheap adapter from the red and white line out to a mini jack @99p and your off, cheap and easy, don't buy a special usb thingy.

esuhl

I get the feeling that the USB tape/record decks are novelty gifts more than anything. The ones I've seen look a bit cheap (and certainly aren't!) and I'm not sure how good the sound quality would be.

I managed to use a 3.5mm jack to 3.5mm jack cable (walkman headphone jack size) to connect the headphone socket on my standard hi-fi to the line input socket on my laptop. I then downloaded Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) and recorded my tapes/CDs in excellent quality. Using phono sockets (a pair of co-axial red and black or red and white sockets) should be slightly better quality, but my all-in-one hi-fi didn't have these.

If you can borrow a stereo, this would probably be the easiest & cheapest method.

Backbiter

That's what I did, too. Very very straightforward once you get the hang of audacity. As stated above, link your music system to your PC/laptop with a cable that has a headphone-type connector ("3.5mm jack") at both ends. Plug one end into the headphone socket on your music system and the other into the microphone socket on your PC (that's what I use, the above poster uses the 'line-in' socket).
Start audacity, select the source as microphone (or 'line-in if using that socket) from the drop down menu and press record. Start your music and you will see the song on the screen in wave form. You can also see the gaps between songs, so it's easy to record several at once. You then select each song with the cursor, go to File > export selection as MP3. You can delete all the unwanted bits of silence etc. If you muck up, just close the window and restart recording.

One tip: I have external PC speakers plugged into my headphones socket. When these are plugged in, audacity doesn't pick up the music that's playing so records nothing. Unplug this if you can't 'see' the music being recorded. I find I can't hear what's being recorded using this method, but it plays back fine.

fizzylizzy_2

Thanks for your help - looks like the way to go is to buy a standard turntable then connect it up. I'll go and have a look now and see what is out there (I'm a bit clueless as to reliable brands etc!).