Recording from vinyl to hard drive

Hotsauce84

What's the best/cheapest way to do this? I have a basic soundcard, nothing too fancy. All it has is a 1/8" plug. I noticed this Griffin iMic thing on Turntable Lab and it seemed interesting (and only $39, too!):Griffin iMic USB Audio Interfacewith Final Vinyl Software price: $39.00available: yesitem #: apl-097 OVERVIEWThis the most inexpensive option for transferring vinyl audio into computer. Just plug your setup or turntable (RCA adaptor is included) into the iMic; and plug the iMic into your USB port. In addition to having better audio quality than most built-in soundcards, the iMic also comes with Final Vinyl recording software which allows you to custom EQ and add CD-readable tracks before you record (saving you lots of time). KEY FEATURES??? record vinyl into your computer and save as AIFF or WAV file??? set custom EQ recording levels and make CD-readable tracks (track 1, track 2, etc) before you record??? output your computer speakers??? MAC and Windows compatible??? includes: iMic, Final Vinyl software, RCA adaptorDo any of you use this? Is there a better way to do this? Please be aware that I'm a non-technical dude. I prefer the process to be simple and painless. You know, just get the file into my PC, clean up the .wav file a little, save as mp3...and that's it. All that crazy audiophile stuff is intimidating to me.Any help is greatly appreciated.Thanks!Herm

wholewheat

I am broker than broke so I went this route: I simply ran a line from my receiver and plugged it right into my soundcard. I use audacity (it is free to download) to record the sound that is coming into my computer, then edit it into seperate tracks. You can export the songs in a few different formats. It is not the greatest thing in the world quality-wise but it works.

djstef

If you're on a Mac, use Sound Studio.

I have a cable running from the amp to the USB port.

triptoyourmind

I reckon the best way is through total recorder. You can download it, and it's really easy to use. it records sound from any source, streaming radio,soundcard whatever. The demo version only lets you record for a minute or something, but a crack is easy enough to find.