Converting vinyl records to iTunes

Does anyone have any product or software reccomendations for converting old vinyl albums to store and use in iTunes?

I know this an old thread, but I purchased a digital turntable to computer and have started to transfer my records to iTunes. The major problem i am having is this; I use a USB cable between the 2 pieces of equipment, but I cannot turn off my iSight microphone and all of the room noise and conversation is being recorded along with the record. the turntable has no provisions for a microphone so I know it's the iSight one. I have turned off this in everyway possible, but it still records all sound when transferring in iTunes. How is that possible?

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Converting vinyl records

Can someone recommend an app to convert vinyl records to iTunes? I have used Audacity and EZ but they don't always replicate the track and album information when imported. Griffin iMic/Final Vinyl has been recommended but I live in Kenya and can't get the iMic part. I don't mind if the app is free or to be paid for but if the latter, useful if it can be tried first

Griffin Technologies iMic and Final Vinyl.
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/

Clear Instructions: import Vinyl records into iTunes

I have been researching for some weeks. Amazing,no succinct article or info on HOW to use a Mac and import music from Vinyl records into iTunes. ( Adam Engst, where is a Tidbits eBook when I need it?)
I think I have the gist but maybe you audiophiles can clarify for me?
(not sure what format to use when finally able to import the music file into iTunes)
- have ordered an AudioTechnica turntable
-using iMac G4...am I correct that it does not have a distinct "LINE IN"?
- So, will need iMic from Griffin
-will use Audacity (available free or lo cost with the iMic?
-Possibly use "ClickRepair" to rid of clicks and clacks in the music?
Clean the vinyl first (any suggestions what to use?)
connect turntable to iMac via iMic
put record on the platter
launch Audacity
start the turntable
tell Audacity to record into a non compressed format (so I can use ClickRepair).
after both software products have finished, import into iTunes?
As what? AiFF, Apple Lossless?
Any and all advice appreciated.
(This is birthday gift for hubby and I want to get it right !)
Message was edited by: Barbara Passman3

Work Flow - Recording a vinyl LP to the Mac for iTunes
The short version of what needs to be done is this:
* Set up the hardware - find the cables needed to connect the turntable to the Mac.
* Provide an RIAA EQualization curve - this can be done with hardware or software
* Clean the vinyl LP
* Set up the recording software - select input and output, designate where the file is to be saved and in what format (considering quality level desired and hard drive space available), enable "pass through" (so you can listen while recording), and set the recording level.
* Record
* Edit - define tracks, if necessary, clean pops and scratches, if possible
* Import into iTunes - name tracks, change file format, if necessary to save hard drive space
Here is the long version:
*Hardware:
I suggest connecting your turntable to a stereo amplifier or pre-amplifier which has a "Phono" input. The (red and white) RCA plugs on the turntable would plug into the Phono jacks on the back of the amp. Then, use a stereo-RCA-to-1/8th-inch-minijack-cable (RadioShack) to connect a set of the amplifier's "Line Out" jacks to the Mac's audio "Line In" port.
If your Mac does not have a "Line In" port, I highly recommend the Griffin iMic ($40 - http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/). The iMic comes with a short RCA-minijack cable; you will probably want a 1/8th inch stereo extension cable which is long enough to reach between the turntable and the Mac.
I also suggest a good set of headphones - especially if you are applying filters and effects. It will be difficult or impossible to tell what you are doing if you are monitoring the results with typical computer speakers. I use (and highly recommend) the Sennheiser HD-485s although there are many others you could choose from.
* RIAA Equalization - As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, you will need to provide an RIAA equalization curve so your LPs will sound right when played back. Your stereo amplifier or pre-amp with a "Phono" input has that built in, so you are all set.
If, however, you don't have an amp or pre-amp with "Phono" inputs, then you could connect the turntable's RCA jacks directly to the iMic and use the Final Vinyl software (included with the iMic) to provide the RIAA curve (Filters>Add>EQ> then check the button "Connected to a turntable"). I can't comment on the results from using Final Vinyl's for the RIAA, because I use a stereo amp.
* Clean the vinyl LP:
First, I use a brush with very fine nylon bristles and a weak solution of dishwashing detergent in tepid water (http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Nylon-Bristle-Brushes) to remove dirt and fingerprints. Gently work the bush with a concentric motion, following the groves, then, rinse under tepid tap water and blot dry on a clean tea towel.
This will leave some lint, so clean again by using the Discwasher brush (http://www.needledoctor.com/Discwasher-D4-Kit?sc=2&category=108), held lightly, on the LP as it rotates on your turntable. After using up my Discwasher fluid, I started mixing my own: half distilled water and half isopropyl alcohol.
I should mention, my goal was to clean the LP for one last playback for the recording, without consideration of what long-term effect my cleaning method might have on the LP.
Don't forget to examine the needle on the turntable cartridge - it can collect crud which seriously degrades the playback quality. The Discwasher kit has a little brush for the needle, too - careful - it's very fragile.
*Set up the Software:
For general recording, including LPs, I recommend "Audio Hijack Pro" ($32 - http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/) I prefer Audio Hijack Pro to Final Vinyl and CD Spin Doctor, because I can use it to record from many more sources (including streaming audio from the internet), it has many more options for effects and file types, a better Help manual, and, in my experience, fewer crashes. However, Audio Hijack Pro does not offer an RIAA equalization curve, as does Final Vinyl.
- Format - IF you have enough hard drive space, I would suggest you make the initial recording in 16 bit AIFF format at 44.1kHz. That is the standard format used by audio CDs, so this file type can be burned directly to CDs without conversion or compression. Every audio software application should be able to open an AIFF file.
If the AIFF files take up too much room on your hard drive, you can always convert them to MP3 or AAC, using your recording software or iTunes, but I suggest you first burn a copy of your AIFF recording to a CD, so you can go back to the original "master" recording in case you want to re-edit it later.
Some file formats which are compressed - like MP3s - get re-compressed every time you Save. A little information is lost each time the file is compressed, so if you are doing a lot of editing and saving, the file can degrade. That's why I prefer to do any editing on AIFF files, which I change to high quality MP3s in iTunes only when I am done editing.
- Refer to your software help files to learn how to set input and output, save preferences, and to enable pass through, if needed, so you can hear what you are recording.
- Next, you will need to set the "level" to be as strong as possible without clipping. Clipping results in distortion when the signal is too strong. If the signal is too weak, the recording will be noisy because the junk will be louder relative to the desired audio. Audio Hijack Pro has "VU Meters" with clipping indicators, and you can set up a "Gain" control to increase or decrease the signal strength. You may need to visit the Mac's "Sound" Preference Pane>Input Tab, to change the signal strength at the system level.
- Your recording software may offer a few - or many - filters and effects. Filters and effects are available as plugins, so you may be able to find even more as free downloads or for sale. Many filters and effects are going to be of interest only to sound engineers and only for rare special circumstances. Some are quite useful when cleaning up tape or microphone recordings, but I have not found any which are very effective on LP-type pops and scratches. You can waste a LOT of time playing around with these.
My suggestion is to make your "master" raw recording using few or no effects, then go back and edit COPIES of the master, so if you mess it up, you can start over. With experience, you will learn what works - only then you should apply the filters as you record.
* Record:
If your recording software offers these features, here is something you may want to try when recording LPs. One is a feature to automatically detect the "silent" groove between tracks so the finished recording will consist of a separate file for each track. You may have to adjust some sensitivity settings to get this to work, and I found it to be somewhat fussy.
Another useful feature is a Pause button, so you can turn over an LP without actually stopping and restarting the recording - and also without the sounds of picking up the needle from side A and setting it down on side B. The pause feature is especially nice when the LP is really one long recording, such as a symphony.
If you are recording in the AIFF format, don't waste time naming albums, artists, and tracks in the recording software. That info is not encoded in the AIFF file, so when you move the file to iTunes you will have to rename everything again. Might work if you are recording in the MP3 format.
* Edit:
If your finished recording lacks tracks, you can re-create them by using the "split" feature of your editing software - which may be the same as your recording software, or something different. I really like Fission for simple editing like splits, cuts and fades, and they claim it's "lossless" even when editing MP3s (http://rogueamoeba.com/fission/). It's particularly good for trimming off the "silent" grooves at the start and end of the LP where the pops are much more obtrusive. For applying filters and equalization, I stick with Audio Hijack.
The Holy Grail for LP recordings is trying to eliminate pops and scratches. I can't offer too much encouragement. Nothing I've tried has been very effective in reducing pops and scratches, and everything I've tried which has helped, has also degraded the recording somewhat, usually dulling the sound a little.
"CD Spin Doctor" is somewhat useful, offering separate sliders for applying "De-click" De-crackle" and "De-hiss". The effect can quickly be previewed, and after you get the degree of adjustment you want, it can be applied to the whole file (works on AIFF, not MP3). My copy of CD Spin Doctor came with Toast Titanium 6, but I see it is now being sold on Roxio's site as a stand-alone application ($40 - http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/spindoctor/overview.html). Sadly, the improvement I've seen in LP noise has been less than miraculous.
Many reviewers say great things about SoundSoap2, but I was disappointed. It is the best noise reduction software I have tried, and also the most expensive ($129 - http://www.bias-inc.com/products/soundSoap2/), but I was unable to make much improvement in LP pops and scratches without also degrading the overall quality of the audio. It has a "Learn Noise" feature which is very cool - in theory. Find a groove to sample with pops (but no music) and SoundSoap2 will eliminate the same noise profile from the entire recording. There is another cool feature in which you can listen just to the "noise" which is to be removed - and there you will hear the learned "pop" also includes quite a bit of the music spectrum.
SoundSoap2 is pretty good at cleaning up hiss from tape recordings and wind noise from microphone recordings, but not so good for LPs.
Some editing software (like CD Spin Doctor and SoundSoap2) offer an "Exciter" or "Excitifier" effect which helps restore some of the brilliance and high end which is lost in noise reduction. This is one of the few effects which I've found to be useful, if used in moderation.
I haven't tried "ClickRepair" which I just learned about from this thread, but after reading the website (http://wwwmaths.anu.edu.au/~briand/sound/) and Version Tracker, I'm hopeful that it will perform better than CD Spin Doctor and Soundsoap2. Thanks for the tip.
* Import into iTunes:
After I have the recording edited and cleaned, I import it into iTunes. At this stage I usually have AIFF files, one for each track on the LP. In iTunes, the album and tracks will have generic names (track 1, track 2, etc.), so I edit the Album name, track titles, genre, year, etc (File>Get info>Info tab); Select the whole album before "get info" to edit the Album, Artist, Genre and Year info, but select each track one-at-a-time to edit the Track titles.
Next, I burn one or two "master" copies of the edited recording as an audio CD form the AIFF files. Be aware that if you burn an audio CD, the album and track names you edited will appear only when you insert that CD back into the same Mac it was burned on - take it to another Mac or PC and all you will see are the Generic names (track 1, etc) - this is normal for an audio (AIFF) CD.
Because they take up so much room, I don't keep AIFF files on my hard drive - I use iTunes to convert them to MP3 files (Advanced>Convert Selection to MP3). You may want to use AAC or some other format, instead. Consider all possible future uses of your iTunes library (iPod vs non-Apple MP3 player, compatibility with the CD player in your car or home stereo, quality of your playback equipment, etc.)
To change the quality of the MP3 or AAC files imported to iTunes, go to: Preferenes>Advanced>Importing. (I use a Custom import setup of: High Quality (160kbps), Variable bit rate - a step up from the mor common 128kbps MP3.) Whatever settings you have selected here is what will be used when your AIFF files are converted to MP3. After converting the recording to MP3, I delete the AIFF file from iTunes (and my hard drive), but I keep my master (AIFF) CD in a safe, accessible location.
If I want a music mix to listen to in my car, or for a party, or for background music while I work, the MP3 files on my hard drive are fine. However, if I really want to listen to the music on quality playback equipment, I'll choose the CD I burned from the uncompressed (AIFF) file.
Hope this helps.

I used a usb turntable to import old vinyl records into iTunes. Then with the cloud and iTunes match I put them on another Mac. The songs come up in the music list but they are greyed out. How do I get them recognized.

I used a usb turntable to import old vinyl records into iTunes. Then with the cloud and iTunes match I put them on another Mac. The songs come up in the music list but they are greyed out. How do I get them recognized. The symbol states the songs were downloaded from iCloud. I would like to get them to play so that I can make a playlist, and burn a CD.

Try:
- Reset the iOS device. Nothing will be lost
Reset iOS device: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Unsync all music and resync
- Reset all settings
Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset All Settings.
All your preferences and settings are reset. Information (such as contacts and calendars) and media (such as songs and videos) aren’t affected.
- Restore from backup. See:
iOS: How to back up
- Restore to factory settings/new iOS device.

Can MacBook Pro Retina be used to convert vinyl records to digital files?

Can MacBook Pro Retina be used to convert vinyl records to digital files?

As the retina model doesn't have a line-in port, you'll also need a USB input device.
Griffin's iMic is a Mac stalwart. However, they don't list Lion or ML in the compatibility list, so some further research may be necessary.
If that's OK, their Final Vinyl software is free.
There are other analogue-to-digital converters, though most if not all are more expensive, and the excellent (free) Audacity software will also help with the import and any editing. It exports to a good selection of audio file types too.

Convert LP records to ITune?

Does iMac have software to convert LP records to ITune?
Is this found in garage Band or ITunes?

Hi Corla,
Connect your turntable to your Mac and turn it on. Go to System Preferences and select the Sound pane. Then select Input. Can you see the turntable in the list of input devices? If you can't you will have to install the software that came with the turntable as this will include the drivers the system needs.
If you can see the turntable then select it and quit out of System Preferences.
You can do what you want to do in GarageBand but there will be some manual editing of the audio and a lot of cutting and pasting of individual audio regions. There is software that will automate the process to a degree. I use CD Spin Doctor from Roxio.
To capture your LP's in GarageBand, create a new project with one Real Instrument track. Make the input to that track the signal from the Turntable using the Input Source drop down menu in the Inspector.
Record enable the Instrument track and play something from an LP so that you can adjust the record volume to suit. When you are ready, hit record and play the first side of an LP. When it is finished use the audio waveform displayed on the track to identify the individual tracks and isolate them using the Split from the Edit menu. Now you will need to create new project and cut and paste each isolated track individually from the original project to the new project and send them one at a time to iTunes. Now do the other side of the LP.
It's a lot of work and you may be better to use the supplied software. Even the basic transfer software may make the task a little less arduous. Or have a look at CD Spin Doctor. It costs around £30.00 ($50.00). Have a look at what it can do here
http://www.roxio.co.uk/eng/products/spindoctor/overview.html.
I hope this helps.
Alastair.

What is the process for recording vinyl records into iTunes using the Sony USB Turntable?

What is the process for recording vinyl records into iTunes using the Sony USB Turntable?

What is the process for recording vinyl records into iTunes using the Sony USB Turntable?

I am having problems syncing recently recorded songs to my iPod. I am using an ion program to record vinyl records to iTunes. The songs are in the iTune library and will play on the computer. When I try to sync they show up but do not play. help

I am using an ion piece of equipment to record vinyl reccords to my iMac and in turn save them in iTunes. I have recorded many records this way and have never had a problem until yesterday. I recorded three songs from records to iTunes and was successful as they are on the song list and will play on the iMac. When I tried to sync them to my iPod they showed up on the menu but would not play. The iPod just skipped over the new guys. Am I doing something wrong or has my ion program flipped out? Any help would be appreciated by this old man. Thankyou

This might sound weird, but here's an idea which worked for me re music that was newly added to itunes and showed up in my ipod but wouldn't play - I simply played the tracks in itunes first, just a second of time or so will do it, not the whole track, then connect the ipod and sync again and this time they played - hope this helps.

Convert vinyl records.

I am planning to buy turntable and convert old records. Is the Numark's EZ Audio Converter a preferable choice for software? What options in Logic can I use? Does logic do a better job? How to get the best possible transfer and then eliminate pops and other undesirables with out loosing the cleanness of the original sound. Thanks in advance.

Hi,
First make sure your turntable is the highest quality possible, is transparent or neutral sounding, the stylus/cartridge is in good condition, is grounded correctly to eliminate hum etc, is turning at the right speed (calibrate it), and preferably is using a stylus/cartridge/tonearm that will be able to pull plenty of high (and low) frequency content off the record. You'll have to research but some high end ones will capture information right up to 30khz and beyond which definitely makes a difference compared with the truncation at 22.05khz of CD.
Use as good a vinyl source as possible. Find the best version of the record as you can. There may be superior pressings, masterings, etc etc of the recording and these will have a dramatic effect on the information that is captured. You might just want to transfer the records you already have but it shouldn't be so hard to find better versions for not much money.
Depending on the condition and what you know about the history of the records, you can clean them carefully using soap and warm water. Dont use an abrasive cloth but instead use one or a few of those very soft cloths for cleaning glasses/camera lenses. A small bit of detergent and a gentle hand moving around the record grooves (not across to the centre like you do with CD) should get a lot of crap out of the record depending on its condition and could provide a big leap in sound quality. Take care not to get water on the inner labels. Make sure to dry the record for a few hours (not using too much heat) before playing.
Make sure your signal chain is as short and high quality as possible. The RIAA EQ curve is important as stated - get yourself a Cambridge Audio 640P Phono preamp for about £50 - this has excellent sound quality, will preserve your frequency response up to about 50khz and it will be much better to let hardware like this do the RIAA curve than letting software do it.
To record on the computer, use a high quality interface (Apogee Duet, MOTU Ultralite etc) use 24bit and at least 96khz sample rate to preserve the high frequency information. Determine the loudest parts of the record and set the level according to that - you can leave 6 - 10db headroom with 24 bit, just to be safe, and the sound quality/resolution won't suffer.
Use something like spectral view in Sountrack Pro to check the integrity of the recording. You'll be able to see things like hum, clicks, pops and may be able to edit them. I use iZotope RX Advanced as it is very good for things like noise reduction, manual/automatic click restoration etc and it does it very transparently (as long as you put the time in to find the exact right settings). But you won't want to do too much noise reduction generally as the sound will almost certainly suffer.
You might want to convert your master to 32 bit before editing as it will preserve the audio better and not introduce (albeit very very low level) dither etc.
Finally, I would avoid 'delivering' the final needledrop on CD and personally would always listen to the results in a nice environment with high resolution monitors/speakers in native 24 bit 96khz resolution, because that way it will sound as much like the record played live as possible. If you do have to go to CD, I would recommend sample rate conversion by iZotope (64 bit SRC) or Voxengo (r8brain), and dither by iZotope (MBIT+) as these are definitely among the best available.
Hope this helps
Cheers
rrrobo
Message was edited by: rrrobo

What software do I need to get music from a vinyl record into ITunes

What software do I need to get music from a vinyl record into ITunes

When I used Audacity to digitize some of my LPs I would record the whole album, then trim the lead in, select and export the first track, delete that, then export the next track, and so on. You can zoom in and out to locate the track breaks. There is a snap to zero point option which should prevent clicks on track transitions. If you want to go deeper you can add fade in and out so you don't snap into the sound of the groove. (I was using a pretty ropey turntable). There are other tools that chop up audio but you should be able to do it all in Audacity reasonably quickly once you get your eye in. I'm sure there are tools that can chop audio at pre-specified points, or even calculate where those points should be, but they are unlikely to be free and probably still need a degree of supervision.
tt2

HT1473 I have an EZ Vinyl/Tape Converter (MixMeister) to export vinyl records to iTunes. The computer downloads (records) the songs from the record, but when it is to be exported to iTunes, I get a window that says iTunes unable to export. (compatability?

I have an EZ Vinyl/Tape Converter (MixMeister) to record vinly records to my computer; which then is supposed to automatically download to my iTunes program. But it does not. It records and stores (somewhere) in the computer, but when it is supposed to be exported into iTones, I get a window that says something about incompatability and/or "close other windows in iTunes; but there are no open windows and iTunes is closed. I followed all instructions to EZ Vinyl to the T, but no export/import to iTunes. What am I doing wrong? What do I need to do? THX!

Tony, thanks so much. The message reads: "Unable to export to iTunes. Please make sure you close any active windows in iTunes. Would you like to try exporting again? [Yes] [No]"
And of course I click on Yesl, but I keep getting the same window message. I read somewhere, that MixMeister is not compatible with Apple iTunes 10 series versions. The advice said to go to control panel; Programs; click on iTunes; click on Change; click on Repair. I tried that, but I still get the same window message. Then I read that I should contact the mixmeister support website, which will be my next step. But if you can provide any direction, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again!
Dan

Vinyl records to itunes

I have a Sony USB turntable which I am trying to use to convert some old albums of mine to songs playable on iTunes.
I have figured out a way to do it, but it seems awful tedious, as I have to record the songs as a track in Garageband, then save it and convert to an mp4, then import into my itunes library.
It works, but I must record one song at a time to keep them separate (if I record one side of an album, it records as one song).
I'm thinking there must be some Mac-compatible software out there that would simplify the process, and allow me to separate the tracks.
Also, does anyone have experience with this process as far as which settings to use?
Should I save the garageband track first as a garageband file, and if so, can I save at the compressed "small" size to save space on my HD, or will I sacrifice too much quality.
Again, I've been able to accomplish the task, but it seems a bit awkward and I could use some pointers.
I am running Snow Leopard on the G5 computer I am using with the USB turntable, but I also have a Macbook Pro running Lion if that would do a better job.
thanks

John61254 wrote:
if I record one side of an album, it records as one song
you can export sections:
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/GBFAQ.html#exportsections
(Let the page FULLY load. The link to your answer is at the top of your screen)
John61254 wrote:
can I save at the compressed "small" size to save space on my HD, or will I sacrifice too much quality.
you would be double compressing your final product, so don't save the project as compressed

Vinyl records to itunes via USB turntable

I have a Sony USB turntable which I am trying to use to convert some old albums of mine to songs playable on iTunes.
I have figured out a way to do it, but it seems awful tedious, as I have to record the songs as a track in Garageband, then save it and convert to an mp4, then import into my itunes library.
It works, but I must record one song at a time to keep them separate (if I record one side of an album, it records as one song).
I'm thinking there must be some Mac-compatible software out there that would simplify the process, and allow me to separate the tracks.
Also, does anyone have experience with this process as far as which settings to use?
Should I save the garageband track first as a garageband file, and if so, can I save at the compressed "small" size to save space on my HD, or will I sacrifice too much quality.
Again, I've been able to accomplish the task, but it seems a bit awkward and I could use some pointers.
I am running Snow Leopard on the G5 computer I am using with the USB turntable, but I also have a Macbook Pro running Lion if that would do a better job.
thanks

Take a look at: http://www.alpinesoft.co.uk/
Good reviews from: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=87289
There are others, google "OS X Viny Recording"
(I use a Windows program (the only time I boot into windows!) , so I can't comment)

Convert vinyl records to digital

Is there a way to convert old analog records to digital using Garage Band?
What kind of equipment would I need to do it besides a turntable and receiver?

http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/Tutorials.html#allabouttransferringlps

I have a new (mid) 2011 imac and want to transfer my old records to itunes but i dont know what usb turntable would be best for a new mac that would have compatible software for ripping to itunes?

i have a mid 2011 i5 imac and i want to transfer my vinyl records to itunes but i dont know what usb turntable would be best for my imac that has compatible software for transfer to itunes

Hallo,
I use an Akai usb turntable with the Audacity sw delivered with it. To monitor during recording I also use the LineIn utility (all this on a Macbook Pro with Mavericks).
It works fine, only the input volume of the usb audio port cannot be adjusted (at least I did not yet discover how to do it) and the volume of the music is lower than other music imported into iTunes from CD or iTunes store, but still acceptable.
Success, Jean

Converting vinyl records to iTunes

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