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I feel so… retro.

So after a bit of work tracking down parts and figuring out what software to chain, I’ve got a working setup for transferring my vinyl to CD and MP3. This MP3 was the first success. (Simon and Garfunkel happened to be the first record I pulled out of the box.) I still need to take my turntable in for service; it’s a little slow and unbalanced — like me! — so it doesn’t sound that great yet.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY.

I’m glad I’m finally getting this started. Next step is to find someplace to tune up the turntable, and then to get gramofile working to split into tracks and make less noisy.

I’m still debating whether or not to bother with cover art or just have a title/artist/track text listing on the CD cases. I should probably label the CDs with stickers instead of pen, too. Boy, this is getting laborious, and I haven’t even started yet! But I’ve only got about five hundred albums to do, so hey, no problem. Might better buy a big hard drive, too, I suppose.

I thought about burning them to CD on these blanks, but they’re too expensive for the quantity I’ll need, and it will make labelling harder.

What will be interesting is if any of these ripped tracks start floating around the Internet — I like the idea of some kid somewhere wondering why there are crackles and pops in an mp3.

Rich

5 responses to “I feel so… retro.”

  1. My buddy Chris wants to get one of those to burn the Smashing Pumpkins album that was only available on vinyl as a pressing of maybe 20 records. You can find MP3s on DAS INTARWEB, but they are scratchy and such, natch.

    It all reminds me of the heyday of printing CDs that look like records and have scratchy intros to the first track, but the sound soon smooths out afterwards. I’m not ashamed to admit I have one: The Rembrandts’ LP (what a title).

  3. Remind me to PIK YOR BRANES about this when you have it perfected.

    I have a LOT of vinyl. And I’m tired of waiting for The Bears’ first two albums to be rereleased on cd.

  4. Pfft. Do I remember tape? I have a four-track recorder because I’m all about analog in areas that correspond to important senses, and you ask if I remember tape. Now I even have a use for the metal tapes, the ones I never had a reason to buy when people actually listened to tapes.

    With the tape, they can’t print it to look like a record.

  5. Speaking of tape (and I was, but I guess I forgot to submit my post after previewing — woopsies), I have a bag containing a bunch of 1/4″ reels and a DAT, which in turn contain all of my work from an analog-electronic-(art)-music course I took while I was still a music student. Someday I may even encounter devices to read them again…