How to Record Vinyl to CD With a Mac

Mac users can convert vinyl records to CDs with a simple application and any vinyl player.

The one downside to the vinyl record format is its lack of portability. Luckily, vinyl record collectors who wish to transfer the music from their vinyl records into a digital format that can then be burned onto a CD or placed on an MP3 player can do so on a Mac computer. To do so, you must simply download the proper program, connect the vinyl player to the computer and allow the software to do the rest.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Internet access
• Record player
• RCA to 3.5 mm conversion cable

Instructions

1. Open the computer's web browser and navigate to a website that offers vinyl analog to digital media conversion software. Golden Vinyl, Numark LP 2 CD and Pure Vinyl are a few of the programs that perform this service. Download and install the program on your computer.

2. Turn off the computer and the record player. Plug the red and white ends of the conversion cable into the audio jacks on the record player. Plug the 3.5 mm end of the conversion cable into the analog line in the audio jack on the computer.

3. Turn on the computer and record player and run the vinyl analog to digital media conversion program. Click on the "File" tab and select the "New" option to begin a new project.

4. Click on the "Vinyl Record" option from the "Recording Source" menu. Click on the proper record speed from the "Recording Speed" subheading. Click the "Next" button.

5. Place the vinyl you wish to record onto the record player and let it begin playing. On the computer, move the "Recording Volume Level" bar on the "Recording Volume Calibration" menu until the volume of the record registers as "Good" on the "Volume Level Detection" scale. Click the "Next" button.

6. Play the record until it reaches a point in between tracks. On the computer, press the "Measure Noise Floor" button on the "Background Noise Measure" menu. When it is done saving the between track noise, press the "Next" button.

7. Leave the default settings on the "Audio Restoration Tools" menu and click the "Next" button.

8. Click on the drop down menu on the "Output Format" page and select the "Save Recordings to Computer in Wave Format" option. Click the "Finish" button.

9. Click the "Record" icon on the application's main menu to bring up the "Recording Session" menu.

10. Click the "Record" button within the "Recording Session" menu and allow your vinyl record to play from the beginning. The program will now record the audio on the vinyl record. When the record is finished, the file will be saved to the application's main menu.

11. Click on the newly created recording file to highlight it. Click the "Burn" button to bring up the "CD Burn Settings" menu.

12. Insert a blank CD into the disc drive of the computer. Click the "Finish" button in the "CD Burning Settings" menu to begin burning. Allow several minutes for the burning process to finish.

References

• NCH Software: Golden Records Tutorial