Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
A Guide for
Digital Conversion
Vinyl
Records
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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1
Power On Turntable and Select Speed
On Turntable Player, turn the
POWER button, located on the left
hand side of the Platter, to ON.
2
Place record on Turntable Platter and START
Press the START/STOP button, located on the lower left hand side of the
deck.
Press ‘33’ on the Speed Selector
for 33 1/3 RPM (12” records).
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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3
Place the Needle using the Cuing Lever
• Raise the Cuing
Lever (located at
the right side of
the Tone-arm).
• Move the Tone-
arm to the start of
the vinyl disc, or to
the track that you
want to record.
• Lower the Cuing
Lever, placing the
Needle.
4
Launch App - ‘Audacity’
On Windows computer desktop, double-click the Audacity
icon to launch the app.
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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5
Check Your Settings in Audacity
Audacity will open up a new le.
The default settings should be as follows:
• Audio Host: Windows DirectSound
• Recording Device: Line (USB AUDIO CODEC)
• Recording Channels: 2 (Stereo)
• Playback Device: Speakers
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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6
Check Your Recording Levels in Audacity
Place the Needle on the vinyl record.
• Click on the words 'Click to Start Monitoring' displayed over the numbers at
the top of the Audacity window.
• In Audacity, you should see green bars moving across the numbers as your
record is playing.
• To adjust recording volume, move the slider next to the microphone icon
toward the minus sign (softer) or the plus sign (louder), as shown below:
• The green bars should be in the range between "-15" and "-3". Adjust the
recording volume, if necessary.
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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7
Capturing Your Audio (Record)
• Once you are happy with your levels, lift the Needle and return to the
beginning of the track. Press RECORD on Audacity rst, then lower
the Needle using the Cuing Lever on the Turntable.
As the audio records, you should see similar activity
in the window as this screenshot:
• When you are done recording (follow order):
2) Press STOP on Audacity
1) Lift the Needle. Press STOP on the Turntable Power button
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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8
Exporting Your Audio File
Save Your File onto your USB (External Drive) – When you are done
recording, connect your USB drive to the computer.
Go to File > Export > Export as WAV in the Audacity menu.
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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9
Name and Save Your Audio File
Give the le a name that is consistent and obvious and save it to your
USB device.
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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10
Describe Your File
When you save the le, a window will appear for you to enter metadata
(description info) about the le. Enter any and all applicable
information.
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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11
Check Your File
In order to test your audio le, open your USB device and double click
the le to launch Windows Media Player.
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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12
Eject Your USB
Once you are nished, right-click your USB device and select “EJECT” in
order to safely remove the device.
You are done! Exit Audacity, remove your record from the Turntable,
and turn o the power.
13
Done!
Remember to take your external device, as well, as
any personal belongings with you. (e.g. Tapes) .
Digital Memory Lab | A Guide for Digital Conversion, Vinyl Records
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FAQ:
How much time will this take?
• 1 hour of audio = 1.25 hours to fully digitize. Capture happens in real
time, and then the le must be encoded, described, and saved to
ensure it will last.
• We recommend digitizing no more than 1 hour of audio in a lab
session.
How much storage space will I need?
• 1 hour of audio = 620 MB.
How can I save specic tracks?
• Use ‘Ctrl B’ to identify specic tracks.
• Use ‘File > Export > Export Multiple’ to save to your USB device.