How to hook up my turntables to my mac?

H

Hydroglow

Registered
I need something like RCA to USB or firewire. Does anyone know where I can get something like that. Or do you have a better idea?


iBook G3 500mhz(old school baby:p)
640MB
20GB
Dual USB
One Firewire



Edit: I clicked the wrong thread. But I can't delete this post. Please move to the right area:D
 
There's a technique to this, and it's been explained in such rags as Macworld and Mac Addict. Let me dig it out for you:
  1. First, you have to connect your turntable to your iBook. Hook the table up to your receiver or a preamp like the Griffin Powerwave, and connect the cables from either of those to your audio in source, in this case some sort of USB audio-in device.
  2. Choose the sound input, use headphones to directly monitor the table. Set the volume level to something appropriate, so you get a good signal.
  3. Use a sound recording app like Black Cat Systems' Audiocorder, Felt Tip Sound Studio, or anything else you use. Set the recording settings to 44.1 Khz and 16-bit stereo in AIFF format for optimal results (this translates to CD with no loss of quality). Choose your input device in your program if necessary.
  4. Test your record, and adjust the gain until you get a strong signal with nothing in the red zone. If the gain is too high, you'll get distortion; too low may equal hissing.
  5. Finally, record away! Start playing the record and push the record button when the song you want starts. Push stop after it's over, naturally. In some programs, like Sound Studio, you can see a graphic representation of the sound you've recorded; from here you can trim excess waveform data, like at the beginning of a song. Other apps don't have this waveform, so you have to be a little more careful when you start and stop recording. Save each song as an AIFF file. If you want a CD, burn these straight to a CD; if you want them for a compressed file, import them as MP3 or AAC in iTunes.
These instructions were adapted from the Mac Addict how-to "Digitize Vinyl and Audiocassettes" in the July 2003 issue, and I included some information based on my own experiences with recording audio. If you need more help, ask and ye shall receive.
 
I think Arden is right here, with a turntable you will need some kind of preamp - phono signals are not the same as other audio devices. If you don't have a preamp, you might be able to use the tape out (usually not effected by volume level) of your receiver and take that into the Mac.

Why do you want to go in USB or Firewire? Why not straight into your Mac's audio ins? I mean you can't play the record faster and it seems like an unneccessary A to D conversion to me... Arden, can you help me understand this please?

Sound Studio is a good cheap app for editing audio. Peak makes some nice sound editing apps, though they can be pricey.
 
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