What do I need to start ripping my vinyl to a Laptop

[Al ears]

Ive been looking at CD recorders wish i had kept mine now .

And that helps the OP??

 

[Al ears]

I've never done it, but I'd think all you need is a sound card (with inputs, which used to be common) and a phono pre-amp. And the aforementioned time; but as someone who still buys and rips CDs, I don't see that as a problem.

Nope.
He has to get a digital signal out of the turntable does he not?

 

[Shrek]

And that helps the OP??

And that helps the OP??

its a a much easier way to record/rip records is it not ?

 

[Al ears]

its a a much easier way to record/rip records is it not ?

CDs yes, records not.....
You might have noticed the OP stated vinyl.

 

[good_enough]

You need a RCA to 3.5mm jack cable. On a PC you need Audacity software. Once you've worked it all out (no I'm not going to write a 20 page tutorial - just search digitising albums with audacity or something) you'll find you can save what comes into the mic input (if PC is any good it'll ask you whether you plugged in mic or line) as wav or mp3 or whatever. To have your stuff read properly by software you'll need to right click on the files and set 'properties' like artist and title etc. Playback software picks this up from 'metadata'.

Try above to see if what you get is good enough it has been for me but maybe I've got a good soundcard or I'm not picky.

 

[abacus]

Nope.
He has to get a digital signal out of the turntable does he not?

The line input on the laptop is analogue which connects to the ADC built into the laptop, so no external converter is required.

Bill

 

[Gray]

Precisely how is that going to work? Interested in how you propose he does it.
How does he get analogue to digital?
Waiting in anticipation.

The laptop converts analogue line in to digital for the recording software.
So as long as he's got a phono preamp....

CD recorders also have line level analogue in. It's how @Steve983, me and others digitised our vinyl decades ago.
In fact, if the OP got hold of a CD recorder and a CDRW disc or two - he could do it that way....maybe keep CDR for his car AND rip the CDR / RW discs to FLAC files.

If you can hear a difference between two cartridges, then digitising via an ADC with a resolution of 16/44.1 (or higher) gives a faithful recording - you will certainly hear that same difference.....that's why it is worth using the best source for the archiving.

And @Davidajcook if you decide to do it, make sure you back up as you go, because you will not want to repeat the process.

 

[DougK1]

Ooh, this brings back memories from several years ago as it was my intention to do this in my retirement as well.
I tried the phono leads to 3.5 plug to PC using Audacity, huge faff trying to set the correct recording levels to avoid clipping. You'll need to play the album in real time to set the correct levels, then again to actually record it...it can take multiple attempts to get it right!
I then bought a Korg ADC specifically designed for recording vinyl. Made the process simpler and more accurate but still too much of a faff.
In the end I abandoned the idea, far too time consuming to get the perfect rip free of pops and clicks.
I'm now retired and have decided life is too short for these foolish ideas 🙂
The only advice I can offer is if these LPs are available on CD get the CD as it will sound no different from the digitised vinyl copy 🙂

 

[nads]

In a word “don’t” bother. It takes way too long and then you think you will go and clean up the recording and then there are not enough hours in a day.

If they are records that there is no CD erosion of I can understand the appeal.

All you need to to is connect the phono stage output to your PC and with suitable recording software record it. Project do some phono stages that are meant to filter out some of the pops and crackle. Then there is adding the meta data tags to the data. And breaking down the sides to tracks.

Have fun. I did not.