Vinyl records need extra care to preserve the recorded music in them. You might want to consider copying those tracks into your computer and converting them into MP3s as a back up plan to preserve those collectible recordings.
1. Acquire all the necessary equipment and software.
You are going to need a turntable, a stereo amplifier with line out connections, audio cables, a personal computer with a soundcard, and audio recording/editing software.
2. Connect the turntable, stereo amplifier and PC together.
The first connection is between the turntable and the stereo amplifier. The audio cable used is usually RCA but check your turntable and stereo amplifier for what type of jacks they support. The route is from the turntable's "out" to the stereo amplifier's "in." The next connection is between the stereo amplifier and the PC. One end of the cable plugs into the stereo amplifier's line out and the other goes into the line in of the PC's soundcard. Alternatively you can use the stereo amplifier's headphone connection. Remember that this output is affected by volume control as opposed to line out connections which maintain a constant line level signal. Also take note that for the audio cable between the stereo amplifier and the PC, one end should always be a 3.5 mm stereo jack as most soundcard inputs are in this size.
3. Familiarize yourself with the audio recording/editing software.
There are numerous software of this type. Some are free to download and some need to be purchased. Some are simple and user-friendly with basic features and some are designed for professional recording studios and have a multitude of functions and plug-ins. The one basic thing they all have is the capacity to take in and record audio data either from an internal (playing in the computer) or external (playing from another device) source. MP3 is now a standard audio format so it would be rare to come across audio recording/editing software that cannot support this format. Before you start recording, be sure you know which options or icons to click to activate the recording function. In terms of audio settings, try to set this at "44.1kHz, 16-bit stereo" as this is the standard sampling rate of digital audio.
4. Record the tracks from vinyl into the PC's hard disk.
With all the connections set, the machines turned on, and the knowledge to operate the software, it's now time to start the recording process. First activate the recording function of the software and then play the vinyl record on the turntable. There is usually a visible input signal indicator on the interface of these types of audio software that tells you that the sound is coming through. You can do a test run first and then playback from the software to confirm that the sound from the source has been recorded. At this point you can also check if the level is okay and adjust accordingly. Don't push the incoming signal too high as this could result in distortion. You can do a continuous recording session for each side of the vinyl record or record the tracks one by one. With the former method you will have to use the software's editing features to cut up the big chunk of audio data into individual tracks.
5. Clean up the tracks and convert to MP3 format.
It is highly recommended that you record in .wav format as this is the uncompressed format for digital audio and thus raises the chances that no data will be lost. Just make sure you have enough hard disk space; somewhere upwards 700 Mb to accommodate all the tracks of the vinyl record. When you have all the tracks recorded, you can convert them to MP3 afterwards. If the software you're using already has this function, then you don't have a problem. If it doesn't, then you'll have to use a different audio conversion application. The software you're using might also have audio enhancing features built-in or come with downloadable plug-ins. You can use these to reduce the pops and crackles that usually accompany vinyl record playback.
MP3 is a good format to use for storing audio data because it compresses the files significantly but shows no perceptible quality loss. Most media devices can also play this format, so you can now listen to the songs from your vinyl record collection in your portable audio/video device.
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