Number 284 - January 2007

Save Those Old Records To Disk
Buster White, Palmetto PC Club, Columbia, SC
Those of you who have been in the club for a few years may remember the program I did on how to transfer those vinyl recordings to CD or DVD. Due to tech problems that program didn't come off as well as I had planned. If you're wondering why I'm bringing this subject up again at this time it's because you and I and those records are getting older. It's time to do it. To steal the catch line from the Cable Guy, "Get 'er done." Another reason for talking about this at this time is a website that will make the job much easier.    The website is http://www.Acoustica.com/. The software is called "Spin-It Again." Everything you need to know about how to get those records to disc is on this site in plain English. In fact there are videos that talk, yes talk you through the process. You can even download a free trial version of the software. When you visit this site and take a look at how easy it is to get the job done you'll agree with Acoustica's motto "Software should be easy to use!"    This site will also answer your questions on turntables and something I found very informative, where to get needles. Just try to ask a sales rep in a Big Box store about phonograph needles. Chances are nobody in the place will know what you're talking about. Now one of the true problems you have in putting those records on disc is the noise that is on the records. Those pops and clicks can make you wonder why you saved those things. Well the Spin It Again program can remove all that noise with ONE CLICK. This is hard to believe but I recorded two sampler (various artists) albums that had more than their fare share of surface noise. One click of the "clean anything" button and like magic the noise is gone. Now if your records are dirty there may be things stuck on the disc that will make it skip. The software won't clean up your records but	there are some good tips on the site that will tell you how to safely clean the discs.    Once you record the selections you can add Artist and Titles and even dates and other items. Don't know how to hook your stereo up to the computer? They tell you everything you need to know. Once you get your recording in the computer you can save them to a folder and burn them to a CD. Depending on the length of the songs you can usually get two albums or more on one CD. If you have a number of records by the same artist you can fill a CD. I like the sampler idea myself where I have various artists on the same disc.    Now let me tell you one feature of the Spin It Again program that I think the best. When recording the music level (volume of the music) is very important. Most people end up with some songs too loud or distorted or too soft so you can hardly hear it. This software sets the level for you. It samples a song and sets things to the optimum level. Believe me this is a time saver that will make your recording go very smoothly.    Acoustica has a number of other programs on their site that you may want to take a look at while you're there. Check out their site http://www.Acoustica.com/ If you buy the Spin It Again program the way you receive the 20% discount, is just enter the word COMPUTERCLUB in capital letters in the coupon code box. While you check out the site I'm going back to recording some LPs.    Buster White is the Publication Information Director for the Palmetto PC Club, Columbia, SC, http://www.palmettopc.org/. He may be reached at, cwhite@sc.rr.com.
Number 284 - January 2007