Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Roger Austin <raustin3 AT nc.rr.com>]

matusiak wrote:
> The NY Times heard your call and (a few months late) has responded  
> with an article which discusses converting your old record albums  
> into digital music files.

 I can't get to the NY Times site due to registration issues, but I
would agree with the article that LP conversion is becoming easier.
I like the USB turntable since I have limited space and it fits in
my work area (barely) without a lot of extra stuff and wires. I've
converted over 250 albums so far and have about 150 more of MissHunt's
collection. After that, I get my collection out of storage and start
about 1000 albums. Thankfully, about 10-15% may be duplicates. I now
buy blank CDs on the 100 pack spindle.
 I thank everybody on the list who had advice on how to get started.

Some Notes:
 I have had to clean a number of them due to LP fungus.
 A number of them needed massive manual clean up of divots via the
software.
 I don't cut them up into tracks, but just do sides of LPs. We both
just listen to the entire albums so tracks aren't an issue.
 There is no way to store all these CDs in jewel cases. We quickly
went to binder pages that hold four CDs in one page.
 There is no way to put the pages into binders since we don't have
that much shelf space. I use cut-down paper boxes to store and index
them now.
 I am also entering them into a database so we can organize our
future trips to the used LP and antique stores, plus I wouldn't be
much of a geek if I didn't set up a database on almost everything.
 I like Wanda Landowska harpsichord music (1950's) after listening
to about five to six hours of it. Who knew?
 I didn't know that there had been LPs of Dylan Thomas reading poetry.
 It was fun to listen to the Limeliters and Kingston Trio tunes again.
 I just finished MissHunt's Joni Mitchell albums and realized that we
don't overlap much on our JM LPs.
 I am now on her Simon and Garfunkel LPs.
 Mama Cass had an album named "Mama's Big Ones" ...snicker...
 So far, I have refused to convert MissHunt's Barbara Stresand LPs due
to the obvious nausea problems. I may need to apply massive amounts
of Merlot to get through that. Thankfully, I don't have to listen to
them as I convert, but the Merlot still sounds like a good idea. I
just thank the wood spirits that she didn't like Barry Mantilo (sp?).
 I don't plan to convert her Christmas albums since neither of us is
into the festive season.
 I was excited to see that she had some bagpipe music to add to our
collection.

Conclusion:
 The LP conversion is easy and I think it represents a huge untapped
resource for a lot of us over 50 who have LP collections. Converting
them to CDs and/or MP3s takes time, but is worth it. The lack of
decent popular music being produced currently makes it a no brainer
for us. We still purchase a lot of CDs from labels, but now have a
lot of other music to play on trips.
 I paid about $150 for my turntable and it is worth every penny. It
is cheap plastic, but I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I figure
it will take all of 2007 to go through all our albums.

 Enjoy, Roger
--
Visit http://www.misshunt.com/ for fun and creative items including
the famous Clean/Dirty dishwasher magnet, now available in velcro.