Convert an LP to mp3 in the Collaboratory, How to

Note: You are responsible for respecting Canadian copyright law in your use of these methods.

Step 1: Open the program “Audacity”, the dock icon with a blue headset surrounding a red and yellow jagged line.

Step 2: Click on the down arrow located beside the symbol of the microphone at the top right corner of the window, then select the “start monitoring” option to have the audio from the vinyl be recognized by the program.

Step 3: Under “input device” in the top (to the right of the microphone icon), change the setting in the drop-down box from “Built-in Line Input” to “USB Audio CODEC”. If you wish to listen as it records (or even just listen to the album and ignore the recording file), select the Audacity menu choice: "Transport - Software Playthrough on/off" and continue to the next steps. You can then plugin headphones into the computer's jack and hear the album as it records.

Step 4: Set the record onto the tray, power on the machine, and set the needle gently on to the desired track. Press play on the machine, being ready to do step 5 immediately after.

Step 5: To start recording, click on the red recording button in Audacity. This will start the track recording. When you are ready for the recording to stop, click the yellow stop button.

Step 6: To export the recorded track as an MP3, click on “file”, then “Export”, change the Format to “MP3 Files” if not already selected, label your track what you desire and do not change the default setting of where your saved file will go (the desktop). Click “Save”.

Step 7: Make sure to copy your new MP3 track onto your flash drive, or email it to yourself, because when you log off from the public Mac, your file will be automatically deleted from the workstation.

See also the tutorial provided by the Audacity community, copying tapes, lps, etc. to CD