How to Digitize Vinyl Records

My dad has about 300 records in his basement. Some of them are out of print, never released digitally, and irreplaceable. Digitizing them was a weekend project that turned into a genuine hobby. Here's everything I learned.

What You Need

Turntable — Any decent turntable with an adjustable counterweight. The Audio-Technica AT-LP120 is a popular choice because it has a built-in preamp and USB output. If your turntable only has RCA outputs, you'll need an external phono preamp. Audio interface or USB connection — Either use a turntable with USB out, or connect via RCA into a phono preamp, then into an audio interface (like a Focusrite Scarlett Solo). The audio interface route generally gives you better quality. Recording software — Audacity is free, open source, and does everything you need. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Clean records — Dust and grime cause pops and crackle. A carbon fiber brush for light cleaning, or a Spin-Clean record washer for deeper cleaning, makes a real difference in recording quality.

Recording Setup in Audacity

1. Open Audacity and select your input device (USB turntable or audio interface)
2. Set the sample rate to 44,100 Hz and bit depth to 16-bit for CD quality, or 96,000 Hz / 24-bit if you want an archival master
3. Set the input to stereo
4. Hit Record, then drop the needle
5. Let the entire side play through without interruption
6. Hit Stop when the side ends

Record each side as one continuous file. You'll split it into individual tracks later.

Splitting Into Tracks

After recording a full side, zoom into the waveform in Audacity. The silence between tracks is visible — flat spots between the music. Place labels at each track boundary using Ctrl+B, name each label with the track title, then use File > Export Multiple to save each track as a separate file.

Noise Cleanup

Vinyl has character — a bit of warmth and surface noise is part of the appeal. But if you've got persistent clicks, pops, or hum, Audacity can help:

• Click Removal — Effect > Click Removal catches sharp transient pops
• Noise Reduction — Select a silent section (just surface noise, no music), then Effect > Noise Reduction > Get Noise Profile. Apply it to the whole track with gentle settings (6-12 dB reduction)
• Hum removal — If you hear a 60 Hz hum (or 50 Hz in Europe), use the Notch Filter

Go easy. Over-processing strips the life out of the recording. A little vinyl character is better than a sterile, artifact-ridden result.

Choosing Your Output Format

Format	Use Case	File Size (per album)
FLAC	Archival, lossless	~300-400 MB
WAV	Editing, mastering	~600-700 MB
MP3 320kbps	Everyday listening	~100-130 MB
AAC 256kbps	Apple devices	~90-120 MB

My recommendation: save FLAC as your master archive, then convert copies to MP3 or AAC for your phone and portable players. You can always re-convert from FLAC; you can never recover quality lost in a lossy encode.

Tagging Your Files

Don't skip this step. Add proper ID3 tags — artist, album, track number, year, genre, and album art. Software like MusicBrainz Picard can auto-tag based on audio fingerprinting, even for obscure releases.

Proper tags mean your music app displays everything correctly instead of showing a pile of "Unknown Artist" entries.

Converting Between Audio Formats

Already have your vinyl rips in WAV and need FLAC or MP3? MyPDF's audio converter handles batch conversion between all major audio formats. Upload your files, pick the output format and quality, and download.

Related Tools

• Audio Converter — Convert between WAV, FLAC, MP3, AAC, OGG
• Audio Compressor — Reduce file sizes for sharing
• Video to Audio — Extract audio tracks from concert recordings