Ripping your vinyl can be as simple as you choose to make it. Trawl the Internet and you can find pages of complex advice as to what's the best way to copy records to a computer. The trouble is much of this advice is a lot of technical waffle about maximising sound quality and restoring sound to recordings made from old vinyl.
This is great if you're the type with loads of time on their hands who loves getting into the real nitty-gritty of a technical topic (we're sure that applies to some readers), but it's not much use if you just want a simple and effective way to copy your records, which is what most of us are really after.
Well, we've got four great ways to rip your vinyl. First, we test a couple of cheap USB turntables, which are essentially the same product. They plug directly into a computer, and you can be on your way to making decent vinyl recordings in minutes.
The second method is nearly as simple, and makes even better copies. The iVinyl from Terratec is a box of tricks that allows you to plug any turntable directly into any computer. If you own a deck, check it out.
A third method will appeal to those who don't use computers at all, but still want to record their vinyl to CD.
Our final solution tells you how you can use either the kit you already have, to save money, or upgrade to produce recordings of the best quality.
