Someday, your old LPs will soon conk out. If you still have The Who’s Tommy somewhere in the attic, you might want to bring it down for a good listen. (Well, better have it cleaned and restored since it’s a collector’s item already.) So why not create a digital archive while they’re still playable? That way you can enjoy listening to your LPs in your iPod complete with the old crackle-pop of old LPs.

What you need:

• A turntable with a preamplifier with a line-out or microphone jack
• A sound card with a line-in jack
• An audio cable that matches the preamplifier and the sound card
• An audio recording/editing software (Audacity works great)

What to do:

• Make sure that you clean the LP
• Clean the stylus (or use a new one)
• Plug in the cable to your preamplifier and sound card
• Set your recording OS to record using the line-in signal. (In XP, you can do this by accessing Volume -> Recording -> Check Line in).
• Launch your audio recording software
• Double-check that the software also uses the line-in signal
• Start recording
• Lower the stylus to start playing the LP
• When the LP finishes, stop your recording software.
• Do all the editing and cutting after the recording has finished.
• Advanced audio editing software can eliminate the crackles and pops in LP recordings but I personally leave those behind since they give the recording some novelty and character.