I did that and got a few Austin repair shops that could probably help you. I'd like to tell you there are some in the free listings for Services in the menu on the lefthand side of this page, but if the business hasn't submitted the information, it won't be there.

Good luck! Turntables are still important in my world, too. I'd hate to give up my LP collection, although it's slowly but surely undergoing a digital conversion. What is nice about doing that yourself is you get to hear all the best music all over again since it's usually in real time.

As to King Crimson, I prefer the older, such as Court of the Crimson King.

I took M Griffin's advice, and found a couple of possabilites, one service provider I'd used many years ago to work on an amp; I'd really hoped to keep those dollars in circulation around here, I'm funny that way.

Audacity is here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Since it's a sound editor, you can work on the pops and crackles (if any) if you want. I've left most of mine in and grin whenever listening to an mp3 with scratches. Historical continuity, or something.

The USB turntable I bought (over 3 years ago, at least) is a Numark, but Amazon probably offers many more options now. I think it ran a little over $100 (about the price of a repair, I'd expect) and the sound quality and performance is comparable to or better than the 2 much more expensive original turntables I've used for years.

Transfers are simple. Just connect the USB to the computer you're using with Audacity installed, open Audacity and run from there.

The original Audacity files are fairly large, but can be transferred to other media to use as a resource, which is what I did. However, I must confess that it's easy and fun to click on the MP3s on the Ipod or computer (much smaller files) to Tardis back instantly to performances I don't think can ever be emulated...some Brandenburgs, a Carmina Burana, Alan Parsons Project.

Actually started by transferring all that holiday music from years and years ago. Pretty cool to have the ability to play a massive number of MP3s of musical memories in the background when family comes to celebrate.

This is a project that can be a lot of fun if you can set up the turntable in a semi-permanent position near the computer you use for this. Then, whenever you feel like it, on goes the vinyl, out come the bytes, and sound pours out of whichever system you use for listening.

I've been putting this off since there is over 4 decades of active music collecting involved. I've guesstamated the amount of time it will take and the storage capacity. I may just suck it up and buy one of the USB turntables.