The USB Record Player is one of those gadgets that have slowly had an increase in demand over recent years. This has been due to the interest in helping to bring back to life lots of those old 45s on Vinyl. Remember all those old classics that you collected since you were a teenager?

Well, time can stand still once again as these latest gadgets can make the whole process of converting your old vinyl music, from 33s, 45s and even 78s, as easy as 1 2 3. And the great thing about these gadgets is they dont have to cost an arm and a leg either. With prices ranging from around 40 (or even cheaper) for the basic model to 400 for the professional models, which can even record straight to your iPod.

So what can these gadgets really do and what are the most popular and reliable ones available? For a start they really are a simple piece of equipment. All they contain are a turntable and a lead, which connects between the record play and the USB port on your computer (MAC and PC compatible). Hence why they are commonly referred to as the USB Record Player.

Plus, they also come with software that then allows you to convert the vinyl music to other digital formats such as the popular MP3 or even WAV. The software is also required to help clean up all the skips and bumps that you find on old vinyl records. So the quality of software provided and its ability to help clean the older music is very important.

Because of the plug and play nature of this gadget it isnt necessary to install any additional software drivers. This also ensures its ease of use, even for first time users of anything technical. Simply put, all you need to do is power on the USB Record Player, put on one of your old records and then plug it into your computer where you can then start the software provided. Follow the on-screen instructions and start converting. Simple!

Of all the USB record players that you find the most popular is the ION. This also appears under the Numark label and it has a number of excellent USB turntables in the range. And the KAM is also very popular with 3 main models in its range. In fact one of the models is professional quality, which consists of two turntables and is widely used by DJs.

With the ION you can choose from the ITTUSB-05, which is, the Classic style player to the latest iPod Dock that can record straight to your iPod. And for something in between there is the ION Contemporary or iTTUSB-10.

Other turntables that do similar jobs are the Jam, Stageline and Lenco series. All offering pretty much the standard box full of bits and pieces along with the USB record player.

If you are looking to spend lots of time converting a lot of old records then its important to make sure and get the record player that can handle all the old RPMs i.e. 33, 45 and 78. Some dont handle all, although there is software that you can buy that will also help if your particular USB record player is not up to the job.

So, get searching in the loft and pull all those old favourites and breathe some life back into the music again.