How to record from cassette tapes to my pc's hard drive them make cds
- Thread starter Shadylady
- Start date
Blue Bear Sound
New member
Connect your tape outputs o your soundcard's line-input - you may need a connector adaptor (Radio Shack will have them), depending on what kind of inputs your soundcard has.
You'll need recording s/w of some sort - something basic that lets you record at least 2 channels at a time....
You essentially record the sound coming in from your tape deck onto your hard drive, then use CD burning s/w to transfer the WAV files (the recording you just made on the computer) onto CD.....
You'll need recording s/w of some sort - something basic that lets you record at least 2 channels at a time....
You essentially record the sound coming in from your tape deck onto your hard drive, then use CD burning s/w to transfer the WAV files (the recording you just made on the computer) onto CD.....
monkeyboy32
New member
How 'bout software
I use Gold Wave to do real-time recording from an analog source such as cassette or record. It's a good consumer product and easy to use. It's a few bucks for the licence, but you can download the trial version (which I believe is a full version of the software) at
http://www.goldwave.com
The documentation on-line should be able to help you set it up.
Hope that helps.
I use Gold Wave to do real-time recording from an analog source such as cassette or record. It's a good consumer product and easy to use. It's a few bucks for the licence, but you can download the trial version (which I believe is a full version of the software) at
http://www.goldwave.com
The documentation on-line should be able to help you set it up.
Hope that helps.
DaveO
New member
Not sure I agree
Any cassette deck or VCR will have line out jacks. Without them, how else would the audio signal get to your receiver?
I could of course be missing something obvious, or misreading your post (ask my wife, I do that all the time). So if I can ask this without coming across like a wiseass, why would you need to first connect them to a receiver and which output would you use coming out of the reciever?
I've been slowly transferring all my old audio cassettes (as well as music on VHS) onto CD for a while and I simply connect the line outs on both my tape deck and VCR to the line in on my sound card. As Bruce said, you may need some kind of adapter to make it work. In my case the line in on the soundcard is a 1/8" stereo jack, so I had to get a Y-adapter to convert the two RCA plugs coming out of my tape and VCR decks to a single 1/8" plug.
Any cassette deck or VCR will have line out jacks. Without them, how else would the audio signal get to your receiver?
I could of course be missing something obvious, or misreading your post (ask my wife, I do that all the time). So if I can ask this without coming across like a wiseass, why would you need to first connect them to a receiver and which output would you use coming out of the reciever?
I've been slowly transferring all my old audio cassettes (as well as music on VHS) onto CD for a while and I simply connect the line outs on both my tape deck and VCR to the line in on my sound card. As Bruce said, you may need some kind of adapter to make it work. In my case the line in on the soundcard is a 1/8" stereo jack, so I had to get a Y-adapter to convert the two RCA plugs coming out of my tape and VCR decks to a single 1/8" plug.
Cassettes can be transferred to a CD-R disc using a PC with a CD-writer and a sound card. The general process can be described:
1) Connect your Cassette deck to your PC's sound card.
2) Using sound-editing software, play the record and tape into the computer.
3) Split the sound files up into smaller files, one for each CD track, if
necessary.
4) Burn these files onto a CD-R disc using a CD writer and CD burning software.
I will now explain each of these points individually:
__________________________________________________
1) Connect your Cassette deck to your PC's sound card.
__________________________________________________
Compared with even Vinyl, the quality of audio cassettes leaves a lot to bedesired, so it pays to give some attention to the quality of the cassette deck you are using.
The best type of cassette deck to use are hifi-seperate cassette decks (the good old fashioned "stack" hifi tape deck, a black or grey box about 40cm wide.) If you have one of these, then brilliant. What you need to connect it to your PC is a lead with two RCA/phono connectors on one end and a 3.5mm stereo jack plug on the other (the same kind of jack that is often used on personal stereo headphones.)
The RCA/phono ends go into the tape deck's "play out" connectors. The red is the right hand stereo channel, the white (or sometimes black) is the left. The other end goes into your PC's sound card's "line in" connector. On colour coded systems, this is pale blue coloured.
If you do not have a hifi-separate type hifi, then the next best way is using a mini or micro-sized hifi system. These will normally have a "line out" connector on them somewhere, and the leads and connections will be the same as for the above.
However if you do not have a "line out" you will need to use the headphones connector, so you will need a lead with 3.5mm stereo connectors on both ends. If your hifi has one of the larger style headphones jack, you will need an adaptor as well to convert it to 3.5mm. Then, one end into the headphones jack and one end in the PC's sound card's line in plug.
If you do not have a hifi of any description, then you will need to use a
portable machine of some description. Try to avoid battery-powered machines if you can. The connection will be the same as above: a lead with 3.5mm stereo connectors on both ends.
Your local hifi store or electronics store should be able to sort you out
with all the leads, or if not, try www.maplin.co.uk . I would suggest that
you do not just buy the cheapest leads: Better quality leads will make a
subtle improvement to the quality of the recording and are less easily damaged.
Once you've connected everything up, it's worth giving the cassette deck a once-over before you use it. When was the last time you ran a head cleaning or demagnatising tape through it, for instance? If you give the answer most people give (err, I cannot remember) then it might be a good idea to do this now. If the tape deck has a speed control, make sure it is in the central (normal) position.
If your tape deck has any noise reduction buttons such as Dolby B, C or HX pro, make sure they are set according to what it says on the tape (if it does not say, then turn them all off.) Similary, if the deck has a tape type selector, set it to Type 1 or normal or ferric tapes, or type 2 or high for metal tapes.
Before recording, with your finger or a pen or pencil, wind the cassettes past the "lead-in" bit at the start of the tape, so that you do not get 10 seconds of blankness at the beginning of each of your recordings. The "lead-in" is the "dummy" bit at the start of the tape that is a different colour, often pink.
__________________________________________________
2) Using sound-editing software, play the record and record into the
computer.
__________________________________________________
You will need some wave sound editing software to do this. I find that the
Creative Recorder utility that comes bundled with the Sound Blaster Live!
series of sound cards is pretty good for this, as are Goldwave and
Polderbits; trial versions available from www.download.com. The wave editor that comes with some version s of Nero Burning ROM is pretty good as well. Or alternatively you may have
another program that came with your sound card. First, you need to tell your computer to record from the line-in. To do this:
a.Double click the yellow speaker in your task bar;
b.Goto options/properties;
c.Click "recording";
d.Make sure "line in" is ticked in the box below;
e.Click OK.
f.Make sure the "line in" slider is selected and slid up (I normally find it
needs to go right the way up), and everything else is slid right down and
muted, except, if you have one, a slider called "recording control", which
is the master slider that governs them all.
g.Minimise but do not close the mixer: you may need it later.
Now, start up your sound editing software. You need to insure you record in the correct format, and this is PCM, 16-bit, stereo, at a sample rate of 44100Hz.
In most software this is found either in the options menu or by going to file/new.
Now, click record, and start playing the tape. I would recommend that you just do it for a minute or so to test the connection. If you find it is
distorting, then go into the mixer again and lower the recording volume.
Similarly, if it sounds hissy and wishy-washy, you may need to increase the recording volume.
Note that if you've connected the tape deck up using a headphones jack, then the volume control on the tape deck will also affect the recording. It is a good idea to experiment with which volume control combinationsgive the best results.
For example, I've noticed that some cheap portable machines emit a slight humming sound in the background, that the volume control does not affect. If you have the cassette deck's volume up high, it will not affect it, but if you put the PC's volume control up high, it will magnify it.
Once you've done this for the whole tape at the correct volume, save the file.
__________________________________________________
3) Split the sound files up into smaller files, one for each CD track.
__________________________________________________
This will vary from one sound editing suite to the next, so you will need to refer to the documentation for your sound editing software for this. At this stage, if you've got a suitable program, you could also "de-hiss" it, to remove some of the horrid hiss-like sounds that cassettes always have. I know Goldwave is pretty good at doing this.
If you don't mind your CDs being written as all one track, you can leave
this stage out.
__________________________________________________
4) Burn these files onto a CD-R disc using a CD writer and CD burning
software.
__________________________________________________
This will also vary depending on your CD burning software, but the two most common ones, Nero Burning ROM and Easy CD Creator, it is simply a case of (a) creating a new audio CD and (b) dragging and dropping the .wav files onto the new CD window in the order you wish them to be played. Refer to your CD Burning software instructions for more information on this.
1) Connect your Cassette deck to your PC's sound card.
2) Using sound-editing software, play the record and tape into the computer.
3) Split the sound files up into smaller files, one for each CD track, if
necessary.
4) Burn these files onto a CD-R disc using a CD writer and CD burning software.
I will now explain each of these points individually:
__________________________________________________
1) Connect your Cassette deck to your PC's sound card.
__________________________________________________
Compared with even Vinyl, the quality of audio cassettes leaves a lot to bedesired, so it pays to give some attention to the quality of the cassette deck you are using.
The best type of cassette deck to use are hifi-seperate cassette decks (the good old fashioned "stack" hifi tape deck, a black or grey box about 40cm wide.) If you have one of these, then brilliant. What you need to connect it to your PC is a lead with two RCA/phono connectors on one end and a 3.5mm stereo jack plug on the other (the same kind of jack that is often used on personal stereo headphones.)
The RCA/phono ends go into the tape deck's "play out" connectors. The red is the right hand stereo channel, the white (or sometimes black) is the left. The other end goes into your PC's sound card's "line in" connector. On colour coded systems, this is pale blue coloured.
If you do not have a hifi-separate type hifi, then the next best way is using a mini or micro-sized hifi system. These will normally have a "line out" connector on them somewhere, and the leads and connections will be the same as for the above.
However if you do not have a "line out" you will need to use the headphones connector, so you will need a lead with 3.5mm stereo connectors on both ends. If your hifi has one of the larger style headphones jack, you will need an adaptor as well to convert it to 3.5mm. Then, one end into the headphones jack and one end in the PC's sound card's line in plug.
If you do not have a hifi of any description, then you will need to use a
portable machine of some description. Try to avoid battery-powered machines if you can. The connection will be the same as above: a lead with 3.5mm stereo connectors on both ends.
Your local hifi store or electronics store should be able to sort you out
with all the leads, or if not, try www.maplin.co.uk . I would suggest that
you do not just buy the cheapest leads: Better quality leads will make a
subtle improvement to the quality of the recording and are less easily damaged.
Once you've connected everything up, it's worth giving the cassette deck a once-over before you use it. When was the last time you ran a head cleaning or demagnatising tape through it, for instance? If you give the answer most people give (err, I cannot remember) then it might be a good idea to do this now. If the tape deck has a speed control, make sure it is in the central (normal) position.
If your tape deck has any noise reduction buttons such as Dolby B, C or HX pro, make sure they are set according to what it says on the tape (if it does not say, then turn them all off.) Similary, if the deck has a tape type selector, set it to Type 1 or normal or ferric tapes, or type 2 or high for metal tapes.
Before recording, with your finger or a pen or pencil, wind the cassettes past the "lead-in" bit at the start of the tape, so that you do not get 10 seconds of blankness at the beginning of each of your recordings. The "lead-in" is the "dummy" bit at the start of the tape that is a different colour, often pink.
__________________________________________________
2) Using sound-editing software, play the record and record into the
computer.
__________________________________________________
You will need some wave sound editing software to do this. I find that the
Creative Recorder utility that comes bundled with the Sound Blaster Live!
series of sound cards is pretty good for this, as are Goldwave and
Polderbits; trial versions available from www.download.com. The wave editor that comes with some version s of Nero Burning ROM is pretty good as well. Or alternatively you may have
another program that came with your sound card. First, you need to tell your computer to record from the line-in. To do this:
a.Double click the yellow speaker in your task bar;
b.Goto options/properties;
c.Click "recording";
d.Make sure "line in" is ticked in the box below;
e.Click OK.
f.Make sure the "line in" slider is selected and slid up (I normally find it
needs to go right the way up), and everything else is slid right down and
muted, except, if you have one, a slider called "recording control", which
is the master slider that governs them all.
g.Minimise but do not close the mixer: you may need it later.
Now, start up your sound editing software. You need to insure you record in the correct format, and this is PCM, 16-bit, stereo, at a sample rate of 44100Hz.
In most software this is found either in the options menu or by going to file/new.
Now, click record, and start playing the tape. I would recommend that you just do it for a minute or so to test the connection. If you find it is
distorting, then go into the mixer again and lower the recording volume.
Similarly, if it sounds hissy and wishy-washy, you may need to increase the recording volume.
Note that if you've connected the tape deck up using a headphones jack, then the volume control on the tape deck will also affect the recording. It is a good idea to experiment with which volume control combinationsgive the best results.
For example, I've noticed that some cheap portable machines emit a slight humming sound in the background, that the volume control does not affect. If you have the cassette deck's volume up high, it will not affect it, but if you put the PC's volume control up high, it will magnify it.
Once you've done this for the whole tape at the correct volume, save the file.
__________________________________________________
3) Split the sound files up into smaller files, one for each CD track.
__________________________________________________
This will vary from one sound editing suite to the next, so you will need to refer to the documentation for your sound editing software for this. At this stage, if you've got a suitable program, you could also "de-hiss" it, to remove some of the horrid hiss-like sounds that cassettes always have. I know Goldwave is pretty good at doing this.
If you don't mind your CDs being written as all one track, you can leave
this stage out.
__________________________________________________
4) Burn these files onto a CD-R disc using a CD writer and CD burning
software.
__________________________________________________
This will also vary depending on your CD burning software, but the two most common ones, Nero Burning ROM and Easy CD Creator, it is simply a case of (a) creating a new audio CD and (b) dragging and dropping the .wav files onto the new CD window in the order you wish them to be played. Refer to your CD Burning software instructions for more information on this.
darrin_h2000
Banned
A dbx noise reduction unit and an aureal exciter is a must for making them sound like CDs.