Old music media...

[rickus]

Doubtless you have at least one old dusty cassette tape. No? Well fine. I do. At least I'm not ashamed to admit it. However I would like to remove it from my possession. My dilemma is that there's no way I want to go out and buy the same music on CD. In a few cases I can't. So I'm asking you, my wonderful techie audiophile friends, is there a way to record the music on those old tapes to MP3 format on my computer?

If indeed you have such knowledge, would you mind putting up an Idiots Guide version of how to do this. So that I might rid my self once and for all of the plague of old music media.

Screamingly yours
rickus

[chris]

What you're suggesting doing is illegal and I, for one, want no part of it.

You should be ashamed.

[Betterout]

Rickus,

There are several ways to do this. One of the ways is to give it to a friend who has the equipment and software I'm going to describe and wait the requisite three or four years until he or she has the time to devote to it. The other is to do it yourself. By the way, I have been asked this probably twice in the past month by linguists who did their fieldwork on cassettes, so I have a big stock response at work. This is the abbreviated version. But if you'd like the behemoth, let me know and I'll send it to you. Aside from letting someone else do it, there are really two ways to do it, and they'll require anywhere between $10 and $500, depending on which one you'd like to try and what you may already own. These methods are (1) by way of CD-writing stereo component, and (2) by way of computer.

I've never used method (1), but our ol' pal Zakk has. Basically, you have a tape player component and a CD-writer component on your home stereo. You hook them up using standard RCA cables, set the output and input volumens, and dub from one to the other. The CD-writer components aren't quite as tidy as tape recorders, though. They record to a buffer, and once the entire copy is made, then you write the image from the buffer, breaking it up as needed, and finalizing the write session. If you don't already have one of these components, then this is a pretty expensive venture. Plan on paying about $300 for a stand alone CD-writer component.

Method (2) is what I'm more familiar with, and is actually a great portion of what I'm doing at my job these days. Thinking through it logically, the process goes like this: Establish a way of getting the tape sound into your computer; process the signal; save it as some sort of audio file; do whatever you want with that audio file (keep it on your computer, burn it onto CD, sent it to your Nano, etc.). These steps sound obvious, and they are, but they're a little more elaborate than you'd think.

First, you need to get the sound into your computer. This involves three things: A tape player, your computer, and a whole bunch of cabling and/or adapters. If you have a tape player with a 1/8" or RCA line out, then you're going to have it easiest. Those sorts of dedicated outs send the signal at a set volume, so there's no tweaking it. That makes it harder to get the signal wrong, but also harder to get it perfect. I think the trade off pays out, though. Trying to use the volume knob on your tape player as an output fader is more art than science. But if you don't have a line out, then that's exactly what you'll have to do. You'll also have to use your headphone out in that case. Either way, you'll need to connect the output on your tape player to the input on your computer. Most computers these days have a 1/8" line in, but they're not always stereo inputs, which is a problem when you're wanting to preserve the stereo signal from your old cassettes. If you have RCA ins, then you're even better off. If not, then you have two options. You can either sacrifice the stereo signal for a mono end product or invest in other ways of preserving the stereo. One of those ways is to buy a new sound card or a USB audio-interface box that permits RCA or other type of stereo inputs. And even if you have a mono input and you're willing to accept a mono sound file, you're not out of the woods. It's possible to have a mono file that's only on the left or the right side of the headphones and nothing in the middle. Fortunately, you can either correct that in the processing step or invest in a $2 stereo-to-mono jack. Okay, you've got the tape player and the computer, and you've established the various cabling needs. Now, just go get the cables at Radio Shack. Fortunately, every conceivable cable solution has been designed and mass produced. Need 1/8" TRS (that's a stereo connection: tip-ring-sleeve) male-to-male? No problem. Need 1/4" TRS male to RCA? No problem. Just know what you want, and your local Shackster guy or gal can get you the hookup cheaply. It may involve a cable with an arcane looking adapter or two on it, but if it meets your needs, don't mind what sort of crazy look the thing has.

Next, you want to send this to a program that can import and process audio files. These are called editors. If you want to spend untold thousands on your editor, you can do so easily. I wouldn't if I were you. I use Sound Forge for this, and it cost me $300. But if you don't have any money at all, don't worry. You can download Audacity for free at audacity.sourceforge.net/. These things all do the same sort of thing when you get right down to it. The more expensive ones just do them in more complicated and ultimately better sounding ways. You'll also either need a set of monitors (good speakers) or a nice pair of headphones. You want the sound on these items to be as flat as possible, though. Jeff and I have some Aiwa headphones that we've used for monitoring and we've had DREADFUL results. You want headphones that don't color the sound in any way, either by 'enhancement' or adding 'ambiance' or just having a poor frequency range. That's why monitors are ideal. But unless you have the $200 or so to buy a pair, you'll probably just have to settle with headphones.

The first thing to do is set your sample rate and bit depth on imports. You'll want at least 44,100 sampes per second (44.1 kHz) at a bit depth of 16-bits. This is standard CD quality stuff. You can go higher if you can just to get the best quality master file. But if you want to eventually go to CD, this is the bare minimum. Then, you need to get an idea of your levels. Hit play on your tape and record on your editor. Most often, you won't actually be recording when you do this; it just opens up a monitor dialog. Here you'll get a chance to change your input settings while monitoring the incoming signal. This is tricky. You'll ideally want the signal to approach 0.0dB, without ever "clipping," i.e., actually hitting 0.0dB or higher. Clipping always triggers something red on your screen. Just stay out of that red if you can. If you are using the headphones/volume knob thing on your tape player, then you have additional worries. You want the outgoing signal as hiss-free as possible. There's no easy way to do this, and it involves adjusting the outs on the tape player simultaneously with the ins on the editor. When you get it where you think you like it, record a minute or so, and play it back. Like it? Great! Rewind the tape and go to it. Don't like it? Try tweaking the inputs and outputs again. This is a long and tedious process, and there's really no one-size fits all setting. In fact, be prepared to tweak it on the fly even when you're doing the actual import.

When you're done setting it up, rewind the tape to the beginning, and go for the actual import. I'd recommend recording one whole side at a time. Save that file with a meaningful name in whatever lossless native file type you prefer. Flip it over and do the next side. Save it. At this point, you can attempt some sort of restoration processing on your file. You can apply eq, compression, noise reduction, de-clipping, de-essing, high-pass, low-pass, etc. Each one of these steps involves a plug-in of some sort, which can be anywhere from a simple yes/no button two a bewilderingly complicated program capable of processing your audio, filing your taxes, and organizing your closet. I'll just say that eq and compression may be the most useful, but aren't absolutely 100% necessary--so long as you're satisfied with the product. So, you can either process further at this point or not. It's up to you.

Now, go back and cut individual songs from the big master file and paste them one by one into new song files (remember: you want it as lossless as possible). And that's it. Grab another tape and repeat as necessary.

Assuming you already have the tape player and computer, and are planning on using the free editor Audacity, then you're really only going to be out the money for cabling. But expect to fork out $10 or so for that. And don't stress out. If you have any questions when it comes time to do this, Ryan, Jeff, and I can offer lots of advice and pointers.

Good luck!

[chris]

Method two would be my strong recommendation. It's more flexible, and you're less likely for something to go amiss, wasting CDs. Getting the sound onto the computer is really the most difficult step, especially with how easy the computer makers try to make it for you to burn CDs. Good luck!

[jtmx1]

What a great write-up Justin! I'll only add that I've used Audacity, and it just keeps getting better and better. And it's free! If your source tape is in pretty bad shape, you can even clean it up in Audacity by taking out static, hiss, and hum. I think it would work just fine for your purpose, Rick. It's fun to play with, too.

[rickus]

Jeff's right! Great write-up Justin! You didn't necessarily make it sound easy, but I know it is indeed doable. Thanks! Not sure when I'll have n opportunity to try this (have to go get those cables) but when I do, I'll definitely let you know the results!

rickus

[jtmx1]

Rick,

Take a look at this. I am not telling you that you need it, but it does look like a very inexpensive device that could just sit between any USB port and a cassette player/recorder. Again, I am not telling you to buy this.

www.zzounds.com/item--BEHUCA202