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#1
11-04-2015, 10:10 AM
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Cassettes to Computer Files
I have some cassette tapes that are recordings of my days in HS band and jazz band. I would like to preserve these by putting them on my computer and also burning them to CD's.
What are your suggestions for doing so and what do I need to buy to get the job done? I appreciate your suggestions.
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Susie Taylors: 914 • K24ce • 414 • GSMeK+ Pono Guileles: Mango Baritone Deluxe • Mahogany Baritone Have been finger-pickin' guitar since 1973! Love my mountain dulcimers too! (7 Mountain Dulcimers) 
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#2
11-04-2015, 10:24 AM
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I had hundreds of cassettes.....what can I say? I'm from the 80's.
I converted them to computer audio files. There are several ways but basically you can run a line or headphone output from a cassette player to a line-input on your PC's sound card or laptop. Now there will be some level balancing issues so I bought an interface called Pinnacle, which is basically a pre-amp that takes a speaker level output,compresses the signal and digital input to a USB port.  So, that gives you the hardwarre/wiring now you need software. The Pinnacle device came with an audio capture software. I had a dual deck auto-reversing Pioneer cassette player so I could load up two cassettes and have it play both sides of one, then both sides of the other. I set the software up to capture input for 2 hours, then launched my Pioneer deck. The cassettes have to play in real time - you can't run it in high speed dubbing mode. When I came back I had a two hour audio file that was one gigantic .WAV file. I used a free software called Goldwave to open this giant wav file (many other software apps are limited to the size of the wave filke they can open). Then I manually snipped each section visually (by easily seeing the breaks between songs). I then saved these snips as mp3 files. The laborious part was labeling the songs, then adding mp3 tags.
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Fazool "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter" Taylor GC7, GA3-12, SB2-C, SB2-Cp...... Ibanez AVC-11MHx , AC-240 Last edited by fazool; 11-04-2015 at 02:39 PM.
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#3
11-04-2015, 02:28 PM
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If you plan on doing any audio recording of you and your guitar, an audio interface will be the useful tool - one with 2 line inputs (for the left and right outputs of the stereo cassette deck) - and you can use a free recording software like Audacity.
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Mike My music: https://mikebirchmusic.bandcamp.com 2020 Taylor 324ceBE 2017 Taylor 114ce-N 2012 Taylor 310ce 2011 Fender CD140SCE Ibanez 12 string a/e 73(?) Epiphone 6830E 6 string 72 Fender Telecaster Epiphone Dot Studio Epiphone LP Jr Chinese Strat clone Kala baritone ukulele Seagull 'Merlin' Washburn Mandolin Luna 'tatoo' a/e ukulele antique banjolin Squire J bass
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#4
11-05-2015, 05:03 AM
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Great, thanks for the advice.
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Susie Taylors: 914 • K24ce • 414 • GSMeK+ Pono Guileles: Mango Baritone Deluxe • Mahogany Baritone Have been finger-pickin' guitar since 1973! Love my mountain dulcimers too! (7 Mountain Dulcimers)
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#5
11-05-2015, 06:15 AM
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THIS:
Tascam CC-222MKIV Professional CD Recorder/Cassette Combo http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...tte_combo.html I have an earlier model (MKII) - works a treat.  Transfers to CD-R as 16-bit audio. If I want, I can use free Exact Audio Copy software to extract the files to .WAV and/or convert to MP3 (just as you might with any production CD). A little cleanup of the .WAV files in (free) Audacity software if I don't agree with the automatic song gaps, or if I need to fix poor stereo balance or any other audio editing.
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Kevin Krell, Executive Director, International Traditional Music Society, Inc. A non-profit 501c3 charity/educational public benefit corporation Wooden Flute Obsession CDs https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=572579 Last edited by kkrell; 11-05-2015 at 06:21 AM.
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#6
11-05-2015, 07:59 AM
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When my cassette machine died, I got one of these.
After 2-3 years it's still working very well. http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/tape-2-pc Regards, Ty Ford
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#8
11-10-2015, 04:25 AM
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I've used a Tascam DR-07mkII recorder and found it's easy to transfer with it. I expect any Zoom, Sony, etc., would work as well. But the earlier Pinnacle solution is probably less expensive and just as easy.
There are several adapter variations like this. The following are very cheap--but I have no experience with them. Maybe worth trying. http://www.ebay.com/itm/EasyCap-AS-E...-/301674653526
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