what do i need to transfer music from a cassette to a cd?

Question

ive got some old never to be heard again music that if the cassette deteriates ive lost it

Answer 1

I presume you already have a cassette deck. All you need now is the right cables (See Jonathan's answer above - he's given you a good summary. It's stuff readily available at most good electronics stores.)

The basic process is the same: you play the tape, and your PC converts it (in real time) into an AIFF or WAV file (a pretty big file). Then you drag this into e.g. iTunes, and convert it into an mp3 (if you're an iPod person) OR burn the AIFF/WAV straight to disc with, e.g. Toast or Nero, to make a playable CD. (See the links below for more details on this process.)

And you need the right software, of course.

There are many software options for Windows or Mac - at least 6-7 acceptable programs out there. I have given you some links below for the free stuff. There are also modestly-priced alternatives at zdnet.com or download.com under 'mp3 utilities'.


TIPS FROM MY EXPERIENCE:

a. Your first few attempts may be disappointing. There may be audible hissing in the background; or the recording, even after being EQed, may still sound 'tinny'. Just play around with various threshold settings in the software - the more you experiment, the better the results get.

b. If there is significant warping to the tape, it's almost a lost cause to generate 'clear' mp3s. Save yourself the hassle and just buy the album on CD. The software filters can reduce the problem, but they can do only so much. However, I once rescued a tape that was 21 years old, without a hitch. If they've been well-stored, you should have no problems.

I'm not sure where you live. If you don't want the hassle of doing it yourself, do some Google work with key words: 'cassette conversion to digital', 'old cassettes to mp3', etc. This will turn up a lot of commercial services (if you are UK / US-based) which will do this for you, for a small fee.

I think, however, for just a handful of tapes, it's not worth it - have a go at doing it yourself; the most you need to buy is the cable and the jack, and download the software.

Best of luck!

The basic process is explained at:

http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/news/1316/.....


http://www.help2go.com/tutorials/mp3%10a...

A variety of free software for the job can be found at:

http://www.freesoftware4all.co.uk/mp3.ht...

Answer 2

Use a high quality tape deck (preferably a seperate, or a good hi-fi will do), hook up the output from there to your computer audio line-in and use a sound editing/sampling program to capture from the line-in port, checking levels before you start recording. Edit the sound sample as you see fit to remove any blank bits at the beginning and end, maybe try to clean up the signal using an equalizer filter (always work on a copy). Save each song as a seperate AIFF sound file, 44KHz, stereo if the original was (if it wasn't then just copy the left channel to the right but make it slightly quieter than the left).

Use iTunes or Nero (etc) to burn the songs to CD, choosing the format as Audio CD.

Things you will need:
Tape deck with audio out capability;
Wires to go from tape deck to computer line-in jack (usually two phono leads with a phono-to-3.5mm stereo jack converter);
Computer with audio line-in jack and decent speakers (for editing);
Sound editor/sampling software;
iTunes or Nero CD burning software;
CD burner;
Blank CD-R disc(s);

Answer 3

you need a tape deck.. and a cd recorder... cheaper to buy a minidisc recorder from ebay £10 and use a quality tape walkman to play the tapes.. you will need a headphone plug-headphone plug lead........OR: buy a high quality cassette (tdk etc) and do a back-up copy on a double deck tape machine....

dont forget limewire.. you can get some rare old songs on there...

Answer 4

cd recorder and tape deck