I need some assistance on converting cassette tape music to mp3 music.?

Question

I have may original cassette tapes filed with great music. Is there away to conect my cassette tape to my computer and convert the tape music to mp3 typ music so that i may listen to it by my computers windows media player.

Answer 1

first go here

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

download version 1.2.6

then download the lame encoder. extract the lame encoder to a folder you will remember. once you have installed audacity, go to edit > preferences > select the file format tab, click on the "find library" and link to the lame encoder. this will allow you to convert files to mp3 upto 320 kbps (cd quality).


get a male to male extender cord to fit into the output of a cassette deck. it needs to be the same size as the headphone jacks. plug it into the headphone jack on the deck, plug the other end into the line input jack on your computer. the mic input is usually mono but the line in is stereo. now in audacity click on edit > preferences > Audio I/O under recording change it from mono to stereo so that you will record in stereo.

now that you have everything hooked up, select the input method as Line In on audacity. you do this on the main window. in the tool bar there is a drop down list that probably shows microphone. now hit the record button on audacity and press play on the cassette deck. audacity will record the tape. after the tape stops, you now can separate the songs by using the cut and paste functions, or you can simply stop the recordings after each song. then you need to click on file > export to mp3. and your done. if you have any more questions about audacity, e-mail me. i've been using it for over 4 years now since build 1.0 it is very versatile and can do quite a bit

Answer 2

Good previous answer, but first thing you need to know is, is your computer equipped with a soundcard capable of receiving and processing external analog data/signal. Most newer computers have the right card, but may not have a compatible program (ergo, the need to download Audacity), and might just be sitting there doing nothing.

And know this: Some aftermarket soundcards will only work with their own software programs. So be careful before you decide to blow the budget on one that promises results you really don't need.

Rule of thumb here is, try before you buy--and that means try what you've already got as well as what you're thinking of buying.

Also, I would not use the cassette deck's headphones output jack, because I'd want to use it to monitor the tapes, particularly if I was doing a little "pick and choose" uploading. Use a lead with male RCA jacks on one end and a male mini-headphone jack on the other--and if you choose to run all this through your stereo, so you can listen without headphones or cheesy computer speakers, use that same type of lead between the receiver's unamplified outputs (where any tape decks get their feed) and your computer's soundcard.

This is the music you grew up with, dude--don't "cheap out" on yourself. If Audacity isn't enough, or if you want a few features that a free download might not provide (particularly if you're uploading live stuff), then check out something along the line of Nero v7 or EasyCD v9.

Answer 3

I've always just used the headphone jack of the tape player. Use a wire to connect from it into the line in port of your sound card. You can then play the tape as normal but record it onto your computer. It will most likely record it as a wav file, but that can easily be converted into an mp3