is it possible to transfer audio tapes to my cd burner?

Question

I have audio tapes that i want to put on cd discs.

Answer 1

That is a 2 step process. You have to read in the tapes and create an mp3 file for each song. There is software that will do that. One good program is in the Microsoft Plus package that cost about $20. You also need stereo input jacks. The microphone jack is not stereo.

Once all the music is in your computer you just burn the files as usual.

Answer 2

It should work as follows: Connect the "line out" of your tape player to the "line in" of your computer sound card. Play the tape and use some recording software (e.g. Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ ) to record the songs. Stop recording after each song and save the file to your computers hard disk or you will get one large sound file. Once you have recorded the songs you can burn them on CDs using the software that came with the CD writer (Nero or whatever).
The procedure is rather time consuming (like taping from a vinyl disk) I think.

Answer 3

Check out these steps from Microsoft

Digitize Music with Analog Recorder
Plus! Analog Recorder is exactly the tool you've been looking for if you have vinyl LPs or audio cassettes that you no longer play, but can't bear to part with. All that music doesn't have to be lost or purchased again in digital format. You can digitize it yourself using the Analog Recorder. Record part of a song, part of a tape, part of a record, and make your own playlists, much like ripping a CD.

Analog Recorder includes advanced features to filter out the surface noise characteristic of analog recordings and automatically adjusts the recording level so the newly digitized recordings don't suffer from distortion or excessive static popping and hissing.

The only thing the least bit complicated about the process is connecting the analog device to your computer and even that is a lot easier than you might think. I'm inclined to break out in a rash when reading instructions that include words like “input,” “output,” and “jacks,” but I found the procedure quite easy.

To get the best out of your analog recordings, clean your LPs first with a disk-washing solution. Check the condition of the record player's needle and if it's not excellent, replace it. For tapes, clean the playback heads of the tape machine and turn off any options (like a Metal setting) that add noise. There's a substantial amount of time and work involved in converting a large library of analog music and it's wasted if you don't do the ground work and end up with high-quality digital recordings.

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Transfer Analog Music to Your Computer
To transfer your analog music to your computer, you'll need the following:

• Record player or the cassette player

• Stereo receiver

• Connectors


The record player has to be connected to a stereo receiver or preamplifier to boost the signal to your sound card. The cassette or reel-to-reel tape player doesn't require the stereo receiver but you can connect that way, if you want to.

To connect the receiver to your sound card, you'll need a "Y" stereo adapter cable with a pair of RCA-style, left- and right-channel connectors (male) at one end and a single line-in, 1/8-inch (3.5 millimeter) mini-connector at the other. Don't have one lying around the house? Just write down the description and drop by an electronics store.

For example, at Radio Shack you can get a six-foot patch cable (Catalog #42-2352 at $5.99), add a Y adapter (Catalog #: 274-879 at $5.99), and you're ready to go. Or go upscale at Monstercable.com and get a 10 ft. Computer Stereo Audio to Stereo Receiver Connector (Model JM REPC M HP-10 at $24.95), which is all you'll need.

The Help system for Analog Recorder has a clear diagram that shows how to use the connector to attach the stereo receiver or tape deck to your sound card's input. To view it, open Plus! Analog Recorder (see Step 1 in the procedure below):

• On the Welcome page, click Learn more about connecting audio devices to your computer, then on the next page, click To connect your stereo receiver to your computer or one of the other appropriate related topics.


After you've connected your receiver or tape deck to your computer, start transferring music to your computer:

1.
Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition, and then click Plus! Analog Recorder.

2.
Click Next on the Welcome page to do a recording level check.

3.
This step is essential when going from analog sound to digital. Both analog and digital media have an upper limit beyond which they no longer accurately represent amplitude. With analog recording, exceeding the upper limits causes varying amounts of distortion depending on the equipment. With digital equipment, once you reach the upper limit, the sound is clipped off. You lose part of the audio information, and the result is very unpleasant to the ear. So follow the instructions to set the incoming signal to acceptable levels.

4.
Click Next, and to start a recording, click the Record button, and then immediately begin playing the music on your analog audio device. The length of the current recording is displayed in Elapsed time.

5.
Click Advanced to change any of the default settings. For example, if you do not want Analog Recorder to automatically detect and split tracks, clear the Automatically detect and split tracks check box. You can manually set tracks when you play them back.

6.
After you finish recording your music, click Next.


Now you're ready to play your tracks, review how they're split, and name them.

1.
Select the tracks you want to play, and then click Play. Analog Recorder automatically levels the volume so that all tracks play at the same level.

• To change the playback volume, move the Volume slider left to decrease or right to increase the volume level.

• To move forward or backward within the track, move the progress indicator to the right or left on the Seek bar. You can also click anywhere on the bar to go immediately to that place within the track.

• To immediately begin playing a different track, double-click that track.


2.
Use Split to break tracks up: in the tracks list, click a track, click the Play button, and at the point in the track where you want to split it, click the Stop button, and then click the Split button.

3.
Use Combine to consolidate tracks: in the tracks list, click the first track you want to combine, press and hold down SHIFT, click the last track you want to combine, and then click the Combine button.

4.
Name your tracks by clicking the track list. The information you put here will be what is displayed when you play the tracks in Media Player.

5.
Clean tracks by applying cleaning filters: select a track, select one or both of the Reduce pops and Reduce hiss check boxes. Then click Preview to hear the result and decide if you want to keep the settings.

Note: The Reduce pops and Reduce hiss options are indispensable when recording beloved and worn LPs. If the Reduce hiss option isn't available, it means that Analog Recorder wasn't able to detect any silences on the track. If you're sure that there's background hiss that you want to get rid of, go back and re-record the track, this time deliberately recording some silence at the beginning or end of the record or tape.


You're also asked to opt for or against Copy Protection.

1.
If you want to protect the music that you recorded so that it can only be played on your computer and other compatible devices, such as a portable audio player, click Add copy protection to the music.

-or-

If you do not want to protect the music you recorded, click Do not add copy protection to the music. If you click this option, the music can be played on any computer or device.

2.
Read the content protection statement at the bottom of the dialog box, and select the check box if you agree to the copy protection terms.

If you don't select this check box, you can't continue with your Analog Recorder session.


Select the location to save your recordings and move on to the next record or tape.