WE have a computer question - Audio Cassettes to CD's? Multiple questions for the Super Geniuses!

Delta-Boudreaux, SamAdam76,tang-soo | 1-9-2002 | Delta-Boudreaux, SamAdam76,tang-soo

[Delta-Boudreaux]

WE have a computer question -  How Do We Transfer Audio Cassettes onto CDs?

This question evolved from another thread "I have a Computer Question.... How can I Transfer my VCR tapes to DVD?"

----- Post #100 from previous thread----
Excellent suggestions in this thread. As always, Freepers come through with some great advice. If you don't mind, I'd like to expand the scope of this thread to include the transfer of audiotapes to CD-R.

I have a very large base of tape cassettes (over 1400 hours) that I taped off the radio. For example, I have taped many Christmas shows over the years and much special programming off the radio.

I have experimented converting these tapes with mixed results. Basically I run a portable cassette player through the sound card. But the sound is kind of crappy. The original tapes sound better. There must be a better way.

My biggest problem is getting a "pause" made between tracks so that the CD will have track numbers. Yet many times, the songs flow uninterrupted on the original tape. I can manually pause the input between tracks but it's sort of a clunky way to do it. I'd like to get the entire tape on my hard drive as one large .wav file and then have the ability to separate them into smaller .wav files for track separation. Also, I can delete the commercials this way. If I cut the commercials, I should be able to fit most of my 90-minute tapes onto a 74 minute CD. Also there is DJ chatter in between the tracks but I'd like to keep it as they are discussing the music and that was part of the appeal of making all these tapes in the first place.

SamAdams76

----- Post #69 from previous thread ----
I have a similar question. I have been using creative labs to record tapes of my pastor's sermons and making cd's for friends. Its a great service but I would like to be more efficient. The size of the audio files are about 10 times as large as other audio files I download from the net. Am I doing something wrong? I've look through the software for such things as compression level settings ... etc to no avail. Any suggestions would be welcome. By the way, the resulting file would still need to be able to be played in a standard audio cd device. Ideally, I would like to be able to fit 3 or 4 sermons on a single cd.

Also, I would like recommendations for a tool that would let me edit the audio file into different tracks. (something like 10 minutes each). For now, I get one track (40 minutes long) that makes it rather inconvenient when its desired to start in the middle of the sermon. I don't need a real sophisticated studio environment too, just something with some minor utility.

Thanks.
tang-soo

--------- New Question --------
I also have a tape library (500 cassettes) that I would like to be able to download to cd.
I would like to be able to put multiple tapes on each cd, as much as possible.
I do not have to be able to play mine on a CD player, so I guess MP3 files would be the best for my application.
How do I capture the audio cassettes into the computer.

Delta-Boudreaux


 

[Nita Nupress]

I buy all my audio equipment at garage sales. Good cassette players are being given away.

Thanks for the advice, js! I hadn't thought of this. And since I don't have a stereo and I'm not about to go buy one just for this little project, this is definitely an option.

I love garage sales and used to do this all the time PK (pre-kids). I think I get it from my parents, who absolutely love doing this in their retirement years. It used to be antique stores, back when they were affordable and you could find great bargains at the roadside shops. One time we took a vacation to Missouri in a van and I swear we stopped at every roadside antique store between Cabool, Missouri and Texas. There were so much stuff in that van, us kids were twisted into all kinds of contortions just to have a place to sit! There were at least a dozen old clocks much like the one below. (Anyone know how much that's worth, by the way? It's an Ingraham eight-day wind-up.)

Sam, I'm getting to you but I have a few questions. Give me a few more minutes, assuming I don't get interrupted. If I'm not back within 30 minutes, it may be a while. You've given me a lot to chew on here. :-)

[general_re]

I don't think I realized you could do the editing later, after you get the stuff onto the CD.

Well, you can, but IMO you're better off doing your editing before putting it on CD. Usually what I do - and I helped a friend digitize a boatload of LPs and put them on CD, which is similar to what you're doing - is record first, as a single track per reel/LP/cassette/whetever, then take the digitized recording and split it into multiple tracks, clean them up, and burn the individual tracks onto a single CD to recreate the album. That way, you're not burning something raw and unedited to CD, only to burn them again later when you're done tweaking them

[Nita Nupress]

Okay...but how do you hook that pair of cables to your sound card? I have an older Sony Vaio computer and wouldn't know where to begin.

Do they make such a thing as an external sound card? lol!

Seriously, I think I have a decent sound card on this computer but I'm not sure. I wasted time yesterday trying to figure out exactly what I have but couldn't find it.

For anyone out there, I'm using Win98. I already looked in "Control Panel --> Sounds" and "Control Panel --> System" with no luck. ??? It's hacking me off because I know I've looked this up before but can't remember how.

[ImaTexan]

ping

[Biblical Calvinist]

Arasina, simply patch one end of the cable (male mini-jacks at both ends) into the LINE IN input on the sound card, patch the OTHER end into the OUTPUT on your source player.(headphone output will do)

It may be a good idea to start with the volume really soft...do some test recordings to hear the proper level that can be done without distortion. After all, ya don't wanna blow out your sound card; speaking from personal experience here. ;>)

[general_re]

Okay...but how do you hook that pair of cables to your sound card?

Start by finding the line-in jack on your computer, and then you go to your local Radio Shack and drop $6.99 on an RCA-to-mini-stereo adapter, part #42-2551. It's got RCA plugs on one end and a 1/8" stereo plug on the other - attach the RCA plugs to your tape deck/record player/whatever, and plug the other end into the line-in jack on your computer. Make sure your recording software is configured to record from line-in and not mic, and you're good to go. If your tape player - or whatever you're recording from - doesn't have RCA outputs, you can get a male-to-male 1/8" stereo adapter cable, and plug one end into the headphone jacks on the tape player, and the other end to the line-in on your computer. Easy as pie ;)

[arasina]

And the LINE IN input on the sound card is where, exactly? :o)

[arasina]

Okay. Got it. I already have the RCA-to-mini-stereo adapter so I just may be good to go now. Thanks to both of you for your assistance!

[Nita Nupress]

Well, you can, but IMO you're better off doing your editing before putting it on CD.

Okay, let me see if I understand you here. I'm slow, so bear with me.

Usually what I do... ...record first, as a single track per reel/LP/cassette/whetever, then take the digitized recording and split it into multiple tracks,

Split it into multiple tracks onto what? The computer? So, using the software, I would record the cassette onto the computer as a single track. Then I would take that single, now-digitized recording and then split it back out into multiple tracks.

Does that mean you can re-separate or re-split the individual tracks back out into their original place -- like they were on the original cassette?! (Lead voice in center of stereo on track 1, drums on track 2, backup vocals on track 3, lead guitar on track 4, bass guitar on track 5, etc., etc.). This would be awesome, but I'm probably misunderstanding you.

...clean them up, and burn the individual tracks onto a single CD to recreate the album. That way, you're not burning something raw and unedited to CD, only to burn them again later when you're done tweaking them.

I'm confused. But it's not your fault. Let me take a break and take care of some business that's distracting me and I'll come back.

[arasina]

ROFL at the email instructions on your Profile Page!

[general_re]

So, using the software, I would record the cassette onto the computer as a single track. Then I would take that single, now-digitized recording and then split it back out into multiple tracks.

Let me try to reword it. What I mean is, I record a single side of the album (cassette, whatever) as one long audio file. Basically, I hit "play", start recording, and come back a half-hour later, or whenever it's done recording the whole "A" side of the album. Then, I use the editing software to split that one long audio file into individual songs. Then I burn those individual songs onto the CD, so that you can treat it like a real audio CD and jump from track to track. So when I record, the recording is actually one big file that has several songs in it. Then I split that one big file into several smaller files, one for each song. Hopefully that's clearer ;)

(Lead voice in center of stereo on track 1, drums on track 2, backup vocals on track 3, lead guitar on track 4, bass guitar on track 5, etc., etc.). This would be awesome, but I'm probably misunderstanding you.

That would be awesome, but unless you have access to the original multitrack master recordings, a multitrack deck to play them back with, and multitrack editing software to edit them, that's not going to happen. IOW, you'll need something close to a real, live edit suite for that ;)

[general_re]

Ah, I get comments from time to time, yes ;)

[VOA]

bump

[arasina]

Out in freewareville --- in that seemingly infinite somewhere on the web, there's a decent little sound editor called Audacity. I haven't explored all its capabilities but it converts wav files to MP3 and you can manipulate files and music tracks to a degree. I guess it all depends on how much time one wants to devote to playing mouse maestro in order to preserve as much of the original quality as possible.

[Nita Nupress]

That would be awesome, but unless you have access to the original multitrack master recordings, a multitrack deck to play them back with, and multitrack editing software to edit them, that's not going to happen. IOW, you'll need something close to a real, live edit suite for that ;)

I gotcha now.  I do have the original multi-track master tapes, but not the equipment.

Anyway, thanks very much for clearing that up.  On the original recordings, most of the tracks were panned either left or right to varying degrees after going through the mixer, especially the harmonized back-up vocals and rhythm guitars.  Even though I'll be able to clean the sound up & take out the fuzz noise, my end product won't be stereo like the original.  Oh well, it's still worth saving.

Thanks again. (And Merry Christmas!)

[Nita Nupress]

Hot dog, I understand everything you said!  I'll check out the Audacity & other software you listed and compare it to the others.  Thank you so much for your time, Sam, especially for the picture of the wire. That really helps.  It will be a few weeks before I can get to this.  If you want, I'll come back when I'm done and tell you how it went.  If you don't hear from me, that means something else came up & took my time and I'm too pissed to talk about it. :-)  Keep your fingers crossed for me. And have a Merry Christmas!

(Arasina, see Sam's original post for info about Audacity software.)

[Nita Nupress]

There were so much stuff in that van,...

My brain is unable to multi-task until I have my afternoon coffee. :-)

[Ibredd]

ping

[Nita Nupress]

I love your screen name!

[general_re]

I guess it all depends on how much time one wants to devote to playing mouse maestro in order to preserve as much of the original quality as possible.

Pretty much. I haven't used Audacity, so I can't speak to the quality of it, although I have heard good things. For cleaning up the LPs we were digitizing, we used Diamond Cut Pro, which is definitely not free, but the results are second to none.