Guys,
I have a lot of old cassette tapes here that are starting to wear out from overplaying.
My question is, is there an easy way that I can transfer the music off of these tapes into the Hard Drive of my computer and then burn them to a CD-R disc?.
I've looked over the Net and there are more than enough companies willing to do it for you, but is it possible for this sort of thing to be done at home?.
I'm not looking to circumvent any copyright laws or the like, considering I already bought the tapes, shouldn't I be allowed to make 1 copy legally?.
Anyway, that is sliding off-topic, anyone have any advice?.
I'm using Win XP and have Windows Media Player at the moment.
Your advice would be gratefully recieved.
Cheers,
Mike.

Does your soundcard have an audio in? A cable from the cassette deck to the soundcard "in" should take care of the first 50%.. next is some software that will "record" the input into a computer readable format. Win 9x had an audio recorder feature that would record input sounds as a .wav file

If I recall correctly, your'e a linux guy too, maybe this will take you the other 50% of the way:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/

Mike,
I purchased 2, ADS Tech Instant Music RDX-150, 1 for me & one for best bud. They were about $40 each. They also have an "Instant Video" Interface.
Joe http://www.adstech.com/

It is easier to go to alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.<decade> and download the songs you have already paid for.
There may be some moral problem with stealing a song you didn't buy but if you have the tape, you own the song. Even Bill Gates agrees with this concept and he is the king of intellectual property.

I'm personally with Trollogs idea, however I don't have Linux since a fire wrecked my office here and I'm back to WiMP10.
It seems to me to offer nothing to the home user, but everything to those that have no clue how to use a computer.
Windas XP, the system of the masses.



[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 04-09-2006).]

Sorry,
That is getting way off topic.
I was reading somewhere on the Net, where you could even cache Vinyl to your hard drive and then burn it to a CD-R disc.
But bugger me, I can't remember where I read it.
How sad is that?!.

Mike,

Do you have something like the Nero Burning ROM software? (It's often the bundled Windows software with a CD-Rewriter drive.)

The Nero package comes with an editor, which you can use to sample your tapes into a PCM WAV file via the line input of your audio card. You can also use it to edit out tape hiss between tracks, apply any other filtering, etc.

Mike,
The Instant Music interface has phono inputs and outputs, USB to the puter, and comes with the "Nero" software. My desire is to hook it up to the tape recorder output of my graphic EQ and get my records over to MP3. Then, I want to put a few hundred favorites onto a CD. I already have a cheap Cyberhome DVD player that plays just about everything, unlike my expensive DVD player. The DVD already gets back to my receiver through an A/V switcher. But let's face it, the source doesn't matter if it's a line level analog output.
I bought the interface and installed it last summer and haven't really played with it since. It looked like I might have had to purchase some sort of plug-in to use the Nero software to convert to MP3. But again, I paid less than 40 bucks for it. You might want to check out the vast selection of audio interfaces at http://www.musiciansfriend.com/
I think I checked out ones from $150 to a couple of grand for a friend's home studio project.
Joe

Thanks for all your help guys.
I have stumbled upon a problem with my CD Writer.
While I've only ever uesd the thing to save important files and the pics I've uploaded to ECN, I've hit a stumbling block when it comes to burning music CD's.
I use Ahead Nero 6 to run the CD-writer, I go to add WMA files to the list and I am told "No file exists" even though I can see it and it can be played in Windas Media Player.
All I want is to remove a lot of the 450 songs in my computer to free up a bit of memory space, can anyone please help?.

Mike,
I always just have the Direct CD program set the CD-R up as a drive letter and use Windows Explorer to move the files around. Those various play list and music CD creators just drove me crazy.
Joe

Joe, the only problem with using the virtual drive method is they write CDs in a proprietary fiormat that another machine may not be able to read. You are better with using a burner program and making Joliet (usually called "data disk" by burners) files. "Music" CDs are yet another format (CDA)

I am guessing Trumpy's WMA files are not recognizerd by the burner when it tried to convert to CDA. I think most only take WAV or MP3s. WMAs may also have the copyright bit set.
He can probably make Joliet files but a CD player won't see them.
Winamp will let you make WAVs out of your WMAs and then you can burn a music CD but you need a lot of disk space.

The Nero Wave Editor will read WMA files, then they can be saved as WAV or MP3 which the burner software will recognize.

Edited to add:

I've just tried Nero 5, and it will accept a WMA file for burning an audio CD (CDA) just fine.




[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 04-15-2006).]

Mike: All I want is to remove a lot of the 450 songs in my computer to free up a bit of memory space, can anyone please help?

Greg, it seems that you and Paul are much more "in tune" with Mike's various options. I think we need to consider if our goal is to burn music CDs or to archive music files on CDs. I decided to stick with MP3 files at the 128 kbit rate. I realize that a normal CD player will barf on them. But I outfitted my last car with a Rio portable MP3 player and modulator before ultimately putting a nice JVC in the dash. When shopping around, I found that many players didn't see all 106 songs on my disc. The JVC did and told me I what I was listening to, so I bought it. There is nothing like being able to make an 8 hour drive back home, listenng to your favs on one disk.
My 5 disc changer has just suffered demonic possession, whirling around, opening & closing its drawer. I have my cheapo, plays everthing, DVD player hooked up to the same stereo, so I'm using it for CDs. But right now, I have a jazz MP3 disc with 119 cuts on it, playing some Joe Sample. Since the TV is on, it's showing me the artist, song, album, genre, and year. (The year is just the file date so forgetaboutit) It sure beats "track 15" on the display for an audio CD.
I use "Real Player" to open up my music CDs. If it doesn't automatically, I tell it to "get CD info" fronm the Net. Then I tell it to save the tracks. I just copy the folders I want onto CD-Rs to archive, but also to play on the road or on the good audio system through the cheapo player.
Joe

If you get a player with a DVD drive it will hold a thousand songs or more.
Your 450 sounds like 3 CDRs. The safest way to burn is to use Nero or something similar and burn a data disk.
My MP3 players are all PCs playing off hard drives with DOS/MPXPLAY

Trumpy,
One way to do this is to bypass the computer altogether. TASCAM makes a nice unit with a cassette recorder and a CD recorder that will allow dubbing directly in either direction. Then, if you really want, you can rip some of the tracks to your HDD. I have an ethernet HDD that I keep tunes, pictures and backups on.

Radar


[This message has been edited by Radar (edited 05-02-2006).]

Paul,
Which version do I need?.
I have Version 6.0.2.4.
I haven't really looked a great deal into Nero apart from burning WMA files and ripping CD's to my computer HDD.
Is there something extra I should know?
If it is going to be too long Paul, e-mail me if you feel it appropriate.
Cheers,
Mike.

V5.5.10.54 here. Just look for "Nero Wave Editor" and run it. Go to Audio -> Record and you can then set mono/stereo, sampling rate etc. before starting to record. You might have to go to Options -> Device settings first to select your sound card as the source.

Audacity works with windows XP (have it on the laptop I am using now) Free, just download it.

Just as a stupid question.
Is the Line-in on a computer Motherboard a stereo input?.

Presumably you have a sound adapter built-in on your motherboard then?

Most of the newer sound cards/motherboards seem to have a stereo line input, although sometimes there's a separate mono input as well.

Do the old "finger hum" test. Insert a stereo plug into the jack without its cover, make sure your audio controls are set to patch the line input through to your computer speakers, then touch the tip and ring tags of the plug in turn to see if you hear a hum from the left and right speakers respectively.

Thanks Paul,
No it is stereo, I tried the finger test.
Let the fun begin!.

http://www.crosleyradio.com/prods/cr248.html

Check this out mike! I just heard about it this morning. Nostalgic enough for you? It works on vinyl and cassettes.

Joe

what, no 8 track?

It's Funny! Bill Bennett gives "Stack-O-Matics" to folks that can stump him on oldies. This morning I heard him mention their new burner and immediately thought of Mike. When you mentioned 8 tracks, I checked their site again, just in case they did have a player. I wouldn't put it past them.
Joe

[This message has been edited by JoeTestingEngr (edited 08-05-2006).]

I still have an 8 track recorder but no blank ammo.
I also have one of those JIL in dash AM/FM, 8 track, CBs.

Earlier I started to think of copying what I have to a format, in which I can listen to it.
I realized that the rest of my casettes are in so bad shape, it is not worth to copy them.

I fouded, what is better at the moment than MP3 is Cd, but there`s no way to carry so much cds with me, otherwise, I barely listen to cd at home.

So there`s no point in collecting cd`s regarding, how expensive they are related to all music is available somewhere in MP3.

The other is LP, which I prefer, regarding it`s quality, but that needs a studio- adaptor which can transfer data to a cd, the best is the quality the more expensive is the process, it is impossible to do it at home.

So as I see now, the best solution is to ask a frend if you need specially one music, otherwise to listen to the RADIO, which widens your info, and helps you get to know new bands better.

Radio is just too loaded with commercials for me. Even the XM is starting to get abusive and I pay for that to be commercial free.

I got the XM for 3 months in my new Accord, then renewed for 2 years. I listen to conservative talk radio going to and from work. They yanked the shows I listen to both ways, forcing me back to AM. Then they raised the price 36% a year and their sales rep hung up on me. I dumped them in April. They should have taken me SIRIUSly.
Joe

Back on to topic,
I haven't had the chance to make up a decent audio lead from my stereo to the Line-in on my computer.
The other one was far too short and wasn't shielded.
I'll let you guys know if the tape to Computer link works.

Mike, tape`s too bad for a quality, if you compress it to mp3 what you get gives no satisfaction at all.

I recommend to ask friends to download good music for you.

I`d pay for it, if I`d find a collection which is the quality of a radio broadcast in every way.

I tried ripping stuff from the XM radio and it was terrible.

What specifically are you looking for? I have about 12 gigs of misc 50s to present music.

Here's the software I use in converting from Tape or LP's to CD. It works very well and is user friendly:
http://www.polderbits.com/

Hi Mike,

Check this, this is an audio recorder. Try it and tell us.
http://www.mp3mymp3.com/mp3_my_mp3_recorder.html

Edited to insert link. :P

[This message has been edited by Gloria (edited 10-09-2006).]

Did you try?

During last weekend,
I had a go at using Audacity to generate MP3 files.
When I played them back, they sounded worse than if I'd used a microphone outside the door.
So much tape hiss (in fact this was the biggest problem) and that means that the real signal isn't getting through.
I've got about 10-20dB of tape noise alone, over and above the actual signal level.
All my signal cables are shielded.
Is this just a quirk of old worn out tapes?.
If so, how can this be reduced upon recording?.

If you have a good sound processing program you could probably filter the hiss out (I like Sound Forge) but you will probably end up getting some of the good signal too.
Maybe you should start over with the gain higher from the tape machine and improve your hiss to noise ratio.
That was what all that Dolby stuff was about back in the day.
I just made some tapes this week from cassette to MP3 and they were as good as the tape. I did a straight copy from the deck "line out" to the PC "line in". Strangely one track did have some noise that showed up on the plot in Sound Forge that I did not see in the other track. I couldn't really hear it so I went on.

Huh? What did you say? I may be a bit deaf.

Mike, I have connected my player's headphone line to the pc, and it was not so bad. I guess you can try to send the line from the deck to a mixer-amplifier (with eq), and then the signal to the pc, see what you can get of it.

Heres what I do If you have an Iriver mp3 recorder (700 or 800) series..... 1st you need a 1/4 " to 1/8" adapter for the haedphone jack on the cassette player then using the iriver simply play the cassette and record to the iriver
This automaticly converts to a mp3 format that most computers will burn to a cd. You can find the irivers on ebay for a fraction of the cost on them new. Must be the 700 or 800 series.
Chris

I once "converted" a bunch of old records onto CD using a turntable and my computer... Just realize that you're probably going to lose a bit of quality, jumping from analog to digital. There are high-end programs that will take care of degrading tapes/records, hiss/pop, and compensate for quality loss, but you'd probably have to sell your car to afford them.

Yup, I've seen devices which clear the music about 40% from audio signal, that's a box a size of a desktop pc, and the speed is 1/10 of the notmal music play speed.
Those who are interested probably can find more on the net if you google archive records digitalization or something like that.