How to Make Great Cassette Recordings

Bring out the best audio quality in your cassette recordings by checking your levels before you hit the record button.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cassette Tape Recorders
• Cassettes

1. Choose the best tape for the project. (Check out the Related eHow "How to Buy Blank Cassettes.")

2. Turn on the best noise reduction your deck has if you'll be playing the tape on the deck.

3. Put your recorder in record/pause mode. (Usually, press the record and play buttons together, then press pause.)

4. Play the chorus or loudest part of the material you're recording.

5. Adjust the recording level to be as high as possible without going into the red zone (or whatever indicator your recorder has to show oversaturation).

6. Turn down the recording level slightly.

7. Start the piece you're recording, then release the pause button.

8. Monitor the levels during recording; make subtle adjustments slowly.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to adjust controls on the recording unit and not on the source unit.
• Avoid using a high-speed dubbing feature; otherwise, you will lose the high frequencies and end up with poor recordings.

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on 9/10/2008 I'm going to agree with this to a point. Here's what I would change. Don't use a cheap Wal-mart tape. Use a Good Chrome or Metal tape. Depending on the tape (I will use Chrome tape) Unlike the author you need to put your saturation to +3 or +4 db for best recording. On playback the reading should be in the +1 or +2 db.

on 11/22/2005 Before making a recording on a new cassette, fast forward the tape all the way through and rewind it. This process cleans up the tape.