How To Record Cassette Tapes to CD
Want to preserve your old cassette tapes by transferring them to CD? Once you you, you'll never have to worry about audio-quality deterioration, and you can jump directly to the tracks you want to hear. There are many software programs out there that charge a substantial fee for this ability, but you don't need them. You can do it yourself for free.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Blank CDs
- Audacity (free recording and editing software)
- Cassette tape deck
- Male-to-male 3.5mm audio jack
- Sound card with line-in or mic jack
Instructions
-
-
1
Download Audacity, the free recording and editing software (see Resources for the link). Follow the instructions to install it on your computer.
-
2
Connect the tape deck to your computer. Plug one end of the male-to-male audio cable into the line-out or headphone jack of the cassette player. Plus the other end into the line-in or mic jack of the computer's sound card.
-
-
3
Prepare Audacity for recording. Open the Audacity program and change the input type. Do this by going to Edit > Preferences and clicking on the tab labeled Audio I/O. Under "playback," select the device with the name of your specific sound card. Find "recording" in the same window and select this device again.
-
4
Start recording. Press the Record button on Audacity, then start the cassette. When the song is done, press the Stop button on Audacity.
-
5
Export the file. Click on File > Export. Export the file as a wave or a mp3, depending on the format you want. Save file to your computer.
-
6
Burn the file to a CD.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
For better audio quality, plug the audio cable into the line-out jack on your cassette player rather than the headphone jack.
