How to Turn Your Cassette Music Tapes Into CDs

Now that cassette tapes are completely a thing of the past and nostalgia for the 80s and 90s is now dominating all facets of pop culture, more and more people are wanting to digitize their cassettes. Here you will learn step by step how to further immortalize your cassette collection transforming all of your favorite music into the CD's.

Things You'll Need

• Cassette Deck
• RCA to 1/8" Patch Cable
• Audio Recording Software
• Computer
• Blank CDR's
• Latest iTunes Software

Instructions

Digitizing Your Cassettes

1. Connect your cassette deck to your computer by connecting the 1/8" side of the patch cable into your sound card located at the rear of your PC. Then connect the RCA side of the patch cable to the left and right speaker channels on your cassette deck.

2. Open your PC's audio mixer tool to make sure the audio input fader is not muted then turn the fader up at least half way.

3. Open your audio recording software.

4. Create a new audio track within your audio recording software. Be sure to name the track after the song you are attempting to record from the cassette deck.

5. Enable the track within your recording software. Then press the "pause" button on the cassette deck then press the "record" and "play" buttons down at the same time.

6. When you are ready, click the "record" button in the recording software, then press "pause" on the cassette deck to begin recording. Once the song is finished, press "pause" on the cassette deck, then stop on the recording software. Repeat steps 4-6 with each cassette you attempt to record.

Burning Songs to CD

1. In the recording software, save the track as an mp3 file, then create a folder with the name of the artist and the album you are recording. Be sure to save each song you record to the correct folder.

2. Open iTunes and create a new playlist. You can do this on an apple by hitting "command+N" keys and on a PC by hitting "CTRL+N." A window will pop up prompting you to name your playlist. Name this playlist after the album you have just recorded and saved to your hard drive.

3. To import your songs into the new playlist click on "file" then click "add files to library" and add the songs you recorded into the playlist individually. Or you can click on the first file then hit the shift key and click on the last file in the folder then click "add to library."

4. Insert a blank CD-R into your CD-R drive then open your iTunes playlist and click on "burn" the pick CD writing speed and wait for your CD to finish burning.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean the heads of your cassette deck before attempting to digitize. Any debris in a cassette deck can contribute to crackling and popping noises on the cassette tape. You can buy head cleaners at most general retail outlets like Target and Walmart or general electronics stores like Radioshack.

• It's a good idea to do a few test recordings first to make sure everything is in working order and you are getting a good enough sound.

References

• andybrain.com: Converting Audio Cassettes to CD, MP3 and Other Digital Formats
• sticksite.com: Transfer Your Music to CDs from Tapes and Records