How to Convert Cassettes to Microdisks
While contemporary digital technologies render analog cassette tape obsolete in most situations, there is still a great deal of recorded material on tape that has yet to be digitized. Cassette recorders are also frequently used to record audio in situations in which the safety of a high-priced digital audio recorder would be a concern. Fortunately, digitizing audio from cassette is quite easy and does not require any special tools or skills.
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Things You'll Need
- Tape player
- Computer with a 1/8" audio line input
- Recording software (such as the free program Audacity; see the Resources section)
- Adapter cable
- Disk
Instructions
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1
Insert the cassette into its player and cue it to the correct point.
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2
Connect the cable from the tape player's line-out to the 1/8-inch line-in jack on the computer.
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3
Open the audio-editing software of your choice and select "line" or "line in" as the recording input. Press the "play" button on the tape player and "record" in your audio software. You should see the waveforms onscreen as they are being recorded.
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4
When you have completed the recording, stop the tape player and recording software. Save or export the audio recorded to the computer to the disk of your choice.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure to record from your tape player's line out-jack (if it has one) and not the headphone jack.
If your tape deck has a preamp, make sure its volume is not too loud, as this will distort the recording.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit cassette image by Shawn Stallard from Fotolia.com
