convertiing Audio tapes to CDs

[ramirami]

has anyone attempted to convert old Audio tapes to CDs...I was trying this yesterday...played the line out from a boombox to the sound card on the computer....however the quality of sound was real real bad...(way worse than the original tape)...any insight??

[regnideir]

Should have worked. I've used "cakewalk" brand software to burn old LP's from a record player to CD. The software is useful for breaking the recording up into tracks on the CD.

You might be over powering the input. I used the regular outputs and adjusted the volume to get the correct level input. (Software shows input level).

[ramirami]

Originally posted by regnideir
Should have worked. I've used "cakewalk" brand software to burn old LP's from a record player to CD. The software is useful for breaking the recording up into tracks on the CD.

You might be over powering the input. I used the regular outputs and adjusted the volume to get the correct level input. (Software shows input level).

did you pass it trhough an amplifier???

[lalit]

A proper customised setting is important on software side . I have used Easy CD creator and the quality was as good as on the tapes . In fact i am able to reduce noise in some of the cases . But it require some work to be done .
Amplifier won't help . Becasue if you have too much noise in the tape . it is also going to get amplified .

[LChisum]

I have Microsoft's "Plus, Digital Media Edition" software which contains an analog recorder. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to preserve my old 33 1/3 albums. Following is a snip from the analog recorder (tape recording section) help text minus the graphic diagrams (for what it's worth).

Larry


"To connect your cassette or reel-to-reel player to your computer
Make sure you have the necessary hardware to connect your cassette or reel-to-reel player. To connect your player directly to a sound card, the player must have a tape-out, line-level port.
Plug the connectors into your player's line-out terminals and your sound card's line-in port, as shown in the following diagrams.
Connection using a single "Y" cable.

Connection using a stereo cable and adapter.

Note

You can also connect your cassette or reel-to-reel player to a stereo receiver, and then connect the receiver to your computer's sound card. For more information about connecting your player to a stereo receiver, see your cassette or reel-to-reel player documentation. For more information about connecting a stereo receiver to your computer's sound card, see To connect your stereo receiver to your computer. "

[Qbrozen]

It took me a while, but I was able to do this. It finally turned out that it was my crappy sound card. I eventually got a new computer with a Soundblaster Platinum and it works great now. By the way, I do have to do this through a receiver because I wanted to record old LPs. The 3-wire connection from my player goes to my receiver, then i use the line-output on my receiver.... ummmm... or is it the headphone output? Hmmm.... its been about a year since I used it, so I forget.

Oh, and I just use EZCDcreator.

[Bill Balmer]

This should work as long as you remember that you need to properly set your levels when recording an analog source.

On a related note though, regnidier mentioned dubbing LPs through his computer. A phono preamp is required to do this properly. Not only will it bring the phono output level up to a more usable line level (it seems that he may have had enough gain to accomplish this), but it will apply the proper RIAA equalisation curve to the signal.

[LChisum]

I did a test run on converting one of my ancient LP albums to digital. I had to purchase a 20' RCA to RCA cable, a 6' RCA to phono plug cable, and two RCA couplers in order to link the line out from my tuner to the line in on the PC sound card on the other side of the room. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. The Microsoft Plus - Digital Media Edition software was intuitively easy to use. The album I picked at random has a some significant scratches on a couple of the tracks, and these still are noticeable in the finished CD, but the software provides for hiss and pop filtering, and the majority of the music came out crystal clear. The Windows Media Player lets you set up a playlist for the tracks, and then export them to a CD if you choose. As I continue with the album conversions, I think I will attempt to clean the records before starting. Anyone have any suggestions on record cleaning?

Larry

[Bill Balmer]

Originally posted by LChisum
Anyone have any suggestions on record cleaning?

Larry

If you have lots of records to clean and want to do a good job, I recommend a purpose-made machine like the Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine. For the cleaning solution, use rubbing alcohol (get the stuff that's over 90% alcohol - make sure you don't buy anything with lanolin in it) and a couple drops of surfactant - Kodak photoflo works well.

By the way, DO NOT use this alcohol based solution on any of the old lacquer disks.

[LChisum]

Originally posted by Bill Balmer
If you have lots of records to clean and want to do a good job, I recommend a purpose-made machine like the Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine. For the cleaning solution, use rubbing alcohol (get the stuff that's over 90% alcohol - make sure you don't buy anything with lanolin in it) and a couple drops of surfactant - Kodak photoflo works well.

By the way, DO NOT use this alcohol based solution on any of the old lacquer disks.

Thanks Bill.

Larry

[ramirami]

Originally posted by Bill Balmer
If you have lots of records to clean and want to do a good job, I recommend a purpose-made machine like the Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine. For the cleaning solution, use rubbing alcohol (get the stuff that's over 90% alcohol - make sure you don't buy anything with lanolin in it) and a couple drops of surfactant - Kodak photoflo works well.

By the way, DO NOT use this alcohol based solution on any of the old lacquer disks.

remember to wipe along the grooves...

[kemosabe]

Originally posted by ramirami
remember to wipe along the grooves...

I was taught to always wipe from front to back...

[ramirami]

Originally posted by kemosabe
I was taught to always wipe from front to back...

are there any drawbacks of the back to front wipe

[coop]

I'm transferring my LPs to CDs. But what do you do with all your LPs once they're transferred? I have too many to keep longer than I need to and I'm not sure whether they have any value.

[kemosabe]

Originally posted by coop
I'm transferring my LPs to CDs. But what do you do with all your LPs once they're transferred? I have too many to keep longer than I need to and I'm not sure whether they have any value.

I'm sure they would have value to someone, somewhere... Try posting an ad for them on fleaBay listing which LPs you have and what condition they are in -- pretty sure you'll get some nibbles. A few years ago, I could've sworn there were some used vinyl stores in our (D.C.) area...