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View Full Version : Cheapest way to go from Cassette to CD?


Manimal
02-19-2005, 10:02 PM
I've just recorded a live demo to cassette in my basement via the RCA outs on my powered mixer. Now I need to know the cheapest way to get it converted to cd.

Can I take it somehwere to have it done?

Should I buy equipment myself? If so what and how much cash?

The Mother Standard
02-19-2005, 10:11 PM
Buy a cheap walkman. Instead of plugging headphones to it, plug your computer (as if your computer were the speakers). Open the Sound Control window (Start menu-Programs-Entertainment-Sound Control) and go to options-properties. Check the "Recording" dot, and click "Accept." Now just verify that "Output Mix" (or whatever its called) is checked.

Now open any recording program (hopefully you have one besides the silly 60 sec. recorder that comes with Windows) and record as you play the song from your walkman. Check that nothing in your computer makes a sound (I'd recommend you close MSN or any sound-making chat program), because while you're recording, the recorder is recording any sound that your computer is emitting.

At least that's how I did it, and it worked fine.

KKKKKocaine
02-20-2005, 03:46 AM
Buy a cheap walkman. Instead of plugging headphones to it, plug your computer (as if your computer were the speakers). Open the Sound Control window (Start menu-Programs-Entertainment-Sound Control) and go to options-properties. Check the "Recording" dot, and click "Accept." Now just verify that "Output Mix" (or whatever its called) is checked.

Now open any recording program (hopefully you have one besides the silly 60 sec. recorder that comes with Windows) and record as you play the song from your walkman. Check that nothing in your computer makes a sound (I'd recommend you close MSN or any sound-making chat program), because while you're recording, the recorder is recording any sound that your computer is emitting.

At least that's how I did it, and it worked fine.

I'd be careful with the cassette player, some cheaper models have 'unusual' e.q. settings to say the least and may end up giving your record a rather nasty bass boost and lack of treble, but that's becoming rarer in recent days.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Will be a perfect recording tool for this task.

http://www.minidiscaccess.com/item.html?PRID=725944

Connect one end to the cassette players headphone output, then connect the other end into the 'line in' on your PC.
On audacity, choose recording input as 'Line In', then press record, this will then record any sound coming from the cassette player, but not msn if you are running it.
It's definately alot cheaper than going and having it done somewhere else.

Manimal
02-20-2005, 12:05 PM
I've figured out what I'm going to do.

I'm gonnda buy a RCA to 1/8 stereo mini cable and just record from the cassette deck to the line in on my computer.

Can someone reccemend me a good program to use to record with? I need one that is free with a good eq tool, because when I recorded live the bass drum is wayyyyy to loud in the mix. Its only Drums and guitars so I don't have to worry about ****ing with the bass frequency too much, I just need to lower the bass drum level.

Thanks again.

moaner
02-20-2005, 12:48 PM
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Will be a perfect recording tool for this task.

kkk

Manimal
02-20-2005, 03:30 PM
Guess I must have missed that.

It worked great.

KKKKKocaine
02-20-2005, 03:34 PM
Guess I must have missed that.

It worked great.

It's a great program, constantly being updated.

moaner
02-20-2005, 03:46 PM
It's a great program, constantly being updated.

****, i might need to update mine

moaner
02-20-2005, 03:47 PM
i'm on v 1.2.3, what're they on?

Merkaba
02-21-2005, 04:04 AM
Whats a cassette?

KKKKKocaine
02-21-2005, 04:52 AM
Whats a cassette?

The compact audio cassette audio storage medium was introduced by Philips in 1963. It consists of a length of magnetic tape from BASF inside a protective plastic shell. Four tracks are available on the tape, giving two stereo tracks – one for playing with the cassette inserted with its 'A' side up, and the other with the 'B' side up, thus mimicking gramophone records. There were other magnetic tape cartridge systems at the time, but the compact cassette succeeded through Philips's backing. The mass production of compact audio cassettes began in 1965 in Hanover, Germany, as did commercial sales of prerecorded music cassettes, known as musicassettes or MC for short.

The cassette was a massive step forward in convenience from reel-to-reel audio tape recording, though the limitations of the cassette's size and speed compared poorly in quality. Unlike the open reel format, the two stereo tracks lie adjacent to each other rather than a 1/3 and 2/4 arrangement. This permitted monaural cassette players to play stereo recordings in a highly-compatible "summed" form and permitted stereo players to play mono recordings through both speakers. The tape is 1/8 inch (3.175 mm) wide, with each stereo track being 1/32 inch (0.79 mm) wide and moves at 17/8 inches per second (47.625 mm/s). For comparison, the typical open reel format was ¼ inch (6.35 mm) wide, each stereo track being 1/16 inch (1.5875 mm) wide, and running at either 3¾ or 7½ inches per second (95.25 or 190.5 mm/s). Some machines did use 17/8 inches per second (47.625 mm/s) but the quality was poor.

The original magnetic material was based on ferrite (Fe2O3), but then chromium dioxide (CrO2) and more exotic materials were used in order to improve sound quality to try to match those of vinyl records. These had different bias requirements, requiring more complicated equipment.

A variety of noise reduction schemes were used to increase fidelity, Dolby B being almost universal for both prerecorded tapes and home recording. By the late 1980s, sound fidelity on equipment by manufacturers such as Nakamichi and Tandberg far surpassed the levels expected of the medium by early detractors and on suitable audio equipment could challenge the sound quality of the compact disc.

Tape length was usually measured in minutes total playing time, and the most popular varieties were C60 (30 minutes per side), C90, and C120 (usually thinner tape, more likely to be destroyed in use). Some vendors were more generous than others, providing 132 meters or 135 meters rather than 129 meters of tape for a C90 cassette. C180 and even C240 tapes were available at one time, but these were extremely thin and fragile and suffered badly from effects such as print-through which made them unsuitable for general use. There was also a C-100, which could accommodate a 50 minute album on each side – a possible factor in its withdrawal.

The cassette had originally been intended for use in dictation machines, but quickly became a medium for distributing prerecorded music – particularly through Philips's record company, PolyGram – with an option for home recording use. Cassettes were also used for purposes such as journalism, field history, meeting transcripts and so on. In the 1980s, Tascam introduced the Portastudio, a four-track recorder for home studio use, which increased the audio quality possible on cassette by doubling the tape speed and using DBX noise reduction (which worked by compression to increase the dynamic range).

Most cassettes were sold blank and used for recording the owner's records (as backup or to make compilations), their friends' records or music from the radio. This practice was condemned by the music industry with such slogans as "Home taping is killing music". However, many claimed that the medium was ideal for spreading new music and would increase sales, and strongly defended at least their right to copy their own records onto tape. In the late 1970s, Sony brought out the Walkman, a small portable cassette player, which greatly increased the consumption of music in this manner. Cassettes were also a boon to people wishing to make bootlegs (unauthorized concert recordings) for sale or trade.

Cassettes can be played on a wide variety of different types of device. Early recorders tended to be small battery-powered portable devices, in keeping with the intention of the medium for dictation, reportage and similar low-level recording duties, but by the mid 1970s, the cassette deck became a commonplace component of home high fidelity systems, largely superseding the reel-to-reel recorder for home use. Another key element of the cassette's success was its use in in car entertainment systems, where the small size of the tape was significantly more convenient than the competing 8-track cartridge system. Cassette players in cars and for home use were often integrated with a radio receiver, and the term "casseiver" was occasionally used for combination units for home use. In-car cassette players were the first to adopt the idea of automatic reversal of the tape at each end, allowing a cassette to be played endlessly without manual intervention. Home cassette decks soon followed this practice as well.

Many home computers of the 1980s, notably the TRS-80, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro, used cassettes as a cheap alternative to floppy disks as a storage medium for programs and data. Data rates were typically 500 to 2000 bit/s, although some games used special faster loading routines, up to around 4000 bit/s. A rate of 2000 bit/s equates to a capacity of around 660 kilobytes per side of a 90 minute tape.

Technical development of the cassette effectively ceased when digital recordable media such as DAT and MiniDisc were introduced in 1992. Philips attempted to introduce the Digital Compact Cassette – a DAT-like tape in the same form factor – but it failed in the market. Since the rise of cheap CD-R discs, the phenomenon of "home taping" has effectively switched to compact disc.
Trivia

In French the word "cassette" is abbreviated as "K7" (ka-sept); the "K7" shorthand also works in Portuguese: cá-sete. In Spanish it is known by the letters KCT (pronounced "ka-cé-te").
See also

* Elcaset
* List of audio formats
* Cassette culture
* Mix tape
* KiddieCorder -- A toy camcorder that used compact audio cassette to store video.

Manimal
02-21-2005, 08:07 AM
Hes lieing ;)


:lol: :lol:

Merkaba
02-21-2005, 01:24 PM
^^ Bullshit! Never heard of it

KKKKKocaine
02-21-2005, 01:29 PM
Hes lieing ;)


:lol: :lol:

Go play with your KiddieCorder.

moaner
02-21-2005, 01:58 PM
Go play with your KiddieCorder.

someone's jealous...

KKKKKocaine
02-21-2005, 02:20 PM
someone's jealous...

Hey, I made you a mix tape.

1. Hey
2. **** off
3. Instrumental

moaner
02-21-2005, 02:36 PM
Hey, I made you a mix tape.

1. Hey
2. **** off
3. Instrumental

well, i made you a mixed tape.

then i buried it with everyhting else of yours.

KKKKKocaine
02-21-2005, 02:48 PM
well, i made you a mixed tape.

then i buried it with everyhting else of yours.

I didn't love you anyway, you were just a pretty face to me.

moaner
02-21-2005, 03:46 PM
I didn't love you anyway, you were just a pretty face to me.

I only wanted you for your-


lets stop here.