Hello

My Aunt wants to transfer all my Uncle's Cassettes onto CD.

I've absolutely no idea of where to start on this one, so any suggestions on:
[list]leads required[/list][list]software required[/list][list]best format to record in[/list][list]any potential problems[/list]
in words of one syllable, would be helpful.

I use magix audio cleaning lab.Available at most computer shops.Vary easy to use and lets you clean up and improve old recordings.You will need a lead that allows you to connect your cassette auxilliary output to your computer's auxilliary input.These are usually two phono plugs one end to a 3.5 mm stereo jack plug.I actully got a lead packaged with the software.
I just use the recording function in the software and have not found any problems after copying many tapes and albums on to cd.
Hope that this has helped you.

G Jones

Thanks for this.

A few questions:


1. Does the following link give the correct cable as you have described?

http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/PGA3402.html

2. Does the cable & software transfer / burn the CD in stereo sound?

3. What socket output do I need on my Cassette player? Is it phono L&R (Red & White)? If I don't have this, what alternatives do I have?

4. What socket input do I need on my PC (this is the one that confuses me most!)?

Apologies for my ignorance if the answers to some of the above have already been answered in the above post.
Once again many thanks.

Regards
Last edited by spiidey : 27-11-2006 at 22:00

Hi spiidey

1. That is the correct cable although personally i would not use one of that high a quality i am sure that you could get something similar and cheaper from maplins or somewhere similar.
2. The sound is transferred and burnt in stereo sound.
3.The phono left and right sockets are the ones to use the headphone socket will be too loud and distorted.The alternative is to play the cassette on a hi fi and use the auxilliary phono output on that.
4.You need to use the auxilliary input on the computer .This is usually located next to the speaker jack and colured blue on modern computers.I have found the software to be fairly straightforward to use and there was even a video tutorial on mine but i do not know if that is still on the newer versions.
Here is a link to the magix product so that you can see if it is suitable for your needs.http://site.magix.net/english-uk/hom...lab-11-deluxe/

Hope that has answered your questions.
Gwynfor

I was in the same position as the OP, and followed the advice from this link with excellent result. Would highly recommend the Audacity free software, just read the help files. Any questions, please ask. I bought a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable from ebay for a few quid, and used this to connect the headphone socket to computer's line-in socket. Link:http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...t=cassettes+CD

Suman Das

With the audacity software being free this may be the one we'll go for!

My uncle likes his music a lot and is not old enough to be deaf yet so i think he'd rather connect via the Hi-fi phono out than the headphone socket from a tape player to get the best sound. Can you tell me if the Audacity software allow me to connect a phono out from the Hi-fi to the line-in socket on the PC?

Thanks

As long as there is a LINE IN socket (coloured blue by convention) on the PC Audacity will be able to use it.

And just be sure the HiFi unit actually has a Line OUT. Some "all in one" units (which can hardly be called HiFi - but that is another debate ) only have Aux IN sockets

If you have separate Cassette deck and amplifier then what I suggest is....

Unplug the cassette deck output from the amp and reconnect that to the Line IN on the PC. Use a second mini jack to phono lead to connect the Line OUT of the PC to the amp on the now vacant Cassette inputs.

This way you can listen to the recording as it happens (handy to check everything is OK) and of course listen back afterwards as you edit it. Your HiFi speakers are probably better than any PC speakers (I hope ) so might as well listen in quality if you are serious about getting the best out of the process.

Thanks for the replies again.

One final question - as its an Xmas gift really my Aunt may not mind forking out £10 for the Magix software if it offers any substantial advantages over the free Audacity software.

Anything you could point out?

I'm off down to my Aunt's tomorrow to check that she has all the connections necessary!

Sorry I was away from computer a few days.
Most hi-fi will have line out socket/sockets. This may need a cable with 3.5mm plug at the computer end and 2-pin audio plug(L+R) on the hi-fi end. Look in Maplins or Ebay for those cables.
If you are using Audacity, you can hear real-time audio through computer speakers, and also review your recording as you go.
Go through the help files, which will tell you how to remove noise and edit the tracks to convert, save and burn into CDs. You can burn audio CDs (wav files), MP3 or other formats. I burn them into audio CDs for normal use and also some mp3 for more compact storage and use in car stereo.
Link for Audacity software: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
I use Nero software for burning CDs.
Good luck with your project.
Last edited by suman_das : 02-12-2006 at 22:04