Me too Dave with my best friend in 1969-70. We cracked each other up, great comedy. Also hearing my grandmother yelling at me and my rebuttal about sticking to my assigned music lessons in '69-'70 and hearing me scream out in my little kids voice , and then my grandmother would say "Just wait till you daddy gets home!" Also bands I was in 1974-1979. I want to share some of this stuff on Facebook.
Guess I'll finally get a cell phone. I live like it was in 1985, except I have a computer. That cable won't fit into any modern device I have, please elaborate. Had my Sony tape recorder from '69 or''70 restored and it sounds like new and much better than the Mayfair and GE recorders that I had about the same time. I had the best from 1982-85, I'll upgrade.
Pardon the "tl,dr" length of my post here, but I just wanted to say that Dave's got the basic idea here in this video, but he's a bit incorrect in some of the details: unless your laptop/PC can automatically adapt to the signal level (either automatically or through software control panel), plugging in a cassette player's headphone (or line) output into a PC's microphone input will overload it (as Dave instructs the viewer to use in this video), resulting in some extremely distorted audio (plus most mic inputs are mono as well, while the headphone/line output of a cassette player is usually stereo). The levels used by a microphone input are far, far lower than the line-level output of a cassette deck or other audio device. Using a line-level input on a PC (usually a light-green colored female jack, and/or a jack labeled either "Line In", "Aux In", or with an icon of a musical note beside an arrow pointing to the connector) is the proper way to connect a cassette deck to a PC, for it's a stereo jack, and is compatible level-wise with the player's headphone (or line) output--but some level adjustment using the headphone volume control on the player might be necessary. Even though it'll work in a quick & dirty pinch, I myself wouldn't use a cheap walkman to transfer the tape. A walkman's tape head can pick up a bit of drive motor interference due to its small and compact construction, noted by a constant hum/buzz in the audio.. As Hammy Technoid mentioned in his comment below, far better quality (and much less noisier) results can be achieved using a full-blown component-type stereo cassette deck, and plugging it in to the line input of your computer using an dual-RCA to 1/8" stereo cord, available at most retailers. Plus, the only audio level adjustments in that setup will only be required on the computer end (unless it's a component cassette deck with a variable output, these decks also have a adjustment knob for this). Another advantage to using a component cassette deck, besides better audio quality, is that it'll be able to play higher-bias chrome & metal tapes properly, by adjusting the deck's switch for such (if it has a bias/tape type setting), plus the feature of Dolby B/C noise reduction, if you wish to use it (it is highly recommended to be enabled on Dolby C-encoded cassettes, otherwise the sound will be a bit off, the much more common Dolby B encoding not as much).
Thanks for the info. I guess if the output or the sound that comes out of the cassette player came out of the headphone output, then we could lower the volume level until we get an undistorted sound level. Also the volume control for the microphone (input on computers using MS Windows) is under the speaker icon in systray. Up until few years ago Microsoft Windows had the microphone turned off by default but there is a volume/level control for the mike as well. I have not done this yet (convert old tapes to MP3) but I wonder how big a 4 minute song will be?(in megabytes)?
USAMehdi No problem at all--glad I can help. Sounds like you're good to go for controlling audio levels on both ends, the only other issue I'd be concerned about is if the microphone input on your PC is mono only, or can accept both stereo channels (on a 1/8" tip-ring-sleeve, ie "TRS" cable, same as a stereo headphone jack). If you're transferring cassette recordings made in stereo, it's of the most quality (and most preserving of the original recorded material) to record both left and right channels accordingly. If the volume control for the mic input has an additional "Balance" control for both L and R channels and the ability to control each channel, you should be good for stereo. Most audio hardware on most PCs can usually automatically configure themselves to what's plugged in, if using a newer audio chipset. (Realtek "HD Audio" chipsets, like that built-in to my HP-Compaq desktop, are good about this). As I mentioned again, if your audio configuration has a dedicated line input (usually using a green 1/8" female jack), then all the better and less configuration, or none at all if it can automatically adjust. Best bet is to listen and monitor the cassette's input from your sound card/ports with a pair of headphones to hear if there's any stereo separation (if it's a stereo tape). The reason why I mention this, is because some older audio hardware/sound cards with mic inputs are mono for audio, and are technically wired as TRS, but the other conductor is usually used for voltage to power some mics (that call for it), with the other conductor for audio. I've come across a few mono desktop microphones that have a TRS plug for powering the mic (usually because they're condenser mics, which need power to operate). Plus they might overload and distort on a line-level signal, even with the level controls in the Windows volume control panel. In that case, some of these types of hardware have an option (usually tucked away in the "Advanced" button or similar) where the mic input can be attenuated to handle line-level audio in this case. As far as MP3 sizes go, if you stick to encoding/saving them at a 128 Kbps bitrate in stereo, it usually averages out to about a megabyte a minute. So, a 4 minute song would be approximately 4 MB. Using a higher bitrate (say, 192, 256, or the full 320 Kbps allowed by the MP3 format) will yield better quality files (and better stereo separation if discrete stereo encoding is used as opposed to the usually default "Joint Stereo" encoding), but at a larger file size (2-5 MB or more per minute of audio). Hopefully all of this is to the best of my knowledge, if I'm wrong on any of this info, I invite all YT users to correct me :).
***** Thanks a lot for the info again, because you saved me some money by not buying a tape-to-mp3 converter. I was hoping for file sizes around 4 to 5 MB as well. More than that will be hard to deal with. In fact I have some speeches on tapes that dont require high quality or even stereo sound so I guess I'll be alright. Thanks a lot! :-) OH BTW a few days ago I downloaded Audacity from this site that was on top of google search results! It had a terrible virus. But the one I downloaded from Audacity's own website was fine. Be sure and download from a reputable site. If the file you are downloading is less than 1 MB (like 640 KB) then it may be loaded with viruses or spyware. Good programs are large (more than few Megs) so be careful...
USAMehdi Once again, my pleasure. Yes, with speech recordings, you can definitely get away with a lower bitrate in mono when transferring them, I'd recommend 64-96 Kbps for such. And yes, you are correct about the "fake" Audacity, this is a scheme a lot of rogue malware peddlers use to spread their crapware. They'll take a piece of open-source software like Audacity, repackage it with a different installer that's set to also install a bunch of malware as well, and put up a bogus website with a similar page layout and domain as the legit SW and make the rogue fake of it available for download. I remember a similar scam happened with the eMule file sharing software, that was a bunk version with malware if it was a version not downloaded from eMule's official site. As you mentioned, the moral of the story is to always download software from its legitimate sources on the web. Sounds like you're on the right track.
Here's the thing. I wouldn't trust my ancient priceless tapes to a 17 dollar walkman. The better the tape deck, the better the transfer. Invest and get something good that will do a good job.
I made a similar mistake a while back when I connected the output from my PC's sound card to the "Phono" input on my Hi-Fi amp. Obviously this is meant for the low level output from a turntable, so I nearly blew up the speakers I've had for over 30 years.
Well, since I don't have "Line in" or "aux in" on my laptop... Mic in worked just fine for me!! I'm happily copying my cassettes via the mic in and the sound is just fine!!
Nothing wrong with having tapes - but the big issue with cassettes (and to an even greater degree, with 8-tracks) was the sheer amount of space necessary to tote them around. Remember those huge cassette carry cases? It was bitchin' if you could fill one of those up with a hundred cassettes, but they were bulky as hell. By converting those old tapes to MP3, you can carry your entire music library on a device the size of a SINGLE cassette.
Not embarrassing but the sound quality is bad...that tape HISSSSSSS is annoying....plus over time, they eventually break down. I've had many of my favorite tapes start to squeak over time and also there's the issue of tapes getting eaten by the machine, and broken that way. Heartbreaking when it's irreplaceable.
I bought one cassette player for $2.24 and one for $3.74. I just bought 31 cassettes for $.25 each, but had to pay a premium price of $.50 for Hammer's first album. Gotta do what you gotta do in this economy.
If you own a modern Mac, there is a free sound recorder built-in the QuickTime Player application. Use the options of "Built-in Microphone" as the audio source.
what an incredibly charming and fun video ! thank you for sharing- while tapes were a bit before my time, a lot of independent musicians that i love make their own and i love the element the sound quality adds. makes me sad that the website the news segment plugs is dead now
If not done properly, this method will result in high distortion or clipping. By connecting the Line Out phono jacks of a home cassette deck to the Line In of your computer, you can achieve much better results. Peace.
1:23 I remember those cassettes when they came in a pack of 3. I used to record music off the air until the DJs started talking over the intro of the song to keep songs from being pirated. Like Sure. Right. lol
I followed the instructions to a tee but instead of recording what was on my cassette from my Walkman, I got recording of me talking and my tv!,,,cant figure out what is wrong. The Walkman works fine because when I plug in my headphones I can hear the music on the cassette...
Okay, so Radio Shack is closed down for good. Where do you pick up a cable as shown and what is the official name for one so that you get the correct one. Are the plug tips 3.5mm in size?
Not a problem for me, as I repair old cassette recorders and decks, so if I want to play a tape, I still can. The problem seems to be that a good number of later machines were very cheaply made and konked out, leaving people with no machine to play them on ! However, with a little patience, even these can be sorted out. I mostly use Philips or ITT products of the 60's and 70's.
But what do you do when the actual TAPES start to degrade? I've had many that eventually squeak and become unbearable to listen to. Or even break when they get eaten by the machine! I am recording these so I don't lose any more. It's fine for recordings that you can now purchase on cd...but for things like my childhood voice...I'm not risking losing them!
If I had old family recordings, or I did a radio show, etc.... I would make the effort to digitally archive them. IMO what buddy showed was good enough. How much new gear are you gonna buy to digitize like 10 tapes?
I have old a cassettes of my long dead grandparents , my parents, and an uncle and aunt with their talking Mina Bird from 1969 converted to a CD. Other with me & friends as kids doing radio shows, playing rock or jazz, I'd like to share. Had 10 tapes put on CD. I want to share on You Tube and Face Book but can't figure it out.
Hi Dave Thank you for This. i have the Audacity software But It only worked for a short time. And now my Audacity software is not recording and It is not picking up my Audio cassette player. can You Help with This? Thank you from jeremy☹
well on the laptop you only have one input, the mic in, however on the desktop you usually have a mic in on the front and a line in on the back of the case.
Depends on what was originally recorded. If some original work (whether music or a story/poem or a really ancient homemade recording that others might enjoy like from famous person or something) it's possible someone would find it online and make the whole world think they wrote or recorded or found it in their attic...but I agree that it's unlikely!
Everyone's always talking about the importance of doing this by using an audio interface - at least re. old records. Isn't that necessary for the best sound? E.g. go from turntable or tape player to audio interface to laptop? I'm also wondering (side note) if a Zoom H4n handheld field recorder that has a built-in audio interface would work as this type of interface...
For me I record direct from the source I.e tape deck or LP and just minimally edit the tunes for optimal volume level and then when it comes time to play the tunes then it goes through the interface like an equaliser for adjusting the tones
Apparently you can cables that have a USB jack on one end and some of the cables on the other end have a USB mini jack that if you find an adaptor jack that has a 3.5 stereo jack on one end. I hope I'm not confusing you with this but you would be able to find something that's cheap enough to do what you want to do.
a friend told me you can enhance recordings with audacity. does anyone have any tips for this? i have a cassette i wanna transfer into audacity and then do this to, if possible.
Hi there i am trying to record cassette tapes from my cassette to my laptop, the only audio input is the mic socket, now my headphone/ mic works on the mic socket put if i put audio from either the line out or the headphone socket off the cassette no sound comes through what ever i do, no line through sound either, i am using Audacity..just have a straight line....have tried headphone in cassette player and that works and 2 different leads....so at a loss....Fred in Essex. UK.
Except that cassettes will eventually start to squeak and break apart. And this is particularly devastating when it's an irreplaceable recording like a recording of your childhood voice. I'm downloading these puppies!
@@Omisslewis1976 Are you sure about that? I have nothing that I can see on my iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) And based on the specs I found online the microphone is built in but there is no external port. What year is your Mac?
@@kathrynmat6857holly cow you have ALMOST the same model I do but the port I see on the back of mine is missing on your model. Mine is a 2015 as well but there must have been a change in the configuration. Maybe try the headphone jack and just change the input in Audible? Do you have another built-in mic? Try going to the guys website and asking and send your model and pic of the computer. Maybe he knows.
@@Omisslewis1976 Thanks Carrie, will do. There are other methods of tape conversion from what I have researched, but this seemed easy and foolproof. Cheers.
Depending on your sound card, if it has a line in jack which most cards have as stereo you plug in to that and as long as the sound going in isn't overdriving it should be OK to go this way, and as long as the program you are using will see it through this way aswell
The easiest way is if you have a cd/cassette boombox. Load the CD in the player, and push play, load a blank tape into the cassette player and hit record. (you usually have to hold down the play, and record button on a cassette player to record something) Does that make sense? I'll be happy to answer any questions.
+troy7245 *2:31** Reels spinning wrong way round, tape inside not moving, not filmed from actual tape deck. FAIL.* Not a fail. It's an auto-reverse tape deck. And the tape IS moving - that thing that looks like a 'loose' tape in the cassette window is cracked plastic.
i have a DigitalLife Cassette to mp3 convertor Which i bought online .it was so easy to recordiing my old cassette tape to MP3. i just want to share it,maybe someone needed
it annoys me people act like it's bizarre and impossible to listen to cassettes. TBH a good quality cassette is probably going to sound better than a shitty mp3 anyway
This is all fine and dandy, but if you have a Mac, Audacity no longer works! It is crazy that there is no way to do this right now via a MacBook. Why is Audacity the ONLY software capable of doing this feat, especially since it stopped being compatible with Mac some 4 years ago?????
ok then but you notice if the tape cuts in and out or tape slag it not going to sound great when get tape hiss and tape look fucking better home made cdr look marked like mister dress up crap too
Tapes are not obsolete, i still use them and so to do many other people !! Get your facts straight before you broadcast something .. tapes are like vinyl, they will never die .. i have and still do record on tapes over and over again .. try doing that with a cd lol .. 3 recordings on a re-recordable and poof it sounds likes its been recorded at the bottom of lake placid !! come on guys Think before you broadcast news.. Tapes will live for ever like Vinyl records ! They are still here being Manufactured , Sold and Collected in 2018 !!!!!
@@tjnickles4782 as far as mainstream consumption goes, which is what the reporters meant, cassettes and records are not in popular use. even cds aren't at this point---for mainstream consumption. as far as a niche use, they are all very much alive. but so is using a washboard to wash clothes in the river, or using a loom to make your own clothes. only dead with regard to mainstream consumption, just very niche, and perfect for very specific uses.
>Listens radio >Bad song appears >Accidentally presses record >Begging the recorder to stop >Presses the STOP button >Playes casette >Realizing your child voice was overwritten by bad song > *O O F* Who has that story press like or comment (I'm not a beggar)
I tried this on my PC but the problem was the volume it was way to distorted and no matter how low I turned the volumes down on the record and the speakers down it was still distorted so it was pointless .the distortion ruined it either way . again i turned them both down to all most 0 volume and even being at al very low volume the distorted was still their at a low volume .I could not figure out how to make it stop distorting it only has two volume controls i found one is for the speakers one is for the record level now if their is another phantom volume control I don't know where it is but it has to be one their one somewhere on my pc but where it is i cant find it bu it is a well hidden secret volume control i guess they don't want me to know about it at all .so Ii gave up trying .
Mic input is only for mics! You need AUX IN or some kind of converter or turn the volume down on the cassette player almost to zero and turn off any bass on-off or loudness if there is any
To save space having all their vinyl records and audio cassettes converted to an MP3 file/files. People don't want to carry around a stack of vinyl records, audio cassettes, and video cassettes when they can be transferred to a flash drive. I enjoy downloading you tube musical videos to a flash drive to watch on my old tube TV. I become the programmer and don't have to watch 20 minutes of commercials for every hour of TV time. And I know that old vinyl records played on a good turntable beats digital recordings by a mile. But audio cassettes, even metal tapes diminish over time. Maxwell brand tapes suck the most while TDK still retain their glory a little longer.
