Good/Cheap cassette deck for tape transfers

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4tracker

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I am looking to transfer some old 4-track recordings into the PC. When I transfer them through my 244, they sound like they're double time/chipmunk music, so I guess I need a standard tape deck?

Or is there a trick to doing this on a 4-track?

If not, can someone recommend a good/cheap tape deck for the job. Obviously I'd want the best quality transfer. My budget is around $100.

Thank you.
 
Can't you just pitch down the digital transfer to 50% of its normal playback pitch and speed in the digital realm?

Otherwise, you'd need to find a two speed Portastudio such as the 246 or the 424II. Might be others too that are two speed with dbx but a standard consumer cassette deck won't play all 4 tracks and likely won't have dbx noise reduction.



Cheers! :)
 
The Ghost of FM said:
Can't you just pitch down the digital transfer to 50% of its normal playback pitch and speed in the digital realm?

Otherwise, you'd need to find a two speed Portastudio such as the 246 or the 424II. Might be others too that are two speed with dbx but a standard consumer cassette deck won't play all 4 tracks and likely won't have dbx noise reduction.



Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have clarified. These are already mixed down to a single stereo track. They were recorded on a Yahama machine from the 90s. I think MT-50. I'm trying to get those mixdowns into my pc.

So while I can play them in the 244, they're fast. Maybe I can correct that using software, but I don't know how to get it exactly to the right speed. I experimented and got it close by just messing with the tempo and pitch, but it's not quite right.
 
You should be able to set playback to half speed with no pitch correction. That would be one octave down. But running the tape at double speed means all the frequencies get doubled. When the audio gets digitized it gets low-passed at 20kHz. After pitch correcting you end up with 10kHz low-passed signal.
 
one good cheap standard cassette deck is the Tascam 102 MKII.

So if I'm getting this right you already mixed it down to standard cassette sometime in the past, and when playing standard cassette on the 244 it plays at double-speed and sounds like chipmunks. Correct? There may be another problem. You can't disable dbx on the 244 so if the deck you mixed down to was using Dolby b or C or nothing you're going to have some funky sound playing that on the 244. If that's the case using the 244 and trying to compensate digitally won't work.
 
Beck said:
So if I'm getting this right you already mixed it down to standard cassette sometime in the past, and when playing standard cassette on the 244 it plays at double-speed and sounds like chipmunks. Correct?
Click to expand...

That's exactly right.

Does it matter if the deck is 2 or 3 heads? The Tascam-102MKII appears to be 2 heads.
 
4tracker said:
That's exactly right.

Does it matter if the deck is 2 or 3 heads? The Tascam-102MKII appears to be 2 heads.
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No it doesn't matter at all. Your cassette will play back on any standard cassette deck. a 3-head deck can be nice when recording so you can monitor off the repro head just like you would a 3-head reel-to-reel deck. For playback it makes no difference at all. The 102 MKII has very good specs at low cost.
 
Beck said:
No it doesn't matter at all. Your cassette will play back on any standard cassette deck. a 3-head deck can be nice when recording so you can monitor off the repro head just like you would a 3-head reel-to-reel deck. For playback it makes no difference at all. The 102 MKII has very good specs at low cost.
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Thanks, buddy. I will target that machine.
 
I think...

the Technics RS-B48 & RS-B50 (pictured) are quite decent and affordable.
:spank::eek:;)
 

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Much easier to find is...

the Technics RS-B465. Very decent for the money.
:spank::eek:;)
 

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A Reel Person said:
the Technics RS-B48 & RS-B50 (pictured) are quite decent and affordable.
:spank::eek:;)
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How do these, and the others you posted, compared to the Tascam Beck posted? I'm not sure what specs are most important for a transfer.
 
One more question.

I'm thinking of the best way to route the audio...would it be to use the lineouts on whatever deck I buy into the line-in on my audio interface? I think in my case this would require a 1/4" adapter for the l/r RCA cable. I use the focusright 18i8. So I'd use the 1/4" adapter, change to "line" input in the software, and then plug in/record in the DAW. Is that the correct and best way?

In the DAW, would I setup one stereo track and assign the red RCA left and the white RCA right on that track? Hit play on the cassette deck, hit record in the daw?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I've never done this.

Thanks!
 
The convention I used was Red=Right, but it really doesn't matter much as it can be swapped in software.

RCA-1/4" adapters are reasonably reliable, but an RCA-1/4" cable would have fewer connections and less to go wrong. Yes, connect the line outs on the back of the deck to line inputs on the interface. You can set up two mono files or one stereo file, whatever is easier for you.
 
Okay I got the Tascam.

Quick question: when transferring into a DAW, what should the DBFS setting be? Should it be -18 like doing a normal recording, or..?
 
4tracker said:
Sorry, I should have clarified. These are already mixed down to a single stereo track. They were recorded on a Yahama machine from the 90s. I think MT-50. I'm trying to get those mixdowns into my pc.

I found similar probs here too! discovered that it's difficult to find two decks syncronized to same speed unless you sync them yourself.. even the double cassette recorders!
Click to expand...
 
4tracker said:
Okay I got the Tascam.

Quick question: when transferring into a DAW, what should the DBFS setting be? Should it be -18 like doing a normal recording, or..?
Click to expand...

I would set your level so the Dolby symbol on the cassette player's meter corresponds to -18dBFS.
 
There was something wrong with the Tascam deck, so I purchased the Technics RS B50 that Dave recommended. It's in silver, though, not black. Hope this is a good deck...
 
A wonderful deck!

It even has dbx Type II to harken back to the good old days!
Makes your home listening/mixdown tapes pin-drop quiet!
Dbx not compatible with the outside world, but that's nothing new. ;):yawn:
:spank::eek:;)
 
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