Analog to Digital via PC - What the F***?

R

Rockenheimer

New member
Someday sooner than later I hope, I'll be done recording The All Time Best Rock Album Ever Made From A Home Studio - of course. I'm recording on analog and I'll want to eventually copy down to CD. I wanna do it on the cheap, cuz I'm a cheap bastard, and the CD burner option on my PC is starting to sound really good.

How the heck am I gonna do that?

Thanks. I know nothing. I'm a worm among giants.
 
what i do for this, and it is welcome to any kind of critisim because i'm just learning as i go, is to plug my four track into the the "tape 1" inputs of my stereo receiver, so i can hear it through my speakers of course, and then plus the "tape 1" output into the "line in" input on my soundcard. im using just a stock soundcard that came with my computer. then i use a free program which you can download off the net called cd wave editor, which tranfers whatever is playing on my four track and through my stereo into a wav file. then i just burn that file onto a cd.

the problem i have is that i need to keep the line in levels on my computer very low to avoid clipping and unwanted distortion, which means that the cd i end up burning is rather quite and has a bit of noisy "air" in it. but i am starting with a casssete fourtrack and the worlds cheapest mic so a figure i shouldn't expect better. perhaps a good sound card like an Emu 0404 would make it sound better? does anyone have any input on that?

i hope that kind of answered your question rockenheimer... :o
 
Thanks a lot dude! It sure did! I needed feedback from users such as yourself; cuz meanwhile I found just such another thread, about the same topic. I have to rush out the door right now to go home (send the babysitter home) but I wanna know more dude! I'll try to write back to you / this thread before doomsday (busy busy busy!)

Thanks for your help!
 
I would do just what was mentioned by jay1232 (run the 4 track through the line in of your sound card) all you would need is an RCA to 1/8" stereo adapter. keep the volume at a moderate level, then when you're done dumping it go to http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/Blue-Line/ and install those free plugins to add a bit of compression or just boost the levels a bit. (assuming that the program you download supports DX or Vst plugins)
 
jay1232 said:
perhaps a good sound card like an Emu 0404 would make it sound better? does anyone have any input on that?
Click to expand...


Yes jay, a better sound card would make a big differance in my opinion. also, most software has a built-in noise reduction. CEP/AA's noise reduction works wonders.
 
Thanks guys. No can do, Redstone, ye Native of Mine Native Ontario! The file apparently only downloads from Germany or something like that. I don't get it, and I CAN'T get it, cuz it just won't download. I never knew about such shareware, but if you know of another such free application, I'm gonna give it a whirl. Meanwhile a friend of mine suggested the Omega Lexicon. Definitely NOT free, though. He loves it. I checked it out on Musiciansfriends I think it was, and the critics are split right down the middle. My friend says it's essentially just a fancy soundcard. I'm starting to think that's the way to go, cuz I am putting in a bit of time into recording these songs and granted, my equipment dates back to the Great Flood, but it works, and it sounds pretty damn good for a guy who has no clue what he's doing. I could follow what Jay1232 was saying and it made sense to me, but the downside seem to outweigh the good sides. Do you guys know of any other applications, free or otherwise, or even hardware that I could buy, to solve my "burning" issues once and for all?
thank you all for your time.

steph
 
Rockenheimer said:
Thanks guys. No can do, Redstone, ye Native of Mine Native Ontario! The file apparently only downloads from Germany or something like that. I don't get it, and I CAN'T get it, cuz it just won't download. I never knew about such shareware, but if you know of another such free application, I'm gonna give it a whirl.
Click to expand...
Hey Rockenheimer

Do a search on Audacity (it's a free tool) or you can also go to places like www.nonags.com (freeware/shareware site), www.hitsquad.com/smm (audio freeware/shareware & Demos), www.harmony-central.com (freeware/shareware).

Good luck!
 
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