Converting tape to MP3?

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Creep

Creep

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Is this possible, and if so, how difficult is it? And is it expensive? And what's the standard equipment? I'm looking into it at the moment, but thought I'd gather you guys knowledge on it too!

Cheers!

-Creep
 
Okay, here's a simple overview.

Basically, the equipment you need depends on the kind of tape, since there are a number of different formats and you'll obviously need something that can play it back correctly. If it's just a cassette, all you really need is a decent deck.

If it's open reel, things get a bit more complicated - we'd really need more information about them to make a more sensible suggestion. There is also the fact that the tapes may have deteriorated, which requires some preparation before playing them.

Either way, once you have a machine capable of playing the tapes back correctly, it's just a matter of digitizing them with something like Goldwave or whatever and a decent soundcard. It's best practice to record and store them as .WAV files, since MP3 compresses audio by losing information. You can convert the .WAVs to .MP3 format as needed, but you can't properly go back from MP3 to WAV if you need to do so later.
 
Creep said:
Do you know if it's expensive?
Click to expand...

Please re-read jpmorris' post again. We need more info from you. What specific tape? Type of tape? What format? Cassette? Open reel? What was it recorded on? Stereo master? Multi-track? Do you have a player to playback your tape? What type of player? We need more info from you! Give us details, details, details...:confused:

It could be as simple as going stereo out, from a stereo tape deck, into your PC sound-card's line input and finding a free program to digitize the analogue signal into whatever format, including your mp3 but again, we need more details 'cause this depends greatly on what you're working with. It can cost next to nothing to potentially a small fortune. Again, we need details.

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To add to the questions............

Dolby B/C noise reduction or dbx?

I know it may not make alot of sense to you at the moment, but a good deck with the right noise reduction to meet whatever scheme was used to record the cassettes (I'm assuming that is the format) makes a world of difference. Believe it or not I can tell the difference between my Pioneer dual cassette deck vs. my Nakamichi MR-2 deck vs. my Portastudio. If I need Dolby capabilities, I use my Nak. If I need dbx capabilities, I utilize my Portastudio.

To give you a short answer to your original question: Yes it can be done, it's not all that difficult, and expense depends on playback deck and input for the computer.

It will probably be a bit time consuming since you have to playback in real time and then break the tracks up once recorded into the computer. I've done a small handful successfully and they sound great.;)
 
I do this type of recording on a daily basis.

But as i am recording sound effects, my most common PC audio format is 22050Khz 16Bit signed Mono (For use in computer games etc).

If it is for anything professional where sound quality is important, then i may use wav again, or where file size is essential, i may use high bitrate mp3.

I run both my studio machines through my main amplifier and i have a connecting lead to the sound input on my servers soundcard. That works very well and has produced very successful recordings. If you have a good reel to reel recorder and a good quality amplifier, then the setup process should be fairly simple and setting it up should be fairly straightforward. But make sure you mute all the sound inputs and outputs BEFORE connecting any cables. Then just run some test recordings until you get the levels right, then you should be good to go.

Keith
 
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do you want to buy the gear to do it yourself or find somebody that offers this service and have them do it for you?
 
I do all the work myself.

And i order all the parts i need myself.
 
Thanks all for your replies, I'll use the info you've given me to do some research. I'll update this topic later :)
 
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