Difficulty converting cassette to digital with audacity.

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grh

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I have the retro cassette to mp3 converter. I am recording/converting with audacity ,and getting only one healthy audacity wav ,and one unhealthy straight line wave underneath. You are supposed to get the two healthy waves. When I first started using this tape to digital converter, I got the two healthy waves. The bad wave results in the volume of the recording be to low. It is like half the recording volume is being cut off while recording.
 
Hi,

On the problem track is the volume low or is there just no signal at all?

Check the signal path, or paths, from start to end in order and see where it falls down.

Is the tape recording stereo? If no, that's the reason.
You'd be better recording it to a mono track and only using the left channel output from your cassette deck/converter/etc.

No good?
Does the converter thing have two analog inputs, and the tape deck two analog outputs?
If so, swap them. Is your recording now exactly as it was before, or have the good and bad sides swapped round in your audacity?
If the former, only one side of your input path is working. (interface, audacity, computer).
If the latter, only one side of your output path is working. (Cassette/cable/player/converter).

If you track it to the computer side, Is your audacity track set to correct from the appropriate input numbers?

What make/model is this mp3 converter?

Hope something there is useful. :)
 
Steenamaroo said:
Hi,

On the problem track is the volume low or is there just no signal at all?

Check the signal path, or paths, from start to end in order and see where it falls down.

Is the tape recording stereo? If no, that's the reason.
You'd be better recording it to a mono track and only using the left channel output from your cassette deck/converter/etc.

No good?
Does the converter thing have two analog inputs, and the tape deck two analog outputs?
If so, swap them. Is your recording now exactly as it was before, or have the good and bad sides swapped round in your audacity?
If the former, only one side of your input path is working. (interface, audacity, computer).
If the latter, only one side of your output path is working. (Cassette/cable/player/converter).

If you track it to the computer side, Is your audacity track set to correct from the appropriate input numbers?

What make/model is this mp3 converter?

Hope something there is useful. :)
Click to expand...


I assume the tape play/converter is recording in stereo, but with half way recording, the end result reminds you of mono, and I think the problem track is not recording. The tape player converter is usb connection. I believe the problem is more with the tape player than audacity. They are known to be junk. I have to look more into what you have said.

---------- Update ----------

I have this.

https://www.amazon.com/Cassette-Con...sr=1-1&keywords=cassette+converter+to+digital
 
" When I first started using this tape to digital converter, I got the two healthy waves. The bad wave results in the volume of the recording be to low. It is like half the recording volume is being cut off while recording".

I'd want to suspect dirty heads
 
Dirty heads, or a fault connection from the player's outputs
 
Maybe my new tape player/converter is defective? All my tapes are fine.
 
It could be, but it is not uncommon to discover dirty heads and wonder how that happened. A cheaper mechanism may have a tendency to skew pressure over one side of the stereo head
 
I don't say this to be mean or elitist, but that looks like a piece of junk to me. At $20 or so if you managed to get three or four tapes digitized you got your money's worth. I do digitization of analog tapes so I know it takes a substantially greater investment in gear and knowledge to do it right. USB tape decks, turntables etc. tend to be poor substitutes.
 
ya, my last eBait cassette was $19.99 - Luxman DBX k-106, and the other three, here, were all in that range. Though there is no USB, etc., you'll get a much better transfer just going into the MIC jack. That includes a 3-head Sony tc k-555, but even my old Aiwa walkman can do pretty good for dubbing.

I had also picked up a Panasonic shelf system for $25-ish - with dual cassette, cd changer, etc. that I used to dub some Classical cassettes I made for my Mom in the early '80s. They are good recordings off CD and I've had no real reason to re-digitize them for mp3 usage.

I doubt anyone has made more cassette than Matsushita, so get something name brand anyway. So happens my first stereo home cassette deck was Technics by Panasonic. They were just spinning off the Technics name at the time
 
I recently picked up a Tascam 302 for $42. But there's more to it than that. Proper cleaning and demagnetization are important. Correct setting of the NR is helpful. The one big thing most people skip is azimuth. If your playback deck's head alignment doesn't match the recording you'll lose HF that you can never get back downstream. It's not enough for the deck to be "correct" because if the tape was recorded on a deck that was incorrect the mismatch will cause the irrecoverable HF loss.
 
Well azimuth alignment was much more common when tape capstan wound. hahah I had to align the shelf system, for sure. It didn't look wrecked, or, anything, but there was a pattern on the heads and a couple tape plays would confirm it. Sometimes, alignment is bending all the mounting brackets back into place and the heads turn out to be perfect. A lot of the older Luxman cassettes decks expected users to be dialing in the highs on a regular, or, as needed basis. This newer one, here, doesn't even have MIC preamps - well none do, 'cept the Sony portable dual flywheel tc126
 
Um, okay. Every once in a while something you say actually makes sense to me so I figure it all must make sense to you.

Anyway, "correct" alignment isn't the issue for playback. For recording it's good for the azimuth to be correct so when it's played back on another machine any error is only that playback deck's alignment error. For playback you really need to match the alignment regardless of what's correct.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I don't say this to be mean or elitist, but that looks like a piece of junk to me. At $20 or so if you managed to get three or four tapes digitized you got your money's worth. I do digitization of analog tapes so I know it takes a substantially greater investment in gear and knowledge to do it right. USB tape decks, turntables etc. tend to be poor substitutes.
Click to expand...

Can you tell me what you recommend. I would like something good that would allow me to make tape digital conversions with the pc.
 
He's not recording anything to tape. I'm just saying I have very good to great playback for a few dollars more that what he paid. The Technics DBX probably has the less desirable output section, though I don't think it would limit any mp3 conversion much
 
garww said:
ya, my last eBait cassette was $19.99 - Luxman DBX k-106, and the other three, here, were all in that range. Though there is no USB, etc., you'll get a much better transfer just going into the MIC jack. That includes a 3-head Sony tc k-555, but even my old Aiwa walkman can do pretty good for dubbing.

I had also picked up a Panasonic shelf system for $25-ish - with dual cassette, cd changer, etc. that I used to dub some Classical cassettes I made for my Mom in the early '80s. They are good recordings off CD and I've had no real reason to re-digitize them for mp3 usage.

I doubt anyone has made more cassette than Matsushita, so get something name brand anyway. So happens my first stereo home cassette deck was Technics by Panasonic. They were just spinning off the Technics name at the time
Click to expand...

I tried to record the tape player into the mic of the pc, and it sounded horrible. Let me know what you think I should buy.
 
grh said:
Can you tell me what you recommend. I would like something good that would allow me to make tape digital conversions with the pc.
Click to expand...

He'd have a better idea, if you mention what tapes and how many
 
grh said:
I tried to record the tape player into the mic of the pc, and it sounded horrible. Let me know what you think I should buy.
Click to expand...

I record often into the MIC jack, but I have to make sure all the Microphone stuff is disabled and that there are no hidden "record what you hear" devices in control panel, etc..

I don't have my old cassettes and records here to digitize, but I have, since, collected open reel back to the late fifties to digitize along with another 150 or so albums + CDs. I'm actually putting much of that on cassette. hahah

Dang, I see the shelf broke in the middle. Two shelves of double depth rows of tapes and the cassette deck I'm putting the wear on instead of the 3-head.
 

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