From tape to CD

  • Thread starter Thread starter johnbilben
  • Start date Start date
J

johnbilben

New member
What is the most cost efficient way of getting songs the I've recorded on my Tascam 38 from tape to computer format(Preferably preserving a good amount of the quality)? I need to distribute CD's and I've got NO clue. Thanks again fellas

-John
 
John,

What can you tell me about your computer? I'm assuming it has a CD burner?

Do you have any recording software?

The easiest thing to do would be to connect a stereo output of your Yamaha board to the line input on the soundcard of your computer and record that stereo mix with the recording software.

In most cases that will be a .wav file that you can select in your CD burning software to make a music CD.

Now...questions...?
 
i see, so are some programs better than others? or are they pretty transparent as far as just converting stuff? thanks cory
 
Ok I have a question combined with an answer? Sorry just woke up and I may make no sense yet: You need to make sure that your sound card or recording software utilizes a low-pass filter that cuts off everything above 22.5 KHZ (CD audio being 44.1 KHZ divide by 2 for stereo). Your 38 may not be rated for frequency response higher than 20 kHz, but analog sound produces overtones well past this, and any frequencies passed above the sampling rate will produce unwanted overtones in your digital recordings. This may be handled as a matter of course by the software or sound cards but to be honest I am not sure it is. In any case if say a frequency of 23.5 kHz is NOT filtered out and is passed to the computer, you will end up with a 1 kHz overtone in your digital recording. I would tend to think that most professional audio cards have the low pass filters already - can someone comment on that?

Now as far as software, perhaps I can be a bit more helpful there.... both Ahead's Nero and Roxio's Easy Media Creator suites offer programs that will allow you to record audio to the computer and burn CDs.



AK
 
The more sophisticated audio recording applications may have more complex engines, but I really wouldn't worry about that. Either Nero or Easy Media Creator will work just fine, and one or the other often come bundled with a CD burner. I say you try out what you have and see how it does for you. The weakest link is typically the soundcard. Standard computer soundcards are not very good, but you may be happy with it. The next step would be to get a basic USB audio interface if you are not happy with the sound through the computer soundcard.
 
analogkid said:
Ok I have a question combined with an answer? Sorry just woke up and I may make no sense yet: You need to make sure that your sound card or recording software utilizes a low-pass filter that cuts off everything above 22.5 KHZ (CD audio being 44.1 KHZ divide by 2 for stereo). Your 38 may not be rated for frequency response higher than 20 kHz, but analog sound produces overtones well past this, and any frequencies passed above the sampling rate will produce unwanted overtones in your digital recordings. This may be handled as a matter of course by the software or sound cards but to be honest I am not sure it is. In any case if say a frequency of 23.5 kHz is NOT filtered out and is passed to the computer, you will end up with a 1 kHz overtone in your digital recording. I would tend to think that most professional audio cards have the low pass filters already - can someone comment on that?
Click to expand...

I don't think you have to worry about this... Just route the main or tape outs of your mixer to a stereo or two mono input(s) on your sound card. Set your recording software (Audacity is good for this) to use these to two inputs, and record. Then burn with your favourite app.
 
avieth said:
I don't think you have to worry about this... Just route the main or tape outs of your mixer to a stereo or two mono input(s) on your sound card. Set your recording software (Audacity is good for this) to use these to two inputs, and record. Then burn with your favourite app.
Click to expand...

ahh, so to my understanding this would be just like connecting the two L & R RCA inputs in my mixer to the Line in on my computer and just hit record on easy media if i have that? This will work?
 
johnbilben said:
ahh, so to my understanding this would be just like connecting the two L & R RCA inputs in my mixer to the Line in on my computer and just hit record on easy media if i have that? This will work?
Click to expand...

Of course, but make sure you do a sound check first. You wouldn't want any clipping to occur.
 
Yes. Use the "ST OUT" jacks on the back of your mixer, and connect those to the LINE IN jack on the computer. If you don't have one already, you'll probably need an adapter that goes from the two RCA jacks to one 1/8" stereo mini plug for the computer. Open your software of choice, set your level and record.
 
It helps to have a reasonably good soundcard. Avoid using the audio system on the motherboard as it is usually very noisy. Whatever you do, remember to listen to the recording before you burn the CDs to ensure that it sounds okay.

If you do need a new soundcard, the M-Audio USB Transit is a cheap and cheerful option. It definitely works on Windows and Linux (with a bit of fiddling and I'm 99% sure it works on the MacOS as well.
 
For my money, if I was in John's shoes, I'd be getting this.

Hold up on the Beri-bashing...almost 1/3 the cost of the M-Audio unit, I/O on more durable RCA jacks, dedicated headphone circuit...lots of functional software and VI downloads centralized at the Behringer site, etc. (including Audacity, which BTW John, use Audacity...that is a great suggestion from Avieth, and I believe there is good user forum support for that application) Yes it is only 16-bit and up to 48kHz, but it'll do loads better than an onboard or PCI soundcard.

I've used one of these and it worked great for relatively little dosh.
 
sweetbeats said:
For my money, if I was in John's shoes, I'd be getting this.

Hold up on the Beri-bashing...almost 1/3 the cost of the M-Audio unit, I/O on more durable RCA jacks, dedicated headphone circuit...lots of functional software and VI downloads centralized at the Behringer site, etc. (including Audacity, which BTW John, use Audacity...that is a great suggestion from Avieth, and I believe there is good user forum support for that application) Yes it is only 16-bit and up to 48kHz, but it'll do loads better than an onboard or PCI soundcard.

I've used one of these and it worked great for relatively little dosh.
Click to expand...

Ok, so ... this may be a stupid question, but I have very limited experience with recording on a computer. I'm going to be needing to do the same thing pretty soon (transferring analog audio to computer for CD burning), and this Behringer unit looks perfect.

But, just to make sure I understand correctly: It doesn't matter if my computer has the stock soundcard? This USB interface will take care of it? What I mean is, does the stock soundcard interfere at all with the process, or does the USB unit kind of bypass the soundcard altogether?

If you're mixing down to something like Wavelab, for instance, which I have, is the soundcard not even involved if you're not using its 1/8" input?

Thanks for the info.
 
beagle, what operating system are you using (Windows or Mac and what version of Windows or MacOS are you using...or something else altogether?)

The operating system will see the USB interface as a soundcard. It can operate in tandem with the onboard soundcard in the computer. Depending on your recording software you may need to tell it which "soundcard" to use, or you may need to tell the operating system which "soundcard" to use as the default device (in Windows Start>Settings>Control Panel>Sounds and Audio Devices>"Audio" tab>then select the default card in the "sound playback" and "Sound recording" sections>click "OK"), and then your applications would reference that default soundcard.

Does that help?
 
Take it for whatever it's worth but I have an integrated Abit NF7 series motherboard, from several years back and the audio I get from simple 'line in' is great, clean and noise free. :eek::D

Good integrated MB's don't have to suck and may be the most simple solution.;)

---
 
sweetbeats said:
beagle, what operating system are you using (Windows or Mac and what version of Windows or MacOS are you using...or something else altogether?)

The operating system will see the USB interface as a soundcard. It can operate in tandem with the onboard soundcard in the computer. Depending on your recording software you may need to tell it which "soundcard" to use, or you may need to tell the operating system which "soundcard" to use as the default device (in Windows Start>Settings>Control Panel>Sounds and Audio Devices>"Audio" tab>then select the default card in the "sound playback" and "Sound recording" sections>click "OK"), and then your applications would reference that default soundcard.

Does that help?
Click to expand...


Hey there. Sorry, I forgot about this thread! I'm using Windows XP, so I think I understand what you're saying about telling it (or the software) which soundcard to use. That makes sense.

Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top