Category: Windows
by Dennis Faas, infopackets editor
http://www.infopackets.com
Tom S. asks:
" I have some old cassette tapes I would like to put on CD using my
computer's CD burner. How do I hook the cassette player to the CD burner
to get the best audio quality? "
My Response:
Audio quality with respect to a cassette tape
recorded to a CD will only be as good as the source (tape) and the equipment
used to read the tape and input it to the computer ... and of course, the
ability to modify the digital recording in order to improve sound.
Two
great reasons for recording your analog tapes to digital might include:
- Wear and tear: digital media doesn't lose its crispness and quality
over time. Shelf life is about 100 years for a recordable disc.
- Digital goodness: as I mentioned above, the ability to modify a
digital recording in order to amplify sound, reduce background noise, and
other neat tricks can really rejuvenate lost sound quality... and it's
ridiculously simple!
OK -- so how does it all hook up?
Most computers today have
sound cards built into them which have a MIC (Microphone) port ...
heck, you
can even use a Voice Modem with a MIC port to encode digital audio!
Most MIC ports are located at the back of the computer, unless you've got
a Compaq / Gateway / Dell -- they're usually at the front. MIC ports
look identical to an "earphone jack" port, are typically
red (or pink), and may be labeled
"MIC" or have a little picture of a microphone above the port.
If you're recording from a tape player, you most likely
have RCA (left and right) audio plugs in the back
of the unit, so you'll need a "Y"
cable that goes from RCA (left and right) to the Sound Card's "earphone jack"
port. You can pick those up at Radio Shack: just ask someone to
help you if you can't find it.
Internet How-to Audio Guides?
I
did a quick search on Google for a
guide on how to record audio from a tape cassette player to the computer
(or similar), but didn't turn up too many decent results.
So, I've
decided to ask Gazette Readers to send me their thoughts on a good online
audio guide as well as some decent (free) audio mastering software.
There's no sense in me re-typing what someone else has online the 'net
somewhere ... so, send me your picks and I'll include the most popular in
tomorrow's Gazette (email below)!