Cassette To Mp3 Convertor

[Donna]

What I need is to convert the mixed 4-track audio casstte to MP3.

I just found this free download, but it never explained how "it" can record from cassette (to then, I assume, a conversion to digital?) - it's the audio "extractor" I was looking at.

Reckoned I'd need a stand-alone unit - it'd be great to have a download, tho.

Thanks for any help!

Edited December 19, 2006 by Donna

[Donna]

Is this from a reputable company?

OK, I am looking cheap, cheap, cheap fo covertors - if it be possible - and maybe add the goldwave sound editing software for later... cause montiors is next in line for the gear list. And I want Alesis baby!

Go, me!!!!!

[Guest voclizr]

D;

Because there are a gazillion online merchants (and I've dealt with a few stinkers already. Not all) I make it a personal policy to only deal with the better known (like Amazon) merchants. I'm not saying this outfit is not legit, but I'd be careful.

Your other issues: Depending on what you're doing, you might be able to get REAL cheap (how's FREE)?

If all you want to do is convert your cassettes containing finished mixes to MP3's (which I suspect you know how to do already), go to Radio Shack and get a stereo Y-connector (stereo RCA to miniplug to go from your cassette deck to your PC's soundcard) and DL the freebee from www.musicmatch.com for your software. After you have it installed and setup, go into Preferences/Recorder and make sure you choose Line In for your input source. Pick your desired MP3 bitrate, cue up the tape and hit MM's RECORD button.

If you're looking to digitally remix your 4 track projects using a PC program, you might run into a synchronization problem, beings that your tracks were recorded on analogue gear and the speed may not be able to be matched up perfectly. But there's no harm TRYING it. Do the same as outlined above, but instead of using the stereo RCA out jacks on your Teac, you probably have outputs for each individual track. Try using a mono RCA to mini plug adapter (also at RS). If you're going to do this, I would advise you to convert to WAV first to do the remix and convert to MP3 when the mix is finished. You'll probably wind up with a better product if you master with WAVs.

Hope this helps.

John B.

Edited December 19, 2006 by voclizr

[Donna]

Wow JB, thanks! A definite reference post to save.

Yes - the free would be wonderful! That much closer to getting monitors.

OK - about the soundcard...is RS a good place to get it? How is it installed? What kind do you have?

At this point, I'm not looking to mix using PC...Loo told me about Goldwave, but it looks like the musicmatch'd be a good place to start when I'm ready.

[ATom2]

...cause montiors is next in line for the gear list. And I want Alesis baby!

Go, me!!!!!

You are going to love 'um!!!

[Guest voclizr]

D;

I was under the impression that you wanted to re-master your Teac tracks. Is that what you are looking to do? It would help me to guide you if I knew exactly what you want to do.

Soundcard: Not very difficult to install yourself. I THINK RS sells them. I KNOW Walmart does. Price: About $35.00 USD. You have to first look inside your PC to see if you have an available slot to install it in. You want to make sure you buy a PCI soundcard (PCI=Peripheral Components Interconnect). They look like WHITE slots on your motherboard. All you should have to do is slip the card into the slot and secure it with a small screw at the end. Then just run the software that came with the card. You should have speaker inputs and Microphone inputs.

In fact, if you have a powerful enough PC , with a good soundcard, you can RECORD with Kristal Audio Engine. YES!! A 16 track recorder/mixer for free, with PLENTY of free and very impressive effects plugins available. In fact I did some research and was very surprised to find that the EQ section that is in Kristal is a HIGH END FULL PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER!!!!! It's amazing that they give this stuff away!!! They definately could sell it for a profit! This is how I mix, but if I ever get a better PC, I'll mothball my Zoom 802!

My soundcard is integrated (hard wired) into my motherboard. If you already have speakers plugged into your PC you probably have an integrated mobo. You can get better soundcards though.

Again, let me know what you are planning and I can help you better.

Always ready to help you sound your best;

John B.

[Nick]

What I need is to convert the mixed 4-track audio casstte to MP3.

I just found this free download, but it never explained how "it" can record from cassette (to then, I assume, a conversion to digital?) - it's the audio "extractor" I was looking at.

Reckoned I'd need a stand-alone unit - it'd be great to have a download, tho.

Thanks for any help!

Check this article out - it suggests that Zillasoft.ws sticks all sorts of crap on your machine that you (probably) don't want - Spyware/adware

[Donna]

Hey Nick, thanks.

JB, when I need an MP3, I must track down a certain teenager, haul my cassette deck over to his place (not my 4-track, but the deck hooked up to 4-track, which I use to record the mixed 4 tracks), and get HIM to convert the finished song on cassette, into digital, or MP3.

I just want the tools here at hand to do this myself.

Yeah, I know (a bit) about Krystal and pc recording. Not an option right now. Although - it's intreresting to hear of one so newly into pc-ing, finding it friendlier as the days go by.

About the soundcard....I asked Husband do we have one and he thought we must...like you said, if there's speakers and sound, there must be one (right?). Thanks for the description of it - I would guess we have one wired in already. But would getting a different (additional??) card make that much of a difference when simple conversion is all I want at this point? The digital will simply be a copy of the finished mix which I should be happy enough w/ at that point, otherwise I'd still be back recording and not thinking of MP3-ing it, ya know? If it did need tweaking from there, Loo'll do it, til I get settled. No gear to haul over, and a nice chat with my exiled limbs.

The card itself has no plug in (laugh away, anyone I sure the heck don't know)?

ATom, I'm even thinking used/ebay. Do you think that's a path of disaster, to buy monitors 2nd hand? Although...I know a guy via ebay who I think could be a resource to steer me if that's the way I go. Hmmm, maybe he himself even needs to unload the COVETED monitors...why the heck would a woman dream of diamonds when she can dream Alesis'?

Edited December 20, 2006 by Donna

[Guest voclizr]

OK Donna;

Now that I know what you're aiming for, it's much easier to guide you.

I did the same thing with my old analogue mixes about 7 years ago. It's neither difficult nor expensive.

Here is a picture of the back of my PC where the audio codec is:

Look very carefully on yours, especially where your speakers plug in. There MUST be a LINE IN somewhere in that area.

Also note the "icons" in front of the inputs. Your might have similar icons. Most PCs I've been involved with have, in addition to the speaker input, a microphone input and a Line In input in order to be able to plug in analogue sources (like a cassette deck, as you want to do).

If you locate the Line In jack, you're almost there. You only need two more things:

1. A Stereo Y-Connector (from Radio Shack). This is a thingy with two wires with RCA males at the one end terminating into a "Miniplug" male connector. The RCA jacks will, of course, plug into the STEREO OUTPUTS of you stereo cassette deck (not the Teac. The other one you make your mixes on). The Miniplug end will plug into the LINE IN of your soundcard (or audio codec) in the back of your computer.

2. Now that you're connected, all you need is CONVERSION SOFTWARE.

You can get that for free here:

http://www.musicmatch.com/download/free/?O...RCE=portal_page

After you install MM, find the Options menu. Then go to Settings and click the Recorder tab. Then go to the menu where the sources are like the drive menu. From the dropdown, choose Line In. Also, in this area you can choose the MP3 bitrate you wish to encode to (hint; DON'T use VBR. Believe me, you don't want to deal with that. Choose a constant rate, like 128 or 192).

Next, you'll have to bring up your Windows sound control to adjust your input volume. Click on the Speaker icon down in the lower right hand corner of your screen to bring up the sound controls. If you don't see a fader for Line In, go to the Options menu and click Properties. There you should see a check menu. Check the Line In box and click OK. Then you should see a Line In control. MAKE SURE THE MUTE BOX IS UNCHECKED. Use this to adjust your input volume.

Go back to Mucicmatch, and click the little red record button. The Recording section will open. Cue up your tape. Click the area to the right where you can title the MP3 and type in the title. Then (finally) you can click the RECORD button there and start your tape.

NOTE: I'm using Musicmatch ver. 7.5 which I paid for a few years ago. There might be some diffenences in the general setups but you should still be able to do what you want to. You just might have to consult the HELP menu for one or two things. Also, I use Windows Me. Again, there may be subtle differences if you use Win XP.

GOOD LUCK! Let me know if you run into any problems!

John B.

[Guest voclizr]

Also, I wanted to add about the soundcard: If you find the Line In, you do not need a better soundcard just for encoding. You might want to upgrade your soundcard for better audio output (like if you invest in really great & expensive PC speakers) or for if you want to use your PC for recording purposes (as I went over in my message prior to the last). For MP3 conversion, a simple souncard or integrated audio codec is all you need.

Also, just because you never had to actually install a soundcard does not mean that you have an integrated board. Many PC makers install soundcards on their products. If your's has a soundcard preinstalled into the PCI slot, you can always upgrade to a better card using the same PCI slot. If it has an integrated codec, you can still install a better soundcard so long as you have an open PCI slot. In this case, after installing your card you would go into your PCs BIOS and turn off the integrated codec and Plug & Play would "find" your new card.

JB

[ATom2]

ATom, I'm even thinking used/ebay. Do you think that's a path of disaster, to buy monitors 2nd hand? Although...I know a guy via ebay who I think could be a resource to steer me if that's the way I go. Hmmm, maybe he himself even needs to unload the COVETED monitors...why the heck would a woman dream of diamonds when she can dream Alesis'?

Gees Donna, I really don't want to advise when it comes to used equipment over the internet. I would say yes if it were a dealership where you can get "hands on" usage before you buy, but E-Bay...I cannot say.

Those, as you know, are very expensive monitors, but they are worth every penny. They kick the crap out of any I have ever heard, and I have heard many. I wish I had a pair, but the ones I have work well enough, that I never gave them another thought. (That's what I tell my wife, and I'm sticking to that story)

Tom

[Guest voclizr]

Donna;

Please be VERY careful when dealing with Ebay, especially with things very expensive! If an unscrupulous dealer were to rip you off you would have no recourse.

Believe me. My wife does quite a bit of Ebaying and participates in the forum there and has read many a horror story about expensive merchandise such as computers, sound gear, TVs and jewelry never delivered after the buyer paid. However, if you do decide to throw caution to the wind and buy your gear through the auction, I urge you to pay careful attention to the seller's feedback before you buy, as this can at least give you some idea of his/her honesty. If he/she has much positive feedback, don't forget to also consider how long the person has been a member in good standing.

John B.

Edited December 20, 2006 by voclizr

[Nick]

Donna;

Please be VERY careful when dealing with Ebay, especially with things very expensive! If an unscrupulous dealer were to rip you off you would have no recourse.

Believe me. My wife does quite a bit of Ebaying and participates in the forum there and has read many a horror story about expensive merchandise such as computers, sound gear, TVs and jewelry never delivered after the buyer paid. However, if you do decide to throw caution to the wind and buy your gear through the auction, I urge you to pay careful attention to the seller's feedback before you buy, as this can at least give you some idea of his/her honesty. If he/she has much positive feedback, don't forget to also consider how long the person has been a member in good standing.

John B.

I have to say my experience of ebay has been the opposite. If you take a little care and ensure the seller has a returns policy and confirms in writing that they will accept the return and refund the money and if you (if possible) arrange to collect in person then you are reasonably likely to be ok. My experience anyway.

I have bought a pair of JBL speakers which I am very happy with; a Fender 1600 Stagemaster amp for my son; a Marshall 150watt bass amp for me. All of them have been as described and I am so far very happy with them - apart from my inability to carry the bass amp very far . And they have cost about half of what they would have cost me new.

Edited December 21, 2006 by Nick

[Guest voclizr]

Nick;

You've been lucky so far.

If you deal with them long enough, you may eventually get burned.

I'm not saying you shouldn't buy from ebay sellers, but read some of the forum area and you will see that the experiences of many show that high priced items carry substantial risks. Notebook computers and electronics especially. And you've got no place to turn. You're at the mercy of the seller. If you're lucky enough to get a nice person with a conscience, you'll make out OK. Is it worth risking $1000.00 for something? It's your money.

John B.

[Donna]

OK John, not sure what the icons mean on back of our computer, but I will soon. That picture you posted is helpful. Thanks a lot for all the info which I'm sure will aid others as well as me. I now understand about the soundcard basics, too!

Re: Ebay, etc; just looking into opinions before I leap, and now I have some more!

ATom, I went to Musicians Friend, looked at their Alesis monitors and at some product reviews of the lower priced power monitors. It was disconcerting as there were a significant percentage of unhappy consumers for the lower end products...just more to consider. If I couldn't go 3 x's the price of the new Seagull in order to get a lovely Martin acoustic, I sure can't for monitors. Sigh. Well, anyway, so the Alesis ain't set in stone.

Hoe whoa, those JBL's are brutal! Nothing under 1200 or so.

Well - getting the right guitar turned out really good, and after I was just sure it couldn't, lol. Reckon monitors shall, too.

Hey Merry Christmas, you guys! You're the best~

[Guest voclizr]

Tom;

Cute sig, but I just noticed something in it you might want to look at closer:

"America, my country, stuck between Irag and a hard place. Enough is enough!"

Is this a typo, or do you want it spelled IRAG?

John B.

Sorry, Donna!

Edited December 24, 2006 by voclizr