Recording Analog to Digital...Advice Needed

WEEZ · « **on:** 1 Nov 2006, 10:04 pm »

(I've searched but haven't found much on this topic; and if I'm in the wrong forum- please feel free to move this..

)

I would like advice and opinions on the best way to record music from cassette tape to cd. In the early days of digital, I was not overly thrilled- and as vinyl was fading (at that time) I purchased a lot of music on cassette tape. So now, with tape drying up (in more ways than one!)- I would like to archive my tapes to cd-r.

Some say, just buy a decent sound card (M-Audio?) and have at it. Others say, better results can be achieved with a stand-alone cd recorder from Tascam; Alesis; etc. Being a computer dummy

I would appreciate what some of you more 'up-to-date' digital guys (gals) would suggest. Which is easier, best, upsides, downsides, etc.

Thanks in advance,

WEEZ

nathanm · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 03:44 pm »

This was a project I started on myself, mainly to archive some old demo tapes for which there was no possible means of replacing them with CDs. I bought a Nakamichi ZX-9 which was the first big revelation because the performance of the transport was beyond any gear I had previously owned. It was like, "Wow, cassette doesn't actually suck when the treble is right and the tape is moving consistently!"

I felt that the sound of my cassettes was better than vinyl. (of course, I only have a few titles on multiple formats to compare this type of issue) All the warmth of tape but without the crackles. (I'll take hiss over crackles I guess)

I recorded them to the computer. This is probably more work than a dedicated unit (don't know though, haven't used one) but this way you can break the songs into separate WAV files and tweak the beginnings and endings. Or perform other sonic surgeries if one is so inclined. The main thing was that I wanted to get something that plowed through the old tapes without the WOoooOOoooOOOoooW and smeared treble crap I was so used to from older equipment. Actually the most obvious question can then be asked, 'why don't I just listen to the damn cassettes in their native format on the good sounding gear!?'

Still, I do wonder if something like the Tascam CC 222 would just be a whole lot more batch-friendly. Hmmm... I'd say that if your current cassette deck sounds good and worthy of being archived as such then I'd get an inexpensive sound card and record to computer. That would be the cheapest route. Otherwise the dedicated unit would seem to have a lot of cool abilities and would lend itself to unattended dubbing.

It's pretty much like scanning slides. Do you scan each individually and make them RIGHT or do you fire up the autoloader and kick back? It's a dilemma...

WEEZ · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 06:48 pm »

Thanks for you thoughts, nathan.

I have tons of tapes. Whichever method I decide on, it will take a good long while to rip 'em all. What sound card do you use?

WEEZ

Wayner · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 11:18 pm »

nathanm is right on. If you use a stand-alone CD recorder, you will not be able to edit out noise in between the songs. You will also have to buy the more expensive CD-R's for music. You will also have to index each track manually in between songs which could be tricky if not impossible as many songs are linked together like the Moody Blues do with no gap between the songs. When you index the next track, you can't record music, because it's busy recording the index, so you will hear a bleep in between the songs as well. You will basically have to sit by the machine and manually index every song, unless just 2 tracks are O.K.

W

WEEZ · « **Reply #4 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 02:25 am »

thanks for the insight, Wayner...

any recommendations on a decent sound card?

WEEZ

denjo · « **Reply #5 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 03:12 am »

E-Mu 0404 Sound card or M-Audio's Audiophile series! They are actually sound cards made for Professionals involved with recording and editing!

Best Regards
Dennis

nathanm · « **Reply #6 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 06:35 am »

I don't have a PCI card, but I have a Mackie XD-2 external AD\DA unit. This probably wouldn't make sense for your purpose though as you wouldn't need the mic preamps or MIDI stuff. Denjo's suggestion would probably be a good one.

I guess in theory if you consider the dub a facsimile of the cassette then you wouldn't want track IDs anyway, you'd just listen to the whole thing, or fast forward if you don't like a song just like the old days! Heh!

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #7 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 07:07 am »

If, as you say, you are computer challenged, I would go with an Alesis Masterlink. It would be a simple one-box solution for you.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--ALEML9600

I bought one years ago and it it one of the most regularly used pieces in my studio. I really don't know what I would do without it. Not terribly expensive at $799 street price, and it can do all you could wish for.
It has a built in 40 GB hard drive, so you load whatever you want to put on CD into the hard drive then after that you can add track IDs, do all your fades to make it sound pro, equalize, and compress so you can listen to classical and jazz more easily in your car. You can record 16, 20 or 24 bit wordlengths at sample rates of 44, 48, 88 or 96 k, so if you need to record something at a very high resolution you can record at 24/96 and still put that onto a normal CDR. Makes a cheap archival copy, and is used that way in the recording industry. I have heard that a number of big budget projects were mastered to Masterlink.

Mine has been perfectly reliable, and I use it every day - it probably runs an average of 4 hours a day over the last 4 years and has paid for itself very many times over.

As Nathan says, though, don't scrimp on the cassette deck. You might want to buy one of my AIWAs - I have 17 for sale! Just kidding - they are for sale though, but not to the states - too much hassle with the border.

WEEZ · « **Reply #8 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 03:08 pm »

Thanks, guys.

WEEZ

Brad · « **Reply #9 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 03:12 pm »

Weez - the Alesis is what Fremer uses to convert his vinyl to digital.

I don't know how much I trust Fremer, but Russell D is usually right on the money......

Paul_Bui · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 05:00 pm »

I recently purchased a Roland Edirol R-09 digital recorder ($400) and love it. With it I can record live events in several MP3 (compressed) and/or WAV (uncompressed) up to 24 bit/48kHz linear PCM formats. Its uses 2 AA batteries, up to 2GB SD memory that lets me record a 3 hour session in WAV or all day class (8 hours) in 320kbps.

There are several cassette tapes in my collection, so via the R-09's line input I can capture the material from tapes to WAV then later store digital files in my hard drives for editing and playing. It also has a line OUT/digital Toslink OUT so I can directly play tracks from its memory cards.

WEEZ · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 09:14 pm »

Thanks again, guys.

Whatever method I choose, I dread the project; but I'm afraid that the longer I wait, the more 'dried-up' those tapes will get, and pretty soon it will be too late

.

arghhhh

nathanm · « **Reply #12 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 11:56 pm »

Then you just throw 'em in the oven for a few minutes!

WEEZ · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Nov 2006, 12:06 am »

Bill Baker · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Nov 2006, 12:16 am »

I haven't read all the replies so I apologize if this is redundant. I have several thousand albums and there are some that I would not be able to find on CD. I purchased one of the Marantz Professional CD recorders. Don't recall the model but it is a single drawer unit. They use to be available from Parts Express. You can also make direct CD copies with analog or digital cabling as well as balanced connections.
After making countless CD's on this unit, it is still going strong.
The quality of the recording is exceptional not to mention the playback quality.
Here is a picture of the newer dual drawer version with a link to the PE page below. I didn't see any single deck versions. I may pick up one of these as well.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=245-778