Best method to get audio from old cassette tapes?

[delsoul]

Hello, I have a bunch of old cassette tapes that I’d love to transfer to digital on my MacBook Pro. What’s the best way of doing this? Any specific tape players and programs to do this? Thank you, in advance

 

[Fishrrman]

Do you have any device that will play the tapes now?
If so, what kind of output does it have?

Something with a RCA-plug (usually 1 red and 1 white) style line out would be best.

Then, run the analog signal through an analog to digital converter with a USB output.
A quick search on amazon has some:

Amazon.com: Analog To Usb Digital Converter

Amazon.com: analog to usb digital converter

www.amazon.com

Again -- double-check any product in which you're interested to be sure that it has a USB output. I noticed that some have only digital-optical and SPDIF outputs. BE CAREFUL.

On the Mac, you might use the free app "Audacity" to record and edit the incoming signal.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Even a headphone jack will work in a pinch. Those can be adapted to a RCA-type input pretty easily... just need to experiment with the volume level on the player to get the best recording quality.

 

[olavsu1]

The best metod?

Pioneer CT-A1 + Cordial CFU 3 PC cable + RME Fireface 802 FS + what ever DAW (Logic Pro has been the best so far).

Cheaper methods have been described here countless times....
Special care must be taken to ensure that the wifi devices are either very far away or turned off.

 

[weckart]

Even a headphone jack will work in a pinch. Those can be adapted to a RCA-type input pretty easily... just need to experiment with the volume level on the player to get the best recording quality.

That is only if your player has a line out via the headphone jack otherwise the output signal will be distorted by the player's amp circuit. RCA out is the best route if you want to keep things simple.

If sound quality matters then I would avoid any recent tape player, especially those that have inbuilt usb out specifically for tape recording transfer like the ION Tape2PC. Those have weak transport mechanisms, which are prone to wow and flutter and inconsistent tape speeds. Stick to any player from the last century. Tapes have a lubricant layer which evaporates over time and makes players work harder to keep them moving. In too many cases, they stick. EMI XDR tapes from the 80s are notorious for this.

 

[dandeco]

Tapes have a lubricant layer which evaporates over time and makes players work harder to keep them moving. In too many cases, they stick. EMI XDR tapes from the 80s are notorious for this.

Ahhh, "Sticky Shed syndrome." My college's old videotape library is full of Ampex-made U-Matic tapes suffering that problem, and we want to get them digitized, so we're hoping once we have the time and budget and equipment, we can "bake" the tapes in a food dehydrator at a low temperature, and then that makes the tapes stable enough for at least a week to be playable again, enough time to be safely digitized.
Of course, the type of tape also depends on how you'll "bake" them. This blog post about digitizing rare vintage sound effects discusses so, but with reel-to-reel audiotape, again made by Ampex...

Preserving the Sunset Editorial Sound Effects Library from the USC Archive | The Freesound Blog

 

[weckart]

Ahhh, "Sticky Shed syndrome." My college's old videotape library is full of Ampex-made U-Matic tapes suffering that problem, and we want to get them digitized, so we're hoping once we have the time and budget and equipment, we can "bake" the tapes in a food dehydrator at a low temperature, and then that makes the tapes stable enough for at least a week to be playable again, enough time to be safely digitized.
Of course, the type of tape also depends on how you'll "bake" them. This blog post about digitizing rare vintage sound effects discusses so, but with reel-to-reel audiotape, again made by Ampex...

Preserving the Sunset Editorial Sound Effects Library from the USC Archive | The Freesound Blog

Baking sounds extreme. On Tapeheads there has been a discussion on the pros and cons of actually relubricating cassette tapes, which seems to work at some risk to the player but I suppose it all depends on the tape formulation. I have a few tapes that stick while playing and one that won't even rewind. Just need to get a can of the right lubricant.

 

[MajorFubar]

Actually the hardest task is getting a good working cassette player. Most stuff on eBay is junk that needs servicing. An awful lot depends on your budget.

 

[olavsu1]

Actually the hardest task is getting a good working cassette player. Most stuff on eBay is junk that needs servicing. An awful lot depends on your budget.

Yes, that is lottery. unless your arms grow out of your butt, it's not a big problem. I once found my cassette recorder next to a garbage container and got it working quite satisfactorily.

If you don't want to participate in the lottery, Thomann offers a solution.

Tascam 202 MKVII

Double Cassette Deck with USB Output Recording and playback function on both decks and parallel recording possible, USB output for backup and archiving on a computer with up to 16 bits / 48 kHz (requires a software for recording on the PC - not...

www.thomann.de

 

[weckart]

Yes, that is lottery. unless your arms grow out of your butt, it's not a big problem. I once found my cassette recorder next to a garbage container and got it working quite satisfactorily.

If you don't want to participate in the lottery, Thomann offers a solution.

Tascam 202 MKVII

Double Cassette Deck with USB Output Recording and playback function on both decks and parallel recording possible, USB output for backup and archiving on a computer with up to 16 bits / 48 kHz (requires a software for recording on the PC - not...

www.thomann.de

There is only one (poor) cassette transport mechanism being manufactured in the world at the moment. It is the same one you will find in throwaway no-name cassette portables sold today. If this uses the same one, then steer clear. Older is better.

 

[olavsu1]

the western mechanisms we've seen so far are all the same Chinese ones. except for a few exceptions that are complex and error-prone.

Most Western cassette recorders that I have received for repair have tape mechanisms like this:

the tape recorders that contained them were quite expensive for the locals.

 

[landshark2]

Is there a company that performs the service?

I have a cassette that I purchased from Scott Huckabay when he played a regular gig at my neighborhood coffee shop on Kauai, before hurricane Iniki. This SoCal produced album doesn't show in any modern discography, and my memory tells me that I prefer it to any of Scott's available CDs.

Granted it's been a long time since I listened to it, but I would certainly pay to have it professionally transferred.

 

[MajorFubar]

You might have to search the internet for cassette digitizing services in your area, or join a social media community such as Cassette Decks (Vintage) on Facebook. If you own, or have access to, a decent working cassette deck, the only barrier stopping you from doing it yourself is a stereo RCA lead and an audio interface. $100 gets you an interface exponentially better than you'll ever need for digitizing cassettes.

EDIT: I could do the transfer for you with no issue at all, I have the kit to digitize at upto 196/24 from stereo cassettes, mono cassettes, 4-track mults, Dolby B, Dolby C, DBX (unfortunately not Dolby S), normal speed recordings and high speed recordings, Ferric tapes, Chrome tapes, Ferrochrome tapes and Metal tapes...but I'm in the UK, you sound to be in the US, and it would seem a bit stupid for you to pay the return shipping on a cassette half way round the world. Plus there's the risk of it being damaged on the way, not least by exposure to magnetism during international transit.