Making a CD from a cassette


Yeah, I know, "it’s easy!" I’ve just never done it.

I have a tape I made decades ago and it actually sounds as good as the day I made it. It surely won’t forever though.

For the curious, it is from the old FM radio show Rock Line. This tape features Jimmy Page after Outrider came out.

I’m thinking of using the following product:

http://www.cassette2usb.com/

Anybody tried it? I’m leery of going through just my PC because it probably has a less than stellar sound card. I never even have the sound turned on. Also, I don’t have any software to do it or the adapter/patch cord.

The above named product looks like it makes it easy. Could be just another cheesy ripoff though. Thoughts are appreciated,

Thanks.

128x128toddsyr

If you have a good cassette deck, it's likely that you'll get decent sound by using your PC.

For a one-off I would use a well reviewed pro service.

Your query reminded me that I have VHS tapes (8MM film T/F'd to VHS 30+ years ago) that need to be T/F'd to DVD and memory stick.

 

DeKay

 

Elliott- Thank you for the advice and the link. It was easy to understand the information there. I have submitted a query to the company that makes the device. Hopefully I hear back from them tomorrow. When I do, I will post the information here.

Cleeds- Thank you for that information. I have a Harman Kardon TD4800 so no worries there. If the CassettetoUSB device doesn’t pan out your words are reassuring.

Dekay- If I did go that route, who would you recommend? The thing that worries me with this idea is the tape getting lost or destroyed in the mail. Also, I don’t know where you live. I’m in the Central NY area. I have a machine that copies VHS to DVD. If it’s convenient for you, I could do some of those for you. No charge, just buy the blank DVD’s.

I live in West Hollywood (Los Angeles) and there are gobs of local Pro T/F services.

Should be the same for NYC.

2 hours of VHS T/F here is approx. $40 and cassette T/F runs around $20 (per unit).

If you know someone local in the film/music industry ask them for a reference, otherwise there are YELP and BBB reviews.

I'll pick a Pro service that can tweak if needed as the original film was 30 years old @ the time it was T/F'd to VHS.

Yes, loss of the item is a concern.

 

DeKay

dekay- Well L.A. is a bit of a drive, so..... NYC is almost 5 hrs each way too.

I may dig around the local area, maybe not. We’ll see how it pans out. I'm looking into doing it myself too.

Elliot and all- Received a response from ClearClick Software:

"Hi Todd,

 
Thank you for your inquiry.

Our software uses 44,100/24-bit PCM for the WAV files that it saves.
As our hardware cassette player is a USB device is compatible with any audio recording software that can access a USB microphone, so you can use Audacity or another software that you have to adjust the sample rate or bit rate as you would prefer.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Tyler
Support Department Lead"
 
It looks like they’re just a bit unconventional. I mean hey, it probably works but do I need it? Does it make things easier? Maybe so if one doesn’t have a cassette deck to play the tape on. That’s the only advantage I see.
I have a cassette deck. I just need to get the patch cord and some software. This bring up two questions:
1. I see Audacity is free. Is it easy to use? I don’t have a lot of spare time to learn new things unfortunately. Is there an easier program, even if it’s 20 or 30 bucks?
2. The patch cord. Dual RCA jacks on the cassette deck end, single 3.5 mm jack on the PC end. Is that correct?

 I haven't given up trying to get my audio cassette made into a CD, but I may have aged less if I did.

 I went to a bunch of stores around here trying to locate the proper patch cord to go from my (full size) cassette deck headphones output to the 3.5 mm audio input on my PC. No luck. Yeah, I could've ordered one but I figured I would give the job to a local business instead.

 I called the first one I found that wasn't too far out of the way. I told them what I wanted done and how, specifically the 44 sample rate/16 bits per sample  part. Explained to them why and even gave them the link Elliot was so kind to provide. They made me MP3 files.

 Okay, I'll do it myself. But I want it to be easy and I don't want to drag a PC out to the cassette deck either. So......

 I just purchased this:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_850CDRW9SX/Tascam-CD-RW900SX.html

Tascam CD-RW900SX Front

All I'll do is hook my Harman Kardon TD4800 to the inputs on the back and I'm on my way!