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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: jayaygee on Wednesday 27 May 20 15:18 BST (UK)
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Can anyone suggest a reasonably simple way (if one exists) of transferring audio cassette recordings to computer, please ?
Judith
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The easiest way is to buy a USB to computer player can be bought off Ebay for about 13 to 20 pounds.
I use a free program called Audacity which is brilliant takes a bit of reading to get the hang of splitting the tracks but very good software.
Then its just a case of playing the tape and hit record.
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Thank you for your advice, Dyingout. The recordings I want to transfer are of people's memories, so no need to split the tracks which sounds a bit too complicated for me!
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If you don't want to buy a USB player, a cable from a cassette player's headphones output to the computer's "line in" or (if that's too faint) microphone socket is all you need. Pound shops often stock the cables. Of course, this only works at real time rate; maybe USB players transfer faster.
I too use Audacity, though its many features create something of a learning curve.
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In defence of Audacity, yes it has all sorts of features that only a professional would understand or use, but for straightforward digital capture and splitting into tracks it's brilliant, and the learning curve isn't too steep.
Jane :-)
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Thanks you, Chris Doran and familydar, for your additional input. Maybe I'll try the cable option first and go for the USB player if the result isn't satisfactory. All I need for what I want to transfer is the digital capture as the cassettes are of recorded family memories.
Judith
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Haud on, haud on!
You don't need all that. Mono track is all you need. Have you got a Cassette Player ?
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Yes. What is mono track, please?
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You need a line-out on the cassette player, a line-in on your PC/laptop, set Audacity to record from the line-in port and press play on the cassette player.
Once done, save the generated file to disk and then you can edit it if you like into smaller chunks, apply some Audacity audio filters, etc.
Line-out/in are typically 3.5mm jack plugs and sockets.
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Thank you for the details, Angus.
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Yes. What is mono track, please?
Mono or Stereo, one track or two. Track is the term used for a recording.
Have you got a Cassette Player ? Has your Computer got a built-in microphone or do you have a plug-in microphone. Do you have a mobile phone which has a ' Record Audio' feature?
Simplest way No.1
Play the Cassettes in a quiet room with background noise minimised or eliminated.
At the same time Switch ON your Computer Microphone or plug one in and place it close to the Cassette player's speaker.
Whilst Recording, Switch OFF your computer Speakers as they contribute Feedback and Electronic Noise.
Save the recording as a WAV file ( it may already be the default anyway).
Switch your Speakers back on and Play the Files.
If the results are satisfactory - all is fine. If not, they can be IMPROVED by using the features in Audacity, but, you can also email the files as an attachment just like a picture file to any Rootschatter who has experience of Audacity. I use Audacity to record Narrated Audio Books which must be up to a high standard and pass the ACX Test for submission to AMAZON's Audio Book Department. It's a 5 step process to IMPROVE any spoken voice recording - I can do it for you, saves you from learning Audacity, which can be Daunting for a newcomer.
Simple Method No. 2 ... if you have a Cassette Player
Play the cassette - Use your mobile phone to record the interviews ... then upload, transfer, share or whatever from the phone to the computer by cable to Audio Input Socket or to a USB port, or Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or email the files to yourself. Multiple choices there, eh!
Can't wait to find out which way you have chosen, cheers, Ian
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Many thanks, Ian, for your very clear explanation. I'll just have to find out what sort of microphone I have on my computer which my son assembled for me, so he will know, but he is very busy teleworking so I won't get a reply immediately. Once I do, I'll give the first method a try.
I'll certainly let you know what I do and may need to take you up on your kind offer of help with Audacity.
Fingers crossed that the tapes still work!
Thanks again
Judith
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The BIG question is ... Do you have an Audio Cassette Player ?
You can find out if you have a built- in Microphone by going to Control Panel / Sound or Audio or Realtek Audio Manager and select whichever one of those you find and it will tell you all about your Microphone and Speakers set-up on you Computer ... presuming you are using a Windows Operating System but it's much the same on Apple and Linux or Android.
Do you have or can you borrow an Audio Cassette Player?
cheers, Ian
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Sorry, Ian, I thought I had answered your question. Yes, I have an audio cassette player and also a radio with cassette player incorporated, both in working order. However, I haven't tried to play the cassettes for some time and I understand they should really be unwound and wound regularly.
Apologies for not replying earlier - I have just had my first social contact, out of doors and with appropriate distancing, since the lockdown imposed in 17th March here in France. Lovely to actually speak face to face with a friend, though in our age group we still have to be very careful.
I will now look into the microphone question as you suggest, and I'll let you know the outcome.
Thanks again for all your help.
Judith
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Yes, beware Audio Tapes going slack and the wee wheels sticking, but you can insert a pencil or a Bic pen into the centre of each hole of the gear wheels in turn and make sure you don't UNWIND it or it might TWIST as you Re-Tension it again. Twist your pen/pencil for 10 turns unless you feel the tension too tight ... there is no lubrication required, just gentle patience. Once you have done the manual bit, put it into your player, the mains powered on is best and press Play for 3 seconds, then STOP, then Reverse till it stops itself back at the start of the tape. It won't hurt to do this a few times ... if you listen closely and hear screaming, stretching or stuttering SWITCH off and retrieve your cassette and Re-do the trick with the pencil.
What Operating System do you use on your computer? cheers, Ian
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Windows 10 OS.
Judith
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Sorry, Ian, I thought I had answered your question. Yes, I have an audio cassette player and also a radio with cassette player incorporated, both in working order. However, I haven't tried to play the cassettes for some time and I understand they should really be unwound and wound regularly.
Yes if cassettes are not rewound every so often there is a chance of crossover of the magnetic signal giving lower quality and in extremes loss of the recording.
Cheers
Guy
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I'm on Windows 7 but here's a link to the Microsoft page which deals with finding and testing your microphone,
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4027981/windows-10-how-to-set-up-and-test-microphones
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Note that recording "through the air" with a microphone is going to seriously reduce the final recorded quality as it will pick up all sorts of background noises including hum from the cassette player itself.
Much better to use a cable direct from cassette player to PC/laptop. But if recording through a microphone connected to the PC/laptop is all you have, then it's far better to do that than lose the recordings all together.
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Unwanted noises come from a million different sources including USB hum and even the transformer hum of your own computer, but these are identifiable and removable.
This is a snippet of an Audacity recording of an Introduction to a Narrated Audio Book ... the straight line is SILENCE after removing all unwanted background noise and what is left is my voice enhanced by Amplifier, Filter Curve, Equalisation and a few other secret ingredients.
Angus is right ... copy it anyway you can so that it is not lost, it can be sorted with Audacity. cheers, Ian
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My apologies for not getting back to you earlier.
I recorded one tape directly from my cassette player to the computer and the result, although a bit muffled, is not at all bad in my very unprofessional opinion. The file saved in m4a format - should I convert it to WAV format with an online converter?
Thanks again to everyone for your help.
Judith
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You presumably have an Apple iphone or computer because Mp4A (Audio) has been adopted by Apple as an improvement on Mp3 Audio files. (Mp4 is a Video File, very common usage). You don't need to convert them at the moment but if you want them to be able to be played on Anything or Improved using Audacity you could convert them to WAV (Windows Audio Visual) files, just because that has been the standard file format for yonks and has no loss of detail due to Compression as in Mpeg files.
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I don't have anything Apple and recorded using Windows 10. I didn't see any choice for the format, but my computer skills are not that great so I may well have missed something.
I wonder if I can take up your very kind offer to improve the recording using Audacity. I would do the conversion to WAV beforehand, of course.
Judith
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Just to be sure I'll check with the Rootschat Moderators that you can Private Message me and Attach the Mp4A files. If not, I can privately send you my alternative anti-spam email address and you can email them direct to me. Audacity has an added feature which Converts incoming files to WAV for ease of manipulating them and can Export them in various formats so you can have multiple copies which can be played on Any player or device. I'll let you know as soon as I know, cheers, Ian
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That's very kind of you, Ian. Many, many thanks.
Judith
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I am awaiting a reply from the moderators. However, although I use Windows 7 I have checked out Windows 10 Voice Recorder and it has a few limitations which cannot be altered. It Saves your incoming Audio as an Mp4A Audio file, which is compressed to reduce file size but LOSES sound quality as it does so. Although technically those files can be Converted to ANY other file format, they cannot IMPROVE the Quality that has been lost already by Windows 10.
Possible workarounds.
Download Audacity for FREE. It does many things just like a Paint program but you will never use 90% of those features. It is simplicity itself to RECORD your tapes into a MONO-Track in Audacity and Save them as WAV files, unaltered, just as the sound left your cassette player but with some added hiss, rumble and whatever, but that can all be removed. If you choose that method I can process them through Audacity or even give you instructions for DIY. It is not difficult if you follow the steps.
The reason for not recording or converting your original tapes is that they will already not be of Studio Audio quality originally and any Conversion will lose data and worsen the End Result.
A poor 2nd is to record from the cassette player speakers into a mobile phone which can then send the files to a computer by any means.
Any WAV file can be Improved using just 5 features in Audacity and Saved again in almost any Format you like.
Hope this helps.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/
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Thank you for your very helpful advice. I will re-record the tape as you suggest and attempt to improve it myself with Audacity. It's always good to learn something new and useful and I do have about ten tapes of my mother-in-law telling her life story! I obviously wouldn't expect you to work on all those! The one I have done at present is of my father talking about his experience in WW1 and his childhood - it is the only copy and is therefore very precious. I'll let you know how I get on and get back to you if I have problems.
Coincidentally, I see you have Dickinson among your research interests - it's my maiden name, but my family is from theSheffield area.
Once again many thanks for your help and very clear advice about how to proceed.
Judith
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Hello Judith, I had an email from Sarah the Moderator and it is not possible to transfer Audio Files, only text and picture files. She may send you my other email address securely and that will allow you to send a copy of a tape and I will Improve it through Audacity and Send it back to you so you can hear the difference. I will include the step by step instructions so you can do it too, cheers, Ian
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Hello Ian,
If you click on the dark round circle below Judiths username, you can send a private message with your email address, it is the one on the right hand side ;)
Regards
Sarah
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My Dickinsons start with Joseph b 1796 @ Bolton-le-Sands who married Ann Newsom and their daughter Jane was the 2nd wife of John Cathcart b 1828 Ireland who married Ann Bowles in Dublin in 1848 but she died in 1850 at Preston, Lancs, so John and Jane married at Preston in 1853 and their son James Cathcart was my Great Grandfather.
I haven't found all the Dickinson connections yet but Ann died and Joseph, a mariner, was lost on the sands and his body not washed up for over a year, so Jane and her siblings were orphaned before she married John Cathcart. Cheers, Ian