How to record an audio cassette to CD, Part 2

How do you record audio from a tape cassette to the computer, and finally, to a CD recordable disc? That was the question I asked Infopackets Readers in yesterday's visitor feedback section of the Gazett e.

Before I get into the reader's submissions, let me first point out that a few users recommended using the Line In port instead instead of the MIC port (as I suggested yesterday), for clarity reasons.

Chris M. and Kooby both write:

" It is better to use the Line Out or Aux RCA output on the stereo receiver rather than the tape player, because now you could record LP's, radio, or whatever can be connected to the receiver.

[Using the Line In port] on the sound card results in clearer sound. I've also heard that some integrated motherboards with sound cards may produce distortion when using the MIC port. "

And, here are some of the submissions I received:

Donna M. uses her SoundBlaster (sound card) software to record audio.

" Most sound cards have a line-in connection that is much better to use than the MIC. I have recorded a cassette to my computer using the creative SoundBlaster card and its software. I connected the headphone to the line-in. You must turn on your recording software and make sure it is recording from line-in... then you play the tape. It will record in real-time as a .WAV file. You can then you can use your CD-burner software to record the .WAV file into a music CD with tracks. "

Side note: you can do the same with a freeware audio recorder that I found floating on the net. It's called MenaSoft's Sound Pad. It's extremely small (100k) in size and does a nice job for basic sound editing. I tested it and it works with Windows XP.

Craig M. sent me an excellent online guide for Newbies which shows how to hook up audio equipment and record to and from your PC:

http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc2/v19/vic19.htm

Robin R. recommended a web site with lots of good tips about CD recording:

" Look under the Audio heading, 'send me their thoughts on a good online audio guide'.

http://www.mrichter.com/cdr/primer/primer.htm "

Aqua Man sent me a link to a web site which has a downloadable guide on " how to record vinyl and cassettes to your computer... how to turn them into MP3s... how to make them into audio CDs to play on any CD player or into MP3 CDs that will play on any computer or hardware device capable of decoding them. "

http://www.gbronline.com/xico/

Pippie sent me a link to a web site which tells you how to burn vinyl records to CDs.

" This site explains how to do it too, explains pros & cons it various hardware, etc. Wordy, but good site.

http://www.scaruffi.com/music/cd.html "

Glen O. sent me a Tech TV link with lots of good information (but I don't think the software is free):

http://www.techtv.com

Neil P. sent me multiple links which were sent to him by a friend recently.

http://www.delback.co.uk/lp-cdr.htm (lots of info)

http://www.waverepair.com/ (WAV editor)

Jeremy K. uses Easy CD Creator to do his audio mastering (not free):

" I personally use Roxio's ECDC to do all my burning. The only version that supports the recording / burning from an outside source is Version 5 Professional and it can cost a pretty penny, but in my opinion it's worth it. You can adjust the static, background noise, and all sorts of mastering tweaks. "

Chris M. is a pro at audio conversion:

" I've been converting LP's and cassettes to CD for several years now, and I use a combination of software: Audiotools (http://www.unrelatedinventions.com/Audiotools/) to record music in, and SoundForge (which is pricey) to edit. I also have Audio Cleaning Lab (http://usa.magix.com/index.php?id=411) to filter out the cassette noise, and it can also be used to record in. "

Thanks to all who wrote in!