Audio Cassette Tape to your Computer (Mac or PC) - Cassette Tape to mp3
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- I recently digitized an old audio cassette tape to my computer and made a MP3 file. In this video, I’ll show you how I did it. First, I purchased a Reshow USB cassette player from Amazon for $35.
Here's a link to it if you would like to check it out: amzn.to/3dwuhC9
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We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
This video and its content was not reviewed or paid for by outside persons or manufacturers.
The Reshow player comes with: The USB cassette player, ear buds, a USB cable, an installation CD (which I didn’t use - so don’t worry if your computer does not have CD/DVD drive) and some manuals.
To open the player door, simply push the open slider. Then I will add 2 AA batteries to power the device. You pop open the battery compartment door with your finger and then insert the two batteries as shown. Then put the battery door back in place. Now I can put my cassette tape inside the player and close the door. By the way, next to the open door slider, you will see a 3.5mm headphone input, which you can connect the included head phones into. The headphones that come with the device are OK, but you can use different ones for better sound.
With the head phones, batteries and cassette in place, you can use the player as a standalone walkman device. Which is nice. Since I am using the device to digitize an old tape, I’ll connect the smaller side of the included USB cable to the player and the other end to my computer. I am using an iMac for this demonstration, but the player also works with a PC. After I power on my Mac, l will check to see that the computer recognizes the device by going to SYSTEM PREFERENCES, then clicking SOUND, then selecting INPUT. As you can see, my computer recognizes the device. It’s called USB PnP Audio Device. I can close System Preferences now.
Next, launch your audio recording software. Since I have a Mac, I’ll open GARAGE BAND. It’s a free program. Windows users can use Audacity. It’s also free. Google: Audacity for Windows
I am going to close out my last garage band project by selecting FILE then NEW. Then I will select EMPTY PROJECT then select choose. Then I will chose a track type. Under Audio, I will select the microphone option. Under input, I will change it to Input 1+2. You will notice that under input, my instrument is connected with: USB PnP Audio Device - this is the option you want, so that garage band knows to get audio from the cassette player. Mine is already selected correctly, so I will leave it alone. You will also notice that my audio output is set to BUILT-IN OUTPUT. This is fine. Already selected is I WANT TO HEAR MY INSTRUMENT AS I PLAY AND RECORD, this will allow us to hear the audio cassette playing while we digitize. For best results, I’ll monitor with headphones connected to my computer. Finally, I will click Create.
So that I don’t hear an annoying metronome clicking sound while we are recording, I will deselect the metronome click by deselecting it.
Next I will press record in Garage band and then press the play button on the USB cassette player. Of course the cassette player has rewind and fast forward buttons to help you cue up your song prior to recording.
When you are done playing the cassette, click the STOP button in garage band to stop recording. Then press the STOP button on the USB cassette player.
In garage band, you can clean up any excess noise before the song begins playing by simply trimming off the front of the recording. You just click and drag the bottom of the waveform to trim off the front.
Then, I will grab the entire trimmed track and drag it to the start of the timeline. I can also trim off the end of the recording if I want to as well. It’s up to you.
We can play back the recording by simply pressing play in garage band. Then stop when we are done.
We can save the project by going to FILE/SAVE AS and then naming in and then clicking SAVE. This puts the project in your GARAGE BAND folder.
To export the recording as a MP3 file to use in other devices and computer programs, click SHARE, then EXPORT SONG TO DISK, name it, then chosing where you want to the file to be saved - I will put mine on my desktop. Then chose the type of file you want to make - I’ll chose MP3 at the Highest Quality setting. Then click EXPORT.
After Garage Band exports the file, I can find it on my desktop and play it. It’s awesome having this old cassette audio on my computer now.
I just purchased this Cassette Capture device, because I have a bunch of old cassette players my grandpa recorded. He passed some years ago and I wanted to preserve the tapes. When I first put in the disc that came with the device it said it wouldn't work with my Macbook. Luckily, I searched out help here on UA-cam and I can't thank you enough for making this video. Helped me out so much. Means a lot, man. Thank you.
Incredibly clear, precise, useful, and informative instructions. I wouldn't have known how to do this on my own. Thanks so much.
Thank you, that was so easy. Kudos for speaking slowly and clearly. So many other how-to videos are difficult to understand what is being said, or they don't tell you every step that you need, as you did.
Many thanks to you!!
Listening to this guy speak is like watching bass fishing while rolling up a dooby!
Um, thank you.
I love the way you demonstrated the use of Garageband for us MAC owners! Excellent video.☆☆☆☆☆
I can't thank you enough for these clear instructions, and especially using GarageBand (looks like everybody else is using Audacity). You helped me so much to digitize tapes of great value to me. Many many thanks!!
FANTASTIC! VERY professionally done. One of THE easiest to follow tutorials of any kind I've seen. You solved a BIG problem I was having! You even answered other questions that were already in my mind. Again, superb.
If you have an old Walkman that still works, you can also use that. Just take the 3.5mm aux cable, one end into the Walkman (or any other player with the 3.5, you can even do it for vinyl), other end DIRECTLY into your PCs microphone port. With Audacity or any other audio program you should be able to capture the signal. Hope this helps!
Will this work for phones?For those who have not a computer.
Can you connect a 3.5 or any other cable to transfer from a boom box to a P.C. or is there something special about the player options you mention?
Agreeing with all the people who’ve thanked you for this - I just got this device and got nervous at the convoluted instructions provided. Your explanation was clean, simple and clear. Thanks so much!!!
Sooooo helpful. I will look for other tutorials for my other problems. Change always messes me up and this was a major one from my last projects on Garage Band.
i didnt even know I could put batterys in this cassette player, I thought it was only USB powered thank you!
Me too
You put my mind at rest. I was panicking when I saw the mini-disc installation CD - where would I put it? When you said I didn't need to use it I sighed with relief. The instructions with the Reshow are totally inadequate but you've demonstrated so clearly I now feel confident to put it all together and get started. Thank you.
The disc has a driver that allows you to use the USB cassette player that comes with it. Otherwise the player is useless
This Dude's voice is amazing! Will definitely give this vice a try. Thanks!
This is brilliant! I was able to connect my cassette deck to my iMac with an iMic that I bought years ago. I used to use Audacity but I lost the instructions and couldn't get the sound settings right. This is so much easier and thank you so much for your very clear instructions. Unfortunately I can't monitor while recording as the iMic uses both headphones sockets (Mac and cassette player) so I might still invest in the USB cassette player. I compared my recording with a song purchased from iTunes and the sound quality is every bit as good. Can't thank you enough!
Ditto all of the comments on how easy you made this to use. Many thanks.
Thank you so much for your clear instructions for configuing a Mac to use this device, and for the Garageband steps. The Reshow device worked fine for a couple of cassette tapes, but now (one hour after it last worked), the player won't play. I thought it might be a cassette problem, but it doesn't work with the cassette it did work with just an hour ago. Did all the troubleshooting steps: power, batteries, reversing the tape. None of the buttons bring any movement.
That stinks. I would return it. It’s not an expensive item, but it should work longer than that. I tried mine again the other day. It’s still working.
Great video ,thank you so much. Talked slow, didn't rush the instructions and allowed me to convert my tunes to mp3 easily.
Many thanks. I've a bunch of old cassettes with some great live concerts. I was wondering how to convert them - so this video is most welcome.
Many thanks for the great and simple Mac directions! Worked perfectly!
Thank you for making this video! The way you made it is very professional and informative!
The quality of the device you recommend is atrocious. The noise that some have complained about is not caused by poor quality tape. Instead the issue is with the player. If I touch the player while recording, the sound fluctuates dramatically. Picking up the player and rearranging it on the table will sometimes cause the loud background noise to reduce significantly but if I wave my hand over the device, the sound responds with the motion of my hand. This is radio interference and is likely caused because of some imbalance in the interface.
Having examined reviews, this is one of several faults in the device. The rewind feature does not work half the time (and this is with the same tape, which is quite free of resistance). You may wish to reconsider your recommendation of this player. I am quite frustrated, as an important request for a friend in need of these recordings will remain unfulfilled.
But your explanation of the setup was spot on. Thanks for that.
It’s an inexpensive device and for me, the quality was fine. Obviously you get what you pay for and if you want higher quality, I did recommend a better device in the description below the video.
@@LoveWhatYouDo Duly noted; thanks. I wanted to reply since I found that recording on an iMac, there was no such noise, and that I used a six-foot extension on the USB link. The additional noise was not present with these conditions. This may be a fix for some having similar issues.
can I do this in reverse for adding music to my tapes?
Thank you so much! This video was incredibly helpful!
..perfect!. right to the point!
I LOVE you. Thanks so much for this tutorial. You saved me hours of frustration x
what guitar/drum track its playing in the background at the beginning? love the tune.
What Is the Fastest Way Record Audio Cassettes In Just Minutes
Is is stereo or mono?
Stereo! U can do mono if needed too
The video is good, but I tried the Reshow player and it was a piece of junk. It never worked properly.
Very cool video! Just what I was looking for. Thanks for creating.
I like how he speaks.
Thank you so so much for this!
So how many batteries fo i need for my 300tapes?😐
Any advice on recording a podcast from my mac onto casette and/or a CD? Thank you.
Excellent! Thank you
You are welcome!
I am subscribing because the video was done so well and thank you. Oh I also liked it.
Does that cassette player have alot of background noise?
I didn’t have that issue. But some people complain about that. I did leave a link to a more expensive player, but i have not personally tried it. I assume a more expensive player would be less noisy.
The usb connection provides power too. No batteries needed.
wow what a wonderfully calm and informative video tutorial: so clear, thank you very much
What is the name of the song in the background please?
I have a ojld RCA cassette player and radio...all it has is headphone jack. I would like to do the same thing that your showing here, but I have no idea how to hook it up to my pc and the type of cable to use. My desktop has 5 like audio inputs, and the only one i know of is the speaker one. None of them are named so I do not know which one is a line in or Mic/
Quick Q: does it matter what volume I play my cassette at (in terms of the volume of the final mp3 track)?
1:57 i have that exact wire for playing back my 2007 camcorders video so i got it eazy!
I have the same Walkman!
Very nicely done!!..very good...my question at this point how to do sync with my iPhone Music library. Apple Tech support hasn't figured it out I was on the phone with them for over 2 hours to no avail. Apparently, iPhone doesn't acknowledge mp3, at least the audio portion of a song(s). Any suggestions on your Part 1 ..above...? thanks.
I can’t hear it when I’m recording. Am I doing something wrong please lmk thanks
This is one way of doing it, but personally I'm not a fan of the newer mechanisms and heads that are used in units like those. Too much wow and flutter, especially when compared to my Walkman.
There is another way; I use an external USB soundcard to capture my cassettes and records as well. The one I got was the X-Fi HD, it's discontinued but I got mine like new in box for $50. Then I use any cassette deck I own (in my case a $12.99 thrifted Technics RS-D160W) to plug into the soundcard, and the rest is the same for capture.
I can also throughput sound so I can listen with an external amplifier as I capture to PC.
What Is The Fastest Way Record Audio Casstes Like Rewind Farward Speed If Some One Has Bulk Quantity Any Software Or Play Way Kindly Help I Have 40 Cassets But Cant Record Them Song By Song
Can I turn my mp3 to cassette
Awesome work done ,thank u for sharing.just wanted to know I have 200 audio cassettes,do you know a device quickly transfer this data to pen drive
In your video, you're on Mac with Garage Band... As I'm french speaking, perhaps that I lost an information about the fact that the "Reshow" could be use with a PC running with Windows 11..! In your title: " Audio Cassette Tape to your Computer (Mac or PC) - Cassette Tape to mp3", you mentionned "PC "... Am I right and is it as easier with Mac or PC ?
I tried to convert a tape to mp3 by aux
but there is a loud noise sound.. what is the reason?
(I used audacity)
thank you!!
Thanks. I have over 75 cassettes from the 70s and 80s. I have radio shows I was involved in, promotional work with radio stations, and various artists.Also, my music from my recording in the studios. My Technics receiver, cassette/recorder, and turntable still the best. I bought back in 1978. They do not make electronics like this anymore. I wanted to use my Technics to transfer my tapes to my 2020 macBook Pro, using my Garage Band. I can not find a adapter for my Technics. It has 4 plug ins, 2 white, 2 red, that plugs into a adapter then that plugs into my USB adapter on my Mac. Do you know where I can find the adapter for my Technics? Those on line and Amazon does not have the 4 plug ins, all the same. Or, I was afraid to use this recorder you use, because of the quality of my Technics play. Your thoughts. Thank you.
Saludos!!!
Great tutorial thank you… Does the quality of the tape player matter?
A high quality tape player will be less noisy in my opinion. The player featured in this video is on the cheaper side. You can get even better results if you spend more money. It’s up to you.
It works! Great tutorial :)
Glad it helped!
Can you connect the jack to the line in port in a soundcard?
Yasss your a god send 👍
that's for recording/digitizing..what about just listening?
great video
Hi! I purchased this last week and it was working just fine but when I went to listen some few minutes ago, it wouldn’t play my cassette. I tried changing batteries and changing cassettes and it still won’t play. I can rewind and forward just fine, but it won’t play for some reason.
Any thoughts on why that might be?
Not sure. I would return it if you tried a bunch of things.
@@LoveWhatYouDo thank you!
really easy video to follow... Thank you very much, buuuuuut.... I am not getting any audio onto garage band even though the tape is playing and I can hear sound through the headphones..
Please please help as this is a very special recording to me..
Thank you 🙏🏻
Update.... Just sorted the issue and I can now listen to my dear departed dad ❤
Good👍
Does this work on ipad?
Thank you. I am still challenged because the connection to my computer does not seem to work. I am not seeing in in the Preferences/Sound/Input. I'll work on that.
I’m trying to connect to my MacBook but the device keeps disconnecting and reconnecting every couple of seconds. Any advice on how to get a stable connection? I’ve gone through trouble shooting with Apple and had no luck. It seems to connect just fine to my windows pc. Any advice is appreciated :)
That’s odd. I didn’t have that issue.
I am having the same issue. Did you resolve this? I've searched all over for a solution to no avail.
@@shannonmessick9432 I'm having the same problem on my iMac
I'm also having this problem with the device recommended, using on my MacBook Pro
Maybe the battery ?
thank you!
Sweet I have a tape with me and my dads voice on it from when I was 5 he
Passed away in august so it will be nice to digitize this just in case the cassette tape gets destroyed
Hi, I have a powerful Windows 10 Pro 64 bit PC and a MacBook Pro as well.
I need to convert audio cassettes to digital files. Digitise audio cassetes.
What is the best software on Windows to you? best software on MacBook Pro?
What hardware do I need to buy to encode? I am looking for the best options
Do you sell cassette players?
Can this also cassette-ify mp3s?
No sadly
Sir Me this needed From where will get
Can I use an aux cable with it too?
Can you do that in reverse, like turning a mp3 to cassette
I was wondering to
Get a cassette deck
Use the audio out/ headphone, use a Male splitter with rca hookups to audio cassette deck. Record away
Can I do this vice versa with the same player?
L
I bought one, but the pitch is extremely fast. is there a program that can manipulate the speed pitch of the new Digital recording I created?
I did not have that experience, but it is a pretty inexpensive player. This is the more expensive version that will probably work better (although I don't own it):
ION Audio Tape 2 PC | USB Cassette Deck Conversion System with RCA & USB Cables:
amzn.to/3aUGOzr
There are a lot of programs that can change the speed of an audio file. For Mac, try Garage Band. This guy shows you how: ua-cam.com/video/WOTC63TAMOg/v-deo.html
Unfortunately I ended up here cause it ain't working for me on a Windows laptop and I just got this device 1 day... and the output connection from the cassette player has been upgraded to USB C. The laptop recognize the device but Audicity doesn't show the device in the dropdown choices for input recording device.
Dont know how to fix this - sad
Will this work on windows 10 on a desktop computer?
NO ... no drivers. Win 10 or 11 computers don't recognize the device. See comment below with someone with same experience as me
Willie E. Adgerson
1 year ago
I have windows 10 64 bit. When I plug this device in, it is not recognized. Any Solutions? Thanks.
thanks, why can't you just do an audio cable out of microphone, to audio in microphone Imac? Is there a difference between actually audio sound and audio files? I tried using garageband and it was a nightmare. I found quicktime easier. Maybe you could do the same video but using quicktime?. Its just File, drop down, create new track, whaa laa!
Great 😃👍
That's fine as far as it goes, but there are several songs on each side of a cassette. What is the easiest way to import the songs so that each song can be identified on the computer? In other words, how do you label the songs you import to the computer?
Do you have iTunes? If not, you can label them in iTunes - in whatever way to want to, but most usually, the name of the track and in another column, the name of the artist. Search how to use iTunes on UA-cam.
Can a Walkman with only 3.5 jack outlet work on Mac?
Can convert direct to USB ?
Will they sound like the Sony ES Series or Nakamichi Dragon Cassettes Deck when I listen to the digital files?
I assume that the more expensive machines would sound better. This cassette player is inexpensive.
Can the USB connection power the Reshow cassette player, rather than using batteries?
I don’t think so.
As with Audacity, can you fade in and out and tweak the sound quality with GarageBand?
Absolutely.
I was going to buy one soon but I heard it only works on windows 7. Is that true?
I did it on a mac. But check with the manufacturer.
TeddyAnsGrubby told me Teddy Ruxpin works with this?
Assumes everybodyy is using an Apple and Garage Band. Nothing on moving the file to a PC or using a PC software ....
What if i want the video and the audio at the same time?
When using usb cassette player, does the audio quality become damaged? I’m trying to preserve audio quality
Yes. This is far from the best way.
do you hear static when you play the cassette? is there a way to get rid of the static?
Old tapes often sound noisy. I believe that garage band and audacity both have some effects that reduce noise. Search on UA-cam. I am sure you will find some tutorials.
I have 3 8mm cassettes and i want to convert them to digital.
All cassettes are videos of my parents 90s and 80s. Any recommendations?
I use this method:
ua-cam.com/video/1l4h_iv56KY/v-deo.html
@@LoveWhatYouDo Thank you 🙏🏻
I just received this unit, and it is making a horrible, unacceptable noice that sounds like helicopter blades (whop-whop-whop-whop-whop) continuously added to the recording on the tapes. It sounds like it's being created by the tape transport system.
I did not have that experience, but that player is pretty inexpensive. I would return it for another one or consider this more expensive unit: ION Audio Tape 2 PC | USB Cassette Deck Conversion System with RCA & USB Cables:
amzn.to/3aUGOzr
Can we record it in 4x are max speed to save time
I don’t think so.
❤❤❤
Saludosªªªª
after making a file , how can i put the music on my iPod shuffle ?
First, go into the iTunes Menu using the desktop client. Click the icon in the top right corner, and choose the “Add File to Library” option from the drop-down menu. Find the song you want to add from your computer, and open it in iTunes.
Then add that music to your device.
Cassete capture device make
The instructions that came with this thing would have frustrated Jesus into killing kids! Thank you for this clear, concise video.