Addendum - Backing-Up Cassettes to CD-R

In the previous article I detailed the process of converting LPs to CD-R. In this addendum, I'll discuss the small difference in convert cassette tapes to CD-R.

Some of you may be wondering why anyone would want to convert a mid-fi medium like cassette tapes to a high resolution medium like a compact disc. I can think of several reasons:

You own an old recording that is no longer available in any other form.
You have a personal (non commercial) recording and you want to preserve it by avoiding the wear and tear of tape playback.
You have an extensive tape collection and can't afford to replace them all with CDs.
Your old car had a tape deck but your new car has a CD player. Your toddler's lullabies are all on cassette tape.

Disclaimer

Like before, it's important to mention that copying music should only be done under fair use. It is perfectly legal to copy your own cassette and burn CD-Rs for your own personal use. I do not condone the copying of copyrighted materials outside of fair use.

The Only Difference

Converting a cassette tape to a CD-R is almost exactly the same as converting an LP. The main difference is in the setup phase. Cassette decks have line-level outputs. The deck's output can therefore be wired directly to the line-in input of your sound card (probably via an RCA-to-1/8-inch-stereo adaptec cable). This means that if your computer is not near your stereo system all you need to do is move the deck to the computer; you don't need an accompanying preamp as you would with a turntable. Don't forget to setup the deck for playback - tape type, Dolby on/off, etc.

As with the LP, digitize entire sides of each cassette, seperate the sides into tracks, then burn the CD-R. That's it !

And as before remember to enjoy the music !

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