Appalling sound quality when I record my cassettes to laptop

Audacity 3 Help Forum Windows
1

I have tried to record my old cassette tapes with Audacity but the quality obtained is appalling, much worse than the sound of my tapes. The sounds come out distorted. I have tried with three different radio-cassette players and the result has been the same. I don’t know if my new jack connector cable has bad quality or if the problem is in my laptop or if I have something wrong in the configuration. I’ve followed all the steps, I’ve seen enough videos explaining how to do it and I think everything is fine. One thing is that I’m not sure which is the best volume to record? High or low or middle? Or maybe does this not matter so much?

As for the configuration of Audacity I have some questions:

  • Is it better to record on 2 recording channels (stereo) or on one (mono)? I’ve usually done it with stereo (2), but I’ve also tried it in mono and it looks like the result is the same.

In Recording Preferences, I have marked the following fields:
Sound Activated Recording
Overdub Playthrough
Software Playthrough
Latency: Audio to buffer: 100 milliseconds
Latency Correction: -130
Sound Activated Recording, level (db). You can choose between -60 and 0. Here I do not know which level is better, near 0 or a -60? I have tried several but I find that there is no big difference.

As for the configuration of the microphone in Windows I have:
Microphone Levels: 56. Microphone Enhancement: +24.0 dB

I would really appreciate it if someone could answer my questions.

2

The signal from the tape-player is too strong for a microphone socket on the computer. It will be distorted regardless of the tape-player used. If your computer has a “line-in” socket you should use that instead of the mic socket, otherwise you’ll need a gadget which effectively converts a USB socket into a line-in: this type of thing … "Behringer UCA202 Audio Interface" - Google Zoeken

3

You can’t trust that individuals making videos about Audacity necessarily know what they are talking about.

You could have saved time by reading our documentation How to connect your equipment - Audacity Manual.


Gale

4

And this set of tutorials ftom the Audacity Manual: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorial_copying_tapes_lps_or_minidiscs_to_cd.html

And this workflow: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/sample_workflow_for_tape_digitization.html

WC

5

One thing is that I’m not sure which is the best volume to record? High or low or middle? Or maybe does this not matter so much?

Shoot for levels between -6dB and -3dB. If you try to go over 0dB you’ll get [u]clipping[/u] (distorted flat-topped waves). If the volume is too low you can boost it after recording. If there is clipping, reducing the volume after recording won’t fix the distortion.

  • Is it better to record on 2 recording channels (stereo) or on one (mono)? I’ve usually done it with stereo (2),

If the tapes are stereo, I assume you want to keep the stereo? If the tapes are mono it’s not that important because virtually everything is mono-stereo compatible. That is, if you play a mono tape, vinyl record, or digital audio file on a stereo setup, it will come out of both speakers. Or if you play a stereo source on a mono system, the sounds from both channels will play through the single speaker.

but I’ve also tried it in mono and it looks like the result is the same.

That’s probably because the mic input on your laptop is mono so you can’t record in true stereo with your current hardware.

Sound Activated Recording

Probably not important with tapes, since you can start recording manually just-before you start the tape. (I’ve never used sound activated recording.)

Overdub Playthrough

Not important. You’re not overdubbing.

Software Playthrough

Yes, so you can hear what you’re recording.


Latency: Audio to buffer: 100 milliseconds

Latency is delay. You need a buffer because of your multitasking operating system, and buffers cause delay. If you are not getting “glitches”, or gaps or clicks, you don’t need to change anything. If you are having problems a bigger buffer (more latency) may help.

A bigger buffer (more delay) is not a problem unless you are speaking/singing and the delay in your headphones makes it difficult to perform.

Latency Correction: -130

Not important since you are not synchronizing with a backing track.

Sound Activated Recording, level (db). You can choose between -60 and 0. Here I do not know which level is better, near 0 or a -60? I have tried several but I find that there is no big difference.

If the trigger level is too high, recording might not start if the signal is low, or recording might pause during quiet parts. If the trigger level is too low (too sensitive), recording will be triggered by noise before the actual signal starts.

Again, I wouldn’t use sound activated recording with tapes (unless you want to leave and have the recoding stop automatically at the end of the tape).

6

Thank you so much for all your explanations!!! They are really helpful.

7

Thank you very much! My laptop doesnn’t have a line-in, only a mic socket. So I should buy a gadget as you recommended me.

8

I use a UCA-202. That’s my stereo sound mixer on the right. Substitute your cassette machine Line-Out.

Apparently, I’m famous. My illustration comes up prominently in a Google search.

Nothing is ever without its shortcomings. There are no volume controls anywhere in this system, so if your tape machine plays back hot or you have a very loud tape, you could get a damaged recording.

There is a more expensive USB adapter with a volume control and now that I want it, I can’t find the model number…shucks.

Koz