Hello,
I have several cassette tapes I am trying to record but for some reason, either it will record some vocals only or I just get a straight line and no recording at all.
It used to work on my computer before it crashed and I had to purchase a new one.
On this one, the same set-up doesn’t work. I tried changing the options for input but I still get the same thing.
My cassette player only has the headphone jack as an output.
I am not sure what to do at this time.
Probably active “Windows sound enhancements”. There are many threads about this, search for “enhancements” in this forum.
Newer operating systems have more security settings. Grant access to Audacity for “Microphone”. Search for it in this forum - I could only tell you how to do it in macOS…
You probably need an “external sound card”, which converts the analog sound from your headphone output to digital and feeds it into the computer via USB.
What connections does you computer have?
You need line-in which is rare on laptops. You probably need a USB audio interface with line-in. The Beringer UCA202 or UCA222 is popular and relatively inexpensive. There are lots of higher-end interfaces with switchable mic-line inputs, and you can find cheeper ones.
I did grant access to Audacity.
I do have an external sound card but I did purchase another just in case there was an issue with my old one.
I just purchased another audio interface in case mine no longer works.
How well does that one work?
Dear jrtx2001.
Just tested what I’m about to tell you, so I know it works on my Windows 10 PC. For starters you’ll need a TRRS - Tip Ring Ring Sleeve - connector, that’s the small one with 3 black bands,
Try setting Audacity to WASAPI, that’s what made it work for me. You change Audacity’s recording settings - just saying incase you didn’t know this - with the little speaker up the top of the screen, on the RIGHT-hand side. Audio Input. Wasapi worked for me but if you’ve got a different internal setup, you might need to choose Loopback. Loopback is what sends the noises to the speakers and Audacity captures them on the way past, basically. Otherwise you can try to use hdajackretask from alsa-tools (or maybe alsa-tools-gui) to temporarily redefine the headphone jack to line in. Asio4All, which Audacity can read, can also work as a ‘bridge’ to get the sounds to Audacity to be recorded. FlexASIO’s Asio 4 All’s bigger brother but I seem to remember you have to pay for that one.
Hope this helps a bit, I’ve tested all I’ve said out on my own PC before posting it so I know it all works.
Yours respectfully,
Chris.
Thank you.
I will check my connector when I get home and try the setting change to see if that works.
I’m not familiar with the hdajackretask but I will check your other suggestion first.
I have an HP Envy laptop with the latest version of Windows on it.
Most laptops do not have reasonable sound input connectors. Maximum nowadays is probably a combined microphone/headphone connector which works for headsets. But the microphone part is only mono, not stereo - so even if you have the right cable, you would lose one channel of your recordings. Go for the external sound card, and you’re on the safe side.
You can try Listen To This Device to make sure Windows is getting a signal from the soundcard.
Windows has to get the signal first and if Windows is getting something, Audacity almost always works (once all the Windows & Audacity setting are correct).
I have an HP Envy laptop
You will need that external soundcard. The microphone input is “wrong” in any case and if it has a mic-headphone combo jack, that will work with regular headphones but you need a special plug with an extra contact for the microphone connection and without that you’ll get nothing.
I had forgotten about Listen To This Device.
Will it work through a ThinkPad or should I go direct into the computer?
I do have the soundcard so hopefully it will work.
What? Isn’t the ThinkPad a Windows laptop? Yes. Listen to this device should work with the external USB interface. (The example probably shows listening to the microphone.)
Now I have an Error Code 0 Success
Error opening recording device
How do I fix this?
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