Digitizing: Difference between revisions

In addition, you should inspect the condition of your ''player'' before playing any tapes of value. Check the inside of your player (where the tape goes) and make sure it's free of dust and make sure all the belts in the player are tight, not sticky and not degraded. Also make sure the [[wikipedia:Tape_transport|tape transport]] mechanism is intact and the pinch roller is not sticky, cracked or chipped.

Your tape player will have one or more ways of outputting sound, and to digitize a tape, we need to take the '''output''' of the player and feed it into the '''input''' of your computer. This will likely involve ''adapting'' the connector on your player's output to the 3.5mm audio jack on your computer or laptop.

'''RCA connectors''' are the old, red and white connectors seen on old TVs. Those old TVs also had a yellow cable, but we don't need it since it's for video.

Next there are two different types of quarter inch setups: '''TRS''' and '''TS'''.

'''TRS (Tip, Ring, Sleeve)''' connectors are basically 3.5mm audio jacks but bigger. They carry '''stereo''' audio over one cable, and that's usually what the ''phones'' port on your player uses.

'''TS (Tip, Sleeve)''' connectors will usually be found as quarter inch plugs on the back of the player, and each of them carries a '''mono''' signal.  

Neither of these connectors have better output ''quality'' than the other, but if you have humming or extra noise coming from the player when not playing tapes, it may be wise to test the other outputs to see if the result is cleaner.

The main difference between those connectors is how they handle '''stereo'''. Players that have '''RCA''' or '''TS''' plugs will always have '''two''', labeled '''left''' and '''right (L & R)'''. This means your adapter cable will look like a normal 3.5mm cable on one end, but then split into two RCA or TS jacks to get a proper stereo signal.

'''BEWARE:''' '''most microphone jacks''' on computers '''will record in mono''', especially if they're combo jacks (that carry mic and headphone over one cable). To record '''proper stereo''', you'll need to use the '''LINE IN''' jack (usually on the back of your PC) or buy a small '''USB soundcard''' with stereo recording if you only have a laptop. Another option is to use an '''audio interface''' for recording, but they're more expensive and more advanced.

Digitizing itself is quite straightforward. Simple press record in audacity and play the tape on the player. If you hear nothing, you should troubleshoot your cables. If you hear a faint static, wait for a bit, as tapes usually have a bit of silence before the music starts.

If things are too loud, it will sound distorted and totally ruin your recording. To control this, you can tweak the level of volume on your player, along with the input volume on your computer. It's best to fix this before you record, as changing the volume in post will not help fix the recording. Instead, play a song off the tape in full and make sure Audacity's volume meter never reaches max. It's fine if this happens once or twice, but if your recording is "redlined", you should adjust your volume levels. The ideal setup is to have a healthy volume level on the player, and turn your computer input volume down to compensate. You should also make sure the level on the player doesn't max out either. Sometimes the tapes themselves were recorded loud and distorted, but there's no fix for that.