Have You Got A Supply Of Audio Cassette Tapes? Digitize Them By Converting to MP3
I’ve been a fan music since audiocassettes were considered technological marvels, and I have a load of them to prove it. With audio cassette machines rapidly becoming old school and the audio cassettes themselves fading away due to natural causes, I desired a way to transform them into files I could use either as MP3s or as CD album tracks (perfectly legal if you don’t sell them).
My looking around brought me to convoluted pieces of equipment, and studios that wanted at least as much money as it would take to get a new audio cassette with a CD (provided the album was still in print). Then I came by the ClearClick Cassette2USB audiocassette converter, and quite honestly, it appeared to be too good to be true.
No bigger or weightier than the original portable audiocassette players (if you have the ability to recall them), the Cassette2USB converter claims to digitize audio cartridge recordings by linking it to an USB cord and copying them with its Audacity audio software. It is compatible with the Mac, PC and Linux platforms. And if you can manage with no a pause button, you can even use it as an audio cassette player: the Cassette2USB can accept headphones, batteries and a power supply.
Assembly is quick and easy, particularly if you download the most current edition of the audio software from the Audacity home page – it’s free of charge, and has versions that can accomodate the older PC and Mac platforms. For nonstop converting to MP3, you should download and install the Audacity LAME codec first. It’s essential to bear in mind not to open Audacity until you have joined the Cassette2USB to your computer’s USB port (not an USB hub). The Audacity interface looks like a big elaborate recording studio system, but do not get overwhelmed — eradicating background sounds, determining the master volume, and removing songs you don’t want are all defined in their instructions.
At this point, it is time to record. Lay your cartridge in the Cassette2USB converter, press its “Play” button, then click the Audacity screen’s “Record” button. You can listen through the headphones, and the “Loop” feature so the tape will play both sides automatically. Just be there to stop the Cassette2USB and Audacity when the recording is done. Then all that’s left to do is instruct Audacity how it should be converted.
My determination? The Cassette2USB converter is indeed just as effortless to install and use as promised! So if you’ve got a heap of audio cassettes whose youth is long gone, here’s how you can save them:
The cost of the ClearClick Cassette2USB audio tape converter is $67 US – which means if you have more than seven cassettes that need converting to MP3 (NOT including delivery), it has paid for itself already. And you can download and get a jump how to use Audacity while waiting for your Cassette2USB to be delivered.
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