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Gear / Technical Help => Post-Processing, Computer / Streaming / Internet Devices & Related Activity => Topic started by: tapeheadtoo on June 28, 2020, 03:00:25 PM
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I would like to transfer some old cassettes. I have a working tape deck and am running Catalina and Mojave on separate computers. I can't figure out how to get line in audio on either one. System Preferences > Sound only gives option for built-in microphone, nothing for external microphone. Furthermore there is no option for toggling the physical jack from headphone to any type of input. Does anyone have experience with this? What are my options?
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What hardware do you have?
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Does this help?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJPz6azGnBc
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I would like to transfer some old cassettes.
Out of curiosity; whatcha got?
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I would like to transfer some old cassettes. I have a working tape deck and am running Catalina and Mojave on separate computers. I can't figure out how to get line in audio on either one. System Preferences > Sound only gives option for built-in microphone, nothing for external microphone. Furthermore there is no option for toggling the physical jack from headphone to any type of input. Does anyone have experience with this? What are my options?
There is an app on Mojave which controls sound input & output. It's called AUDIO MIDI SETUP
On my machine it's located in the Applications folder > Utilities folder
On the left side it has a sidebar panel which lists all available inputs and outputs. When you click on each of them, you can adjust settings like # of channels, bit depth, sample rate, and format (float or integer? Mine doesn't offer options other than integer right now)
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almost any basic external sound card from the cheapest motu or focusrite is gonna sound a lot better than the built-in line in
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Does this help?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJPz6azGnBc
Unfortunately not as Macs have not had line in ports for many years. That YT vid is from 2009.
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What hardware do you have?
Desktop #1: (2017) 4.2 GHz i7 / 32 GB running Catalina
Desktop #2: (2013) 3.5 GHz i7 / 32 GB running Mojave
MacBook Air: (2014) 1.7 GHz i7 / 8 GB running Mojave
No sound cards for any, just "built in microphone"
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yeah thats less than ideal. those arent really made for music/ too much noise inside your computer to have analog signals going to it. the type of computer doesnt matter, they all use cheap 'soundcards' internally
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I would like to transfer some old cassettes.
Out of curiosity; whatcha got?
I'm in the process of dispatching 1,300 Yes and Yes-related cassettes. Mostly shows from 1969 - 1999 (started trading on CD after that). The bulk of them were transferred to CD years ago but I have about 100 more tapes that need to be transferred--interviews and solo shows.
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There is an app on Mojave which controls sound input & output. It's called AUDIO MIDI SETUP
On my machine it's located in the Applications folder > Utilities folder
On the left side it has a sidebar panel which lists all available inputs and outputs. When you click on each of them, you can adjust settings like # of channels, bit depth, sample rate, and format (float or integer? Mine doesn't offer options other than integer right now)
Found it in same location in Catalina. Only input option on left is "built in microphone." I read somewhere that the single audio port on recent/current Macs, though labeled "headphones" can also double as input but I cannot figure out how to make it happen.
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almost any basic external sound card from the cheapest motu or focusrite is gonna sound a lot better than the built-in line in
Hmm. So something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-External-Headphone-Microphone-Desktops/dp/B01N905VOY/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=external+sound+card+mac&qid=1593379858&sr=8-7
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if the tapes are important to you, id spend a little on an interface
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBoxUSB96--presonus-audiobox-usb-96
in reality, for most cassette transfers the quality of the deck itself (and whether it is aligned and calibrated) will be the limiting factor
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I can send you my old SE-U55
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Onkyo-SE-U55-USB-Digital-Audio-Processor-for-computers-Japan/293626730464?hash=item445d8457e0:g:UYUAAOSwo69excLw
No one seems to want it but it does an excellent job at 16/44 cassette transfers. I don't need money, just more Yes recordings.
There is almost no learning curve.
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you can also use any of the numerous digital recorders by tascam, zoom, and others, which can also be found starting around $100 and are a useful addition to your toolkit. even the small voice recorders by olympus and sony will offer better performance than the mac line-in
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I can send you my old SE-U55
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Onkyo-SE-U55-USB-Digital-Audio-Processor-for-computers-Japan/293626730464?hash=item445d8457e0:g:UYUAAOSwo69excLw
No one seems to want it but it does an excellent job at 16/44 cassette transfers.
There is almost no learning curve.
^thats what you want! and a generous offer.
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you can also use any of the numerous digital recorders by tascam, zoom, and others, which can also be found starting around $100 and are a useful addition to your toolkit. even the small voice recorders by olympus and sony will offer better performance than the mac line-in
I was wondering if anyone was going to post this idea.
I use my MixPre-6 to record tapes and vinyl to convert to digital.
The extra step is a PITA, but it's really not that bad.
Looks like the OP has plenty of options from their sig.
Tape player > Line in on the M10 will work great.
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Tape player > Line in on the M10 will work great.
really any of the modern digital recorders do fine when fed a nice hot line signal
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I can send you my old SE-U55
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Onkyo-SE-U55-USB-Digital-Audio-Processor-for-computers-Japan/293626730464?hash=item445d8457e0:g:UYUAAOSwo69excLw
No one seems to want it but it does an excellent job at 16/44 cassette transfers.
There is almost no learning curve.
Appreciate the offer. I found this: "To record from an analog source with the SE-U55 (using a Mac), you go into the analog line in or use the mic input." Do you know how this would work with my current hardware? None of my three units seem to have inputs...
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Tape player > Line in on the M10 will work great.
really any of the modern digital recorders do fine when fed a nice hot line signal
Ah!! Now I'm getting it!! So obvious in retrospect, I feel a little silly. I've got literally about a dozen decks within a few feet of me. D'oh!! Thanks to all who replied, I appreciate it!
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i feel silly for not seeing your sig!
the M10 would be fine for cassettes
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^ this. Run line in on one of the recorders you list in your sig.
One of them likely can output usb, and act as a sound card.
But, I'd recommend a different workflow, based on prior experience.
Just record the line in input, then upload the file to your mac later.
Tape head alignment and pitch correction likely more important than most everything digital.
Even on modern macs, system scheduling issues can mean that your usb input to buffer process can get screwed up without an overt sign.
Running tape deck > recorder is super simple and rock solid.
Nice to be able to import and track whenever you have time, and simultaneously just churn through your pile of cassettes any time you walk by, day and night, until it's done.
Finally, a bit of research on which of those older shows are available to torrent or whatever can save a ton of time and energy. Tracking 1200 cassettes will take forever.
Have fun!
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I use two digi SD recorders for my transfers. I've had a MAC, had Windows used Echo boxes to convert etc. IMO, the easiest way is cassette > Digi recorder. The PMD661 has 1/8" analog in, and the DR 680 has RCA analog ins
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Running tape deck > recorder is super simple and rock solid.
Nice to be able to import and track whenever you have time, and simultaneously just churn through your pile of cassettes any time you walk by, day and night, until it's done.
Finally, a bit of research on which of those older shows are available to torrent or whatever can save a ton of time and energy. Tracking 1200 cassettes will take forever.
Yep, this is the plan. Just ordered RCA to 1/8" stereo cable, will patch from deck to line in on M10. I'll start churning away at the stack of cassettes then import and track at my leisure.
Fortunately 90+% of the tapes have already been transferred. I have about 60 interview/radio show cassettes that I'm sending away for transfer. The digitization place says they'll convert to 128bit mp3 which is adequate enough for me as they're only mostly spoken word. I have another 50 tapes that are concert recordings though and those I want to transfer myself at the highest quality possible.
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I can send you my old SE-U55
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Onkyo-SE-U55-USB-Digital-Audio-Processor-for-computers-Japan/293626730464?hash=item445d8457e0:g:UYUAAOSwo69excLw
No one seems to want it but it does an excellent job at 16/44 cassette transfers.
There is almost no learning curve.
Appreciate the offer. I found this: "To record from an analog source with the SE-U55 (using a Mac), you go into the analog line in or use the mic input." Do you know how this would work with my current hardware? None of my three units seem to have inputs...
Macs? Wait... don't all macs have USB ports? SE-U55 is a USB A>D unit. It's (OMG I'm gonna say it: "Old School" now!)
The other thing I would try (back on the early 2000s) is RCA out form the cassette deck to RCA in on the SBM-1, then COAX out from there to any digi-in recorder. I think jerryfreak said he has the SBM-1 you'd want ( I can't believe I still remember this stuff) and I can send you a PMD661 for the tail end. Then you'd just need to transfer files off the card. Once you set up the sound prefs on your mac(s), though, you can pull clean USB in audio and record in sound studio, which is what I did to all those DATs from 2001-2011. I have a ton of crap you could use for this, just ping me.
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I've found my newer Macs to be a PITA when it comes to using any sort of USB interface when it comes to connecting audio. Some aren't even recognized and won't record anything less than 44.1 kHZ (I had some LP DATs). I ran around for months before just coming down and using a Marantz PMD 671 to transfer the tapes to. Then copy it from the CF card.
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Hi all - It looks like I'm a tad late to this thread already, but all I was going to offer was the solution that a few others have suggested - using a recording unit and then off-loading the files into the computer. I've been using my trusty Edirol R-04 as a cassette transfer interface for years now, and then when the built-in drive starts to fill up, I just transfer the files to the computer via a USB cable. The only difference in my case is that I've got an offline PC dedicated for audio processing, as I'm not really a fan of the audio software available for Macs; but hey, that's just my personal preference. Good luck with your transfers!