Topic: Transferring my recordings to CD using Mac

[The Reverend]

Hi,
I used to tape loads in the 1980s and have a great set of Metal/Chrome analog masters which I'd now like to transfer to CD. I have no standalone CD recorder so it'd have to be in conjunction with my Mac. I own a superb tape deck which really draws out the best from my recordings so, the question is, how do I best get these recordings from the deck to the Mac? And when they're on the Mac how do I best "improve" the sound and then transfer to tracked CD (I already have Titanium Toast 10 if that helps). Money's tight so if anyone can suggest not only a method but also what free Mac software is available to do the job, I'd be eternally grateful!
Cheers people!
The Rev

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

If you own a recent Mac (Macbook/Macbook Pro) I'm under the impression that the A>D converter is pretty decent.

Don't see any reason you can just run a RCA Out > 1/8" cable into your Mac.

As for software Audacity is free and pretty easy to use.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/mac

[The Reverend]

Thanks for that. I have an iMac in fact (shoulda mentioned that before), does it have audio inputs?

[DigiGal]

Thanks for that. I have an iMac in fact (shoulda mentioned that before), does it have audio inputs?

Sure...

http://store.apple.com/us/tab?node=home/shop_mac/family/imac&tcid=tg_tabcontroller&tab=1

[andromedanwarmachine]

Hey Reverend!

I've got a ton of compact-cassette based media myself and this is quite interesting to hear of someone going through this. (I am also a Mac user)

I daresay this topic will snowball in replies regarding clean-up software, but I think I can offer what I would consider to be a golden nugget of info. regarding the process of inbound transfer.- Leave the NR off.

What did you record this footage on originally? And did you use noise reduction? I used to tape alot on my Sony Pro Walkmans and even with the liscenced Dolby circuitry I couldn't get Dolby compatibility with any of my other domestic decks on B or C. The impact it had made a significant dent in the top end spectral footprint of the material and the best outcome was to run without.

If you leave this off for playback, you have the option to do something about it with the more powerful dynamic abilities of software based notch filters and suchlike (but that is perhaps for someone else to advise you on) the key thing is to transfer- "noise" and all! You can clean-up what has already been compressed. I don't think it's worth the signal degredation to lose the hiss...

What deck have you got for playback...?

JimP

[ArchivalAudio]

If you are gonna transfer casette masters please transfer them in 24bit either 24/44.1 or 24/48 (DVD audio samples at this rate) of 24/96 then do a SRC and rediter if necessary.


I would still use some kind of USB or Fire wire device to convert the audio - MOTU products work great- love my Ultralite!
ther is a new mackie Onyx blackjack- have not used it

I still find the best most trouble frre way for a transfer is to use a standalone Flash based recorder  ( I use my Fostex FR2-LE over the MOTU- but that was with my old iBook- and have yet to try it with my iMac)
you could try a sony M-10 to trasnsfer then pop the MicroSD into an SD card adapter and plug it into your iMac
I would strongly suggest 24bit transfers! - which is easy to do with either of the two methods listed above:

then use the software of your choice

I was using an older version of audacity, but it did not do well when converting sample rates and dither.. it added a small amount of silence to the end of each track when going from 24/48 to 16/44.1

I now am using
Wave Editor  (designed for Mac) by
http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/waveeditor/
it is free for 2 weeks then $79
the main advantage is that it license izotope SRC

Wave Editor incorporates iZotope's industry best 64-bit SRC™ and MBIT+™ dither. We also have incorporated iZotope's SonicFit™ time/pitch technology. This ensures that Wave Editor delivers the highest fidelity and the best value on the market.

you can try it for free  there are some things I wish it had - like better use of keyboard shortcuts for zooming on the wave form and to add a track marker, but once you get it its simple and works great.


also I always use xACT to convert to waves to FLAC ( oh yes save a wav files it's easier for many things over AIFF files- like I used to do)  when your files are in Flac form - you can use xACT to write meta data and peropely name and tag each track.
then you can drop your flac's right into toast and burn direct to CD- and now your cd tracks will have all the cd tsxt and other meta data associated with your recordings - such as you, and source info etc.


you might also post or at least read on the team Mac thread here:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=136616.240

--Ian