Transferring cassettes on Mac OS

[tapeheadtoo]

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?

[dyneq]

What hardware do you have?

[nassau73]

Does this help?

[botz]

I would like to transfer some old cassettes.

Out of curiosity;  whatcha got?

[morst]

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)

[jerryfreak]

almost any basic external sound card from the cheapest motu or focusrite is gonna sound a lot better than the built-in line in

[tapeheadtoo]

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.

[tapeheadtoo]

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"

[jerryfreak]

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

[tapeheadtoo]

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.

[tapeheadtoo]

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.

[tapeheadtoo]

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

[jerryfreak]

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

[jb63]

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.

[jerryfreak]

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