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Adventures in digitizing......
Feb. 3rd, 2010 10:21 pmOne of the things I've wanted to do with my computer is to use it to digitize my record and tape collection, and convert them to audio CDs.
Last week, I picked up the Honestech Audio Recorder 2.0 at Big Lots. It's a package which contains adapter cables and software to perform audio capture and editing. Overall, the package is inexpensive and easy to use. It doesn't have any special settings to remove tape hiss or record scratches, though. And I had a hard time figuring out how to break up the audio stream into tracks.
So far, I've digitized two albums that I had previously recorded to cassette tape. One was a tape of the Caroleers' "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", a Christmas album I've had since I was in kindergarten. The other was a tape of Billy Joel's first solo album, "Cold Spring Harbor", that I obtained from a friend in high school. This 1971 release has notoriety because it was mastered at a speed slightly slower than normal, resulting in Billy's voice sounding higher than natural. The album was re-released in 1983, but the orchestral tracks were removed.
One thing I've discovered is that the source has to be high-quality to have a CD-quality result. Cold Spring Harbor was recorded on one side of a TDK D C-90 tape nearly 30 years ago, and whatever high range it had has been lost. As a result, the final product sounds a bit muddy. I'd very much like to get my own copy of the original 1971 album and re-digitize it, if I can find a copy. I think I saw a copy on EBay for $40.
Last week, I picked up the Honestech Audio Recorder 2.0 at Big Lots. It's a package which contains adapter cables and software to perform audio capture and editing. Overall, the package is inexpensive and easy to use. It doesn't have any special settings to remove tape hiss or record scratches, though. And I had a hard time figuring out how to break up the audio stream into tracks.
So far, I've digitized two albums that I had previously recorded to cassette tape. One was a tape of the Caroleers' "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", a Christmas album I've had since I was in kindergarten. The other was a tape of Billy Joel's first solo album, "Cold Spring Harbor", that I obtained from a friend in high school. This 1971 release has notoriety because it was mastered at a speed slightly slower than normal, resulting in Billy's voice sounding higher than natural. The album was re-released in 1983, but the orchestral tracks were removed.
One thing I've discovered is that the source has to be high-quality to have a CD-quality result. Cold Spring Harbor was recorded on one side of a TDK D C-90 tape nearly 30 years ago, and whatever high range it had has been lost. As a result, the final product sounds a bit muddy. I'd very much like to get my own copy of the original 1971 album and re-digitize it, if I can find a copy. I think I saw a copy on EBay for $40.
