Burning CDs from LPs and Tapes

One of the things that many people want to do with the CD-burner on their computer is create audio CDs from their library of cassette tapes, 8-tracks, and vinyl (LPs). While it's relatively straightforward to copy audio CDs or create compilation CDs from tracks from other CDs, it seems scarier to make CDs from other media. I'm not a pro, but here are some tips that I've learned the hard way.

Assumptions

1) I assume you have a CD-burner (or DVD-burner) on a PC or Mac, and are relatively familiar with burning an audio CD... I'm not going to focus on this end of the process... instead, my emphasis is going to be on getting burnable audio files onto your computer from your tapes and LPs.

2) I'm assuming that you have an audio system-- a stereo, with a turntable and a tape-deck. Further, I'm assuming that your tape-deck or stereo has a set of output plugs-- either Tape Out plugs on the back of a tape-deck, a line-out plug on the stereo, or (worst-case scenario) a headphone jack. If you can't get an audio signal out of your system, you can't record anything into your computer!

3) I'm assuming that you're comfortable enough with your computer and with software in general that you can experiment... you're probably using different hardware than I used, and different software. As a result, my instructions and illustrations won't exactly match what you'll see in real life. Be prepared to experiment! Feel free to e-mail me with questions, if you're stuck... but I can't guarantee that I can help!

• Do your audio gear have separate components? If so, perhaps the easiest thing is to go from your tape deck's Play or Line Out or Tape Out plugs to your computer. Typically, these so-called RCA plugs .Your computer uses a 1/8" Mini-stereo plug in the sound-card's Line-In (preferably) or Mike-In jack. So get an adapter cable-- Radio Shack, or most stores that sell audio or electronics parts or equipment will have these. You may also need to get an extension cable to stretch this further. (Make sure it's stereo!)
  

  RCA to Mini cable	Mini extension cable




• If you don't have a separate tape deck, but have a stereo receiver, connect to the Tape Out or Aux Out connectors.
  
  
• Don't connect directly to your turntable. Turntables require pre-amps to boost and equalize the signal from the cartridge, and won't record properly if connected directly to your computer. Instead, get the signal from your turntable after it has been boosted and equalized through your receiver-- either directly from the receiver, or through your tape deck. I prefer connecting to the tape deck, as that way I can make CDs from both tapes and vinyl LPs with a single connection. (Yes, if you have a separate pre-amp, you can use this to boost the turntable's signal)
  
  
• If you want, while you're buying cables, pick up a pair of RCA-Y-connectors ... get ones with one male plug to two female plugs. Plugging these into your tape-deck's Line Out connectors will let you leave the tape deck plugged into your stereo receiver while plugging into your computer as well-- this not only saves time and hassle if you do this often, but lets you use your home stereo to monitor the recording process.
  
  RCA Y-connector
  
  
• Is your tape deck built-in? If so, it probably doesn't have separate outputs. Better one-piece units will still have a Line Outplug-- maybe a pair of RCA plugs, or maybe a single 1/8" Miniplug. Again, get the appropriate cable, with optional extension to connect to your computer's Line In plug. Worst case scenario-- there's only a headphone jack, probably a 1/8" Mini plug, possibly a 1/4" Stereo plug. I say worst-case, because the signal is amplified, and you'll need to be careful not to overdrive your sound-card's input, causing distortion in your recording.
  
  
• Using a Walkman-style portable tape player? Again, you're best-off if there's a Line Out plug, but if not, you can connect from the headphone connector-- with care during recording.

• speaker out: for plugging in speakers, using a relatively low-powered audio-amplifier on the sound card. This is also used for plugging in a headphone.
• line out: for connecting to an external stereo system or to speakers with their own amplifier. (On higher-end sound cards, you may have two outputs-- for front and rear pairs of speakers).
• mike in (aka mic-in): this is for plugging a microphone into the computer; it expects a higher-level signal than the line in circuit. It can be used in a pinch, but you may have to adjust levels when recording.
• line in: this is for sending an audio signal into the computer from audio-gear: home stereo, mixing board, etc. This is the one we're looking for.

Creative Labs Extigy	Griffin Technology iMic

makes sure that the levels of the sound coming into the computer are neither too low nor too loud, but just right.


Mac OSX Sound system preference

About signal levels

You may be able to adjust the level with a Gain or Level control (as in the Mac Sound control panel or the Windows speaker controls), or with a volume control on your stereo. (Depending how you're hooked up, your stereo's volume controls may or may not affect the strength of the signal being sent from your audio equipment to your computer). If you can't control the levels at this stage, you're better off with a lower-strength signal; you can boost a quiet sound later, but if you've recorded a distorted signal, there's nothing you can do later to get rid of the distortion. However, if your signal is too low, you'll get a lot of background noise, and boosting the signal will also boost this noise, sometimes making the music unlistenable.

(Note: the Mac sound Control Panel has both a level control and a meter so you can see the effect of changing the level. This is a very good thing).

Part 3 Ready to Record (Mac)

You'll need some software to record on your computer. Classic OS Macs include basic recording software. SimpleSound  is usable, if no-frills. When it opens, you'll see a list of System Alert Sounds-- go to the Sound menu to select CD Quality, then the File/New menu to record a new sound. Click the Record button, and away you go! When you're done, you can save the file with the name and location of your choice. SimpleSound records in uncompressed AIFF format, which can be later converted to CD Audio by your CD burning application.



There's no equivalent to Simple Sound built-into OS X. Better, though is the free Audio Recorder, a simple recording application that saves in either uncompressed AIFF (use this if making audio CDs) or compressed MP3 format.

Whether using OSX or the classic Mac OS, you will want a more sophisticated recording program. There are lots of options, many of which can be downloaded-- though in most cases, users will need to buy a product code to continue to use a program after a trial period. On the Internet, you may want to go to someplace like Download.com and search for recording. Doing so  got me 131 Windows hits and 17 Mac hits-- though many are for CD burning, 'ripping' audio from CDs inserted into your computer, or other things that while interesting, may not be what you want to do right now.

Well worth checking out: Audacity, a very capable and free recording program, available in versions for Windows, Mac (both classic and OS X) and Linux.Unix. Plug-ins (to the free, open-sounce Lame) are required to save in the popular MP3 format; these are available for most (but not all) versions on the site. Development of the classic Mac version has stopped with the 1.0 version release; OS X development is continuing.

The biggest lack in Audacity is that (at least as of July 2003)  it doesn't provide VU meters-- a way to keep an eye on the levels while recording. This makes it difficult to know in real-time whether you're recording is too loud (and distorting) or too quiet to be usable.  There are lots of other options-- though many downloadable programs are demo-ware, which will work for a limited amount of time, then may disable themselves unless you purchase a serial number.

Stop the presses!  The current versions for Audacity now have VU meters, making this a very usable-- and free program. Check it out!

Among other programs worth checking out are:

• Peak LE is the lite version (US$99) of the full Bias Peak (US$199-699) application. There are downloadable 14-day trial versions of both. I like Peak LE for recording on the Mac. The new 3.0 version is OS X-native.

• Coaster is a free recorder with a good set of options.
  

• Amadeus II runs under both Mac OS 8.6 and up or natively under OS X; it's a US$25 program that includes recording functions, sound repairing functions, MP3 support and more. 15-day free trial version.
• Sound Studio (free trial-- US$50 to buy). Lets users record and edit AIFF sound files on a Mac under OS X or OS 8.5 or later. Designed to record from a stereo system to computer, di
• gitize cassette tapes, LP, on-air radio, or live performances. It includes filters and effects like fades, reverb, and graphic EQ. (I've purchased this one to use on my Mac-- it's very good!)
• SndSampler (shareware, US$30 to buy) has both classic Mac (OS 8.5+) and OS X versions... lots of power but a somewhat geeky interface.
• Analogue Ripper (Mac OS X: $29) is for recording from LP, cassette, etc-- any analog(ue) source. Includes editing and playback tools for splitting long recordings into tracks. A nice feature lets you record 33 1/3 rpm recordings at 45 or 78 to shorten recording time, then slow them down once they're on your computer. You can also use this (in reverse) to record 78 rpm recordings at 33 (or 45) using a turntable that lacks 78 rpm support.

A good place to check for audio-software is Harmony Central (http://www.harmony-central.com/Software/),  with resources and news for Windows, Mac, DOS, Atari, Amiga, BeOS, and Unix. Or check http://www.mp3-mac.com/Pages/AudioRecorders.html with brief reviews and links for a range of downloadable Mac recording programs.

The one I use is Sound Studio... I'm still using version 2.2.4; there's a new version 3 which I haven't tried (2.2.4 is still available for download). I find Sound Studio simple and reliable with some features that make it work very quickly, especially if you've recorded entire sides of a tape or LP and are splitting it into individual tracks. Highly recommended! (My second choice is the free Audacity).

By now, you should be hooked up to your audio hardware, and have software up and running. It's time to put the vinyl on the turntable or the cassette tape in the tape deck (or just turn on the radio), and load up your chosen recording software.

When you get ready to record, you may be asked what quality to make your recording... if you aren't asked about this, check your software's Preferences or settings to make sure they're what you want. Here's the Sound Quality dialogue for Sound Studio:

These choices-- a 44.100 kHz sample rate, 16-bit sample size, stereo, will provide CD-quality recordings. Figure on needing about 1 MB of drive space for each minute recorded.

Check your levels

What not to do!

Instead..

• Click the Record button on your software (often an icon of a button with a circle or square on it). Here's the screen you'll see in SoundForge XP 5.0:
  
  

• Save your sound file. If you're planning to burn an audio CD, save in an uncompressed format such as Wave (*.Wav for Windows users) or AIFF (for Mac users). If you're wanting to rip MP3 files, your sound application may give you the option to save directly as MP3... but don't do this if you want to make an audio CD-- though you may be able to convert these MP3s to CD Audio, you'll be losing some sound-quality in the process.
  
• If you're planning to make an audio CD, a good idea is to start your filename with the number of your track. In order to easily have your computer sort the tracks in the proper order, for numbers 1- 9, use '01', '02', etc... that way, '02' will be sorted prior to '10' or '11'... so call your first track something like '01 I Love My Dog.wav' or  something similar.
• Once you've saved your track, you may want to record and save the next track, and continue that way until they are all recorded, cleaning up all the tracks at the end. Or you may want to do a bit of processing on each track after it's recorded. Either work-flow is fine. In any event, take a look at the picture of the sound file above. Note the quiet in the first 10 or 11 seconds of the track. I can highlight and delete it-- but I would suggest listening to it first, in case there is some quiet instruments leading into the main sound. Delete the unneeded portion, then listen again-- most software includes an Edit/Undo if you cut out too much.
• Go to the end of the track, and again, listen... there's probably some that you can remove in the same way.
• If your recording levels were low, you can boost the volume. In SoundForge XP 5.0, there's a Process/Volume menu item which gives the following:
  
  
  
  If nothing in the picture of the file is selected, the volume boost will apply to the whole file. If a section is selected, only the selection will be boosted. When you boost the volume, however, you also boost the background noise. And if you recorded with your levels set too high, you may hear audible distortion. In this case, lowering the volume will simply give you quieter distortion. Better to re-record, with your levels adjusted to a more optimal setting.