USB Cassette Deck

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Cassette to PC on the cheap

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We've all got 'em - stacks of old C90s, C60s and a whole host of other crazy formats that used to be popular in the 80s! So if you're feeling the pinch at the moment and want a cheap way to get your old school tunes onto your PC then what are the options?

As you've probably noticed, your sound card at the back of the PC has a number of different inputs on it, next to the place where your speakers are likely plugged in now. These inputs take a standard 3.5mm jack. If you've got a spare 3.5mm male to male lead lying around, as well as a tape deck, then you should be able to record your old cassettes to PC this way.

Just connect the jack from the headphone socket on the tape deck, to the line in on your sound card. Now, we'll get to the recording part at the moment. But it's also worth noting that you've got a couple of important volume controls here to play with. On your PC, you've got the system volume sliders. On the cassette deck, you can adjust the output volume too.

So what can you use to record the the tapes to your computer? The best tool you can get, for free, is Audacity. This has some special filters to help when recording from tape. And also has the ability to clean up your recordings, and remove noise. Recording with this tool is pretty easy to do, and there's some sophisticated digital levels you can monitor to make sure your old albums are going to sound their best once they're recorded.

If you're looking for a SUPER EASY way to make high quality recordings from Cassette to PC, we recommend the USB Cassette Deck. Compare prices here and get a good deal on one today.

USB Cassette Deck FAQs

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Can you use Tape2PC with the Mac?

Yes, both the casette deck and the software are Mac compatible. Audacity is an open source tool that works on both operating systems. And there is a version of the recording software included for both PC and Mac.

What will the quality be like?

The output quality of the audio will depend a great deal on the quality of the original cassette recording. And while the sound will not be CD quality, you will be pleasantly surprised how good the quality is. There are a number of filters that can be quickly and easily applied to remove background noise and other problems in the audio.

Where's the cheapest place to get the USB Cassette Deck?

There are a number of places online where you can purchase Ion's Tape2PC product. The prices can vary as much as £30. There's a good list of places to buy this product on this page. They're ranked in order, with the cheapest first, and this page also shows the current delivery costs.

Can anyone use this product?

One of the good things about Ion is that they've been creating X to PC type products for years and they always make them easy to use. If you're thinking of buying this for a relative who isn't particularly computer savvy then you can rest assured. The software, setup and everything else is genuinnely easy.