Keep in mind that the more you play a tape, the more its signal is degraded.
Tapes are especially susceptible to heat, dirt, and magnetism, so get them converted while you might.
A decent playback unit
Photo byPete.
Ideally, you’ll want to use a high-quality tape deck.
Since they’re rarely produced now, you may find an old one that has seen better days.
Just confirm that it doesn’t have any playback problems before you begin.
As long as you hear minimal noise (the less, the better), it should work fine.
Anything produced within the last few years should support stereo input at the same quality level as CDs.
In this guide, we’ll be working withAudacity.
Click that link to head over to their website and download the program.
Right after that, hit the play button on your tape player.
Now, you must wait for the duration of your tape.
After your tape is done playing, hit the stop button and we’ll begin to process the recording.
The darker gray area is what we’ve highlighted and plan to delete.
Repeat this process for the end of your recording until you’ve gotten rid of all the excess noise.
To compress your file into a reasonable size but still retain the maximum quality, select FLAC.
For maximum compatibility and more compression, while still retaining a very reasonable amount of quality, select MP3.
