How to Convert Cassette Tapes to CDs or MP3 Files

Transferring the Audio to the PC

Now you are ready to go. Rewind the tape or place the audio program a little before the part that you wish to transfer to the PC. (You can always cut out what you don’t want later.)

This is not supposed to be a full tutorial on Audacity, so we will cover only the basic functions that you must know. You can try playing with other options available by yourself. We also recommend that you read a tutorial or book on Audacity if you really want to explore all of its potential.

Click on the “record” button on Audacity (the red circle icon). Press “play” on your tape deck. Now Audacity should be recording, in digital format, the contents of your tape. Wait until the tape finishes or the part that you want to convert is concluded, and then click on the “stop” icon on Audacity.

Now you have a digital file of your tape. You can save it right away in digital format, using the File, Export function. For now, we recommend that you save it as an Audacity project.

Cassette tapes have a typical noise (called white noise) when they are playing parts that are “silent,” frequently before or after the audio program. We want to capture this noise, as we can “teach” Audacity what noise sounds like, so it can remove noise automatically. We always recommend that you start recording a few seconds before and a few seconds after the part that you want to transfer.

Now that you have your audio file in front of you, select a few seconds of “tape noise” with the mouse; then go to Effect, Noise Removal, and click on the “Get Noise Profile” box. This will “teach” Audacity what noise sounds like. The window will close. Unselect the noise by clicking anywhere on the screen or by hitting Control+Shift+A. Again, go to Effect, Noise Removal. This time, click on the “Ok” box. Listen to your file by clicking on the “play” icon, and see if you like the end result. If not, simply undo (hit Control Z).

Another useful tool is found under Effect, Normalize. This will fix any volume issues you may have on your file.

After you are done editing your audio file, go to File, Export and either save it as an MP3 file or a WAV file. If you want to create an audio CD, we recommend that you export your file as WAV in order to get the best audio quality. If you want to create a CD with several tracks, (i.e., you want to separate parts of your original file on separate tracks on the CD), you will have to export each part that you want to save as a separate track as a different WAV file.

To create an audio CD, you will need an audio CD burning program, such as Nero, where you must select the project to be an “audio CD” and select the WAV files you want to add. As previously mentioned, each WAV file will be a different track on the CD, so pay attention to the order of the files on the CD, as this will be the track order. Do not select the project as a “CD-ROM” or “data CD.” Otherwise, the CD won’t be playable on conventional CD players.