Comments on: Spoken-Word-Audio-Filter: What is the best way to get audio from tapes to my Powerbook?

Question: Spoken-Word-Audio-Filter: What is the best way to get audio from tapes to my Powerbook?

plemeljr — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 11:23:40 -0800

Spoken-Word-Audio-Filter: What is the best way to get audio from tapes to my Powerbook?

Here's the deal: I'm using a Marantx PMD222 cassette analog recorder to field record interviews (and sometimes sounds) of New Yorker's for a project of mine. I want to use the original tapes as masters, but then convert them to a .wav file in order to create a digital master. I can then downsample it to whatever I need. The intended output is primarily through the web, but with a view toward compiling a CD for distribution.

The PMD222 has a RCA jack out (mono) so I figured I could use the Edirol UA-1EX connected to my PowerBook as the input. I'm not looking for 100% studio sound, nor could I afford it - I would be willing to spend about $200.

Are there any other ways I could convert the analog to digital using my powerbook? Is the Edirol UA-1EX a good product? Are there any other proiducts out there which would be better?

Thanks!

By: SirStan

SirStan — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 11:36:11 -0800

Powerbook's dont have line in?

By: plemeljr

plemeljr — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 11:44:53 -0800

Powerbooks do have a line in, but I don't really trust it. I guess I'm looking for a few steps up than just plugging it into my PB.

By: mbrubeck

mbrubeck — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 12:37:43 -0800

On the cheap end, the Griffin iMic (US$40) USB audio device should work just fine for this, with better quality than most on-board sound cards. It supports up to 48kHz and 24-bit samples. It only has 1/8" stereo jacks, so you'll need a converter cable to hook it up to your tape player.

By: Sallyfur

Sallyfur — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 14:00:27 -0800

I'm using the iMic right now to digitize a giant stack of vinyl, and I would recommend it for your task. It's a small USB item with a line in and a line out (for monitoring) that lets you record to a laptop without HD sound contaminating your recording. It comes with an RCA-to-1/8 adaptor.

It also comes with Final Vinyl, a decent recording application that allows you to set cue markers and trim out noise and unwanted tracks. You can set cues as you monitor, or just save to a single file, if you want to get the audio on your HD fast and edit later.

This lets you save separate track files (in .aiff format) from a single recording like one side of a tape.

It's well under your budget, even if you need to buy another HD to save the files to.