Sampling from cassettes?

Takedown

Takedown

New member
I have a bit of a problem. I found my grandpa's old cassette player so I figured I'd start sampling the tapes that him and my dad played when I was a kid. Problem is, when I record it into a DAW or any other recording program, it's stupid loud. Everything sounds distorted and shitty. The cassette player is hooked up to my computer through the analog mic input using a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cord, then a 1/4 inch to 3.5 mm adapter that goes directly into the cassette player.
 
Your problem probably lies in the fact that you are using your mic input. You want to use your "line" input for Turntables, CD Players and Tape decks.
 
It's a laptop with 2 regular audio jacks though. One input is an analog mic input, the other one is a headphone output.
 
Alright, then you have 2 options. Turn the volume on the tape deck, or you computers mic sensitivity way down. Or you could buy a USB soundcard, with the proper audio inputs. I recommend doing this, as having a line in jack is essential for sampling. The response is lower, and the quality is greater.
 
Pretty much any website man.
Try going to amazon.com and searching "PPA International 1455 USB 6 Channel External Sound". (Sorry I can't post links yet, so you'll just have to go there yourself)

file_23_17.jpg
It will look like this.

That one there is 20 dollars. It's a cheap and cheerful solution, but that's probably for the best, since all you need it for is one audio jack (of which the raw component is worth less than a dollar). You could pay hundreds of dollars on some top notch gear, but I don't think that's necessary, for something this basic.
The device also has S/PDIF ports, which is high quality digital sound, so you could find yourself sampling movies from DVD and Blu Ray players, if they have S/PDIF outputs on them.
 
The heads on your cassette deck are probably dirty as hell. Honestly I love the cassette format but I grew up listening to cassettes in the late 80s and early 90s
 
It might be possible to go into settings and simply switch your input from mic to line level.

---------- Post added at 12:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 PM ----------
Gecko Infinite said:
Pretty much any website man.
Try going to amazon.com and searching "PPA International 1455 USB 6 Channel External Sound". (Sorry I can't post links yet, so you'll just have to go there yourself)

View attachment 35871
It will look like this.

That one there is 20 dollars. It's a cheap and cheerful solution, but that's probably for the best, since all you need it for is one audio jack (of which the raw component is worth less than a dollar). You could pay hundreds of dollars on some top notch gear, but I don't think that's necessary, for something this basic.
The device also has S/PDIF ports, which is high quality digital sound, so you could find yourself sampling movies from DVD and Blu Ray players, if they have S/PDIF outputs on them.
Click to expand...

That shit looks like a cheap and nasty interface for surround sound as opposed to an interface that is suitable for music production.
 
I went into the mic setting in the control panel, and found out Windows was adding an extra 24 db to the input -.- thanks though, it works fine now. I've gotta get a new adapter though, mine is really shitty.

Has anyone else ever tried sampling with cassettes?

---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 PM ----------
Xabiton said:
The heads on your cassette deck are probably dirty as hell. Honestly I love the cassette format but I grew up listening to cassettes in the late 80s and early 90s
Click to expand...

Do you know how I'd be able to clean it?
 
I just recently replaced a belt on my cassette deck so I could archive some old tapes and perhaps record some new ones.

I just use isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip to clean the heads.
 
besides the head...cleaning the pinch rollers and guide pins may help also...tapes were the shyt but when they got ate up that was a bytch. Make sure its clean when u go a long time without using it.
 
hollandturbine said:
That shit looks like a cheap and nasty interface for surround sound as opposed to an interface that is suitable for music production.
Click to expand...

Did you even read my post? I would never spend more than 20 dollars on something as elementary as a line input. I do know the difference between cheap gear and suitable gear, but I don't think that applies here. Also since the guy is producing music on a laptop with only a headphone out socket, I doubt he's getting incredible studio quality as it is. I merely suggested buying something cheap first, before looking into top flight equipment, because I consider having some kind of line input an essential, rather than a luxury. However, if Takedown has the money to spend, then by all means he can buy higher grade gear.

I agree with everyone else, though. Open that player up and clean the hell out of it.
 
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Gecko Infinite said:
Did you even read my post? I would never spend more than 20 dollars on something as elementary as a line input. I do know the difference between cheap gear and suitable gear, but I don't think that applies here. Also since the guy is producing music on a laptop with only a headphone out socket, I doubt he's getting incredible studio quality as it is. I merely suggested buying something cheap first, before looking into top flight equipment, because I consider having some kind of line input an essential, rather than a luxury. However, if Takedown has the money to spend, then by all means he can buy higher grade gear.
Click to expand...

What you presented was perfectly OK, I just felt that it was necessary to play devils advocate and point out the product's shortcomings.
 
Takedown said:
I went into the mic setting in the control panel, and found out Windows was adding an extra 24 db to the input -.- thanks though, it works fine now. I've gotta get a new adapter though, mine is really shitty.

Has anyone else ever tried sampling with cassettes?

---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 PM ----------



Do you know how I'd be able to clean it?
Click to expand...
Q Tip rubbing alcohol and just gently rub the heads a little bit
 
i've actually sampled from a cassette before and it came out pretty smooth....I've read that Eric Sermon sampled that Marvin Gaye joint for "Music" off cassettet too.
 
I'm no genius on this aspect of sampling but wouldn't this require running through a preamp and/or soundcard?
 
I recorded through a soundcard with in/out lines from a deck onto my computer, into FL. Chopped it up there.
 
Oh4Re△L?!;49434210 said:
I'm no genius on this aspect of sampling but wouldn't this require running through a preamp and/or soundcard?
Click to expand...
no cassette players are line level
 
Should you wish to incorporate the sonic qualities of tape into your own music it's a good idea to fast forward any new cassette before you record onto it.
 
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