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Participant
January 23, 2022
Answered

Digital Files to Cassette

  • January 23, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 310 views

Hi,

 

I have been trying to find information on transferring digital files to a cassette through inline to cassette recorder. Is it just as easy as setting up my files in audition, hitting play within the program and record on my cassette recorder? Do I need to account for things like volume, and if so, how would I do that? Any other comments that would be helpful would be very appreciated. 

 

I am trying to do this as a surprise for someone, so this stuff is not necessarily my forte and I am really new to it, so I appreciate any and all responses. 🙂

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer SteveG_AudioMasters_

It is almost that easy, yes. But you do need to set the record level correctly on your cassette recorder, otherwise it will either all come out too quietly, or it will overload and distort. On cassett recorders this isn't a precise science; the distortion increases gradually as the level gets louder, and unlike digital audio, there's no fixed 0dB point. But you don't want to underdo it either, as the noise levels from a typical cassette recorder are relatively high, and you'll notice the hiss. If your recorder has a meter, then find the loudest part of your file, and set the record level so that this registers at around 0dB on the meter, and you should be good to go. But I'd do a few test recordings first to establish whether the results are okay, because the record level meters on most cassette recorders are notoriously uncalibrated, and you might need to alter things. Also the record levels that you can use are rather dependent on the cassettes themselves - there are a lot of different varieties, and some, like Chrome ones, tolerate rather less level before they overload.  HTH.

1 reply

SteveG_AudioMasters_
Community Expert
SteveG_AudioMasters_Community ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
January 23, 2022

It is almost that easy, yes. But you do need to set the record level correctly on your cassette recorder, otherwise it will either all come out too quietly, or it will overload and distort. On cassett recorders this isn't a precise science; the distortion increases gradually as the level gets louder, and unlike digital audio, there's no fixed 0dB point. But you don't want to underdo it either, as the noise levels from a typical cassette recorder are relatively high, and you'll notice the hiss. If your recorder has a meter, then find the loudest part of your file, and set the record level so that this registers at around 0dB on the meter, and you should be good to go. But I'd do a few test recordings first to establish whether the results are okay, because the record level meters on most cassette recorders are notoriously uncalibrated, and you might need to alter things. Also the record levels that you can use are rather dependent on the cassettes themselves - there are a lot of different varieties, and some, like Chrome ones, tolerate rather less level before they overload.  HTH.

Participant
January 24, 2022

Thank you so much, this was really helpful! 🙂