How to Transfer Cassette Tape to Computer

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher.

There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

This article has been viewed 2,897,030 times.

This wikiHow teaches you how to copy audio from a cassette deck onto a Windows or Mac computer. After you've connected your cassette deck to your computer's "microphone" (or "line-in") input via the proper cable, you can use Audacity (Windows) or QuickTime (Mac) to record the cassettes' audio.

1. Connect your cassette deck to the “line-in” jack on your computer with the right cable.
2. Download and Open Audacity (Windows) or QuickTIme Player (Mac).
3. Start a new audio project.
4. Select the audio input matching the cassette player (“Line In” or “Internal”).
5. Click “Record” and hit “Play” on your cassette player.
6. Stop recording when you’re done.
7. Export and save the file as an MP3.

Preparing to Record

Understand how cassette recording works. To record your cassette audio on your computer, you will need to connect your cassette player to your computer's microphone (or "line-in") port and then set your computer to record only the line-in audio. This will prevent your computer from recording external audio (e.g., background noise) while creating a clean, high-quality recording of your cassette. [1] X Research source

• Almost all cassette decks have a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you'll usually only need a standard 3.5mm cable to connect the deck to your computer.
• Some cassette decks have unbalanced line outputs. You'll recognize those as having red and white ports. For these, you will need an RCA-to-3.5mm cable.
• High-end cassette decks may sport balanced line outputs, with dual 3-pin XLR-F connectors or balanced 1/4" phone jacks. You will need to buy an adapter that fits both your computer's 3.5mm jack and the cassette deck's outputs.

Step 3 Find your computer" width="460" height="345" />

• Desktop computer users will usually find this jack either on the back or the front of the computer's tower.
• Laptop computers almost always have a monophonic line-in and line-out jack. This means that, while you can use the jack for transferring your cassette deck's audio, you won't be able to record in stereo.

• Skip this step if you're connecting either a 3.5mm cassette deck or an unbalanced cassette deck.

• 3.5mm — Plug one end (it doesn't matter which one) of the 3.5mm cable into your cassette deck's 3.5mm line-out (not headphone) port.
• Unbalanced — Plug the red RCA cable into the red port and the white RCA cable into the white port.
• Balanced — Plug the XLR or 1/4" cables into their inputs on the deck.

• Again, the line-in port is usually pink on computers that have separate microphone and headphone inputs.
• If you're using an adapter, you'll plug the 3.5mm cable into the adapter's free end.

Windows — Open Start

Make sure all of your cables are snug. Loose cables can lead to reduced quality during the recording process, so check the cables on both your computer's side and your cassette deck's side to ensure that they are firmly attached. Once you've determined that all of your connections are set, you can proceed with recording your cassette player's audio.

Recording on Windows

• Go to https://www.audacityteam.org/download/ in your web browser.
• Click Audacity for Windows.
• Click the Audacity 2.2.2 installer link.
• Double-click the installer file once it finishes downloading.
• Follow the setup prompts.

Make sure that the sound recording option is MME. In the upper-left side of the Audacity window, you should see "MME" in a drop-down box. If not, click the drop-down box, then click MME.

Click the Audio Input drop-down box. It's a box to the right of the microphone icon near the top of the Audacity window. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.

Click the Line In option. This option's name will vary, but make sure it has "Line In" (or similar) in the title; don't select the Microsoft Sound Mapper or Primary Sound Capture option. [5] X Research source

Click the "Record" button. It's the red circle at the top of the Audacity window. Audacity will begin recording.

Press your cassette deck's "Play" button. The cassette deck should begin playing, and you should see the sound wave in the middle of the Audacity window spike in response.

Stop the recording when you're done. Press your cassette player's "Stop" button, then click the black "Stop"

• Click File in the top-left corner of the window.
• Select Export in the resulting drop-down menu.
• Click Export as MP3 in the pop-out menu.
• Select a save location.
• Enter a file name in the "File name" text box.
• Click Save.
• Click OK when prompted.

Recording on Mac

Open QuickTime. Click the QuickTime app icon, which resembles a "Q", in your Mac's Dock. If it isn't there, you can double-click the QuickTime app icon in the Applications folder instead. [6] X Research source

Click New Audio Recording . This option is near the top of the drop-down menu. Doing so switches the QuickTime window to record only audio.

Click Built-in Line Input . This option is in the drop-down menu. Doing so selects your Mac's line-in item as the item from which to record audio.

Click the "Record" button. It's a red circle in the middle of the QuickTime window. QuickTime will begin recording.

Press your cassette deck's "Play" button. Doing so will cause QuickTime to begin recording your cassette deck's contents.

Stop your recording when you're finished. Once you've recorded the audio you want to save on your computer, press your cassette deck's "Stop" button, then click the red "Record" button in the middle of the QuickTime window again to stop the recording. This will save your recording as an audio file on your Mac's Desktop.

Mastering Your Recorded Audio

• If the recording is too quiet or too noisy (the music is quiet but there's lots "fuzzy" noise), the output was too low and the recording did not have enough signal to offset the noise.
• If the recorded sound sounds like it's being played through a broken speaker or a meat grinder, your recording was too loud, and the sound's distorted.
• You can adjust your computer's sound settings to help offset the above issues.

• When editing, it is a good idea to keep the original file as a backup and change the names of edited files when you save them in case you find you made a mistake. When you're sure you like the edited file, you can delete the original to save drive space on your computer.

• Most audio-editing programs offer some form of normalization.

Apply compression. This is not something you will use for every recording you make, as it can render a lot of music lifeless. It works by keeping the loudest sounds about where they started while bringing up the level of the quieter passages. You lose the difference between the highs and lows—or dynamics—and in return, you get an apparently louder recording. When listening at home, this isn't necessarily desirable, but if you're making a CD for your car, it can be very useful. [8] X Research source

Equalize (EQ) the audio. Depending on your speakers, how they're set up, and the quality of your overall playback system, adjusting the EQ to taste can be helpful. A word of caution, though: like compression, "good" EQ is subjective. While you may adjust the EQ so it sounds great on your system, the same music may sound distorted or off on another system. [9] X Research source

Always work with a copy. Once you've gone through the trouble of converting your old cassettes, make saving a copy of your recording the first thing you do before you start any reconstructive (or just destructive) edits (normalization, EQ, compression, etc.)

Community Q&A

Is there any advantage to buying a commercial cassette tape-to-MP3 converter, versus doing it with my old cassette player?

The only advantage to use a commercial converter is if you're working as a professional sound recording studio specialist. The audio conversion results using the six methods described in this article will be almost as good as far as the end sound results are concerned, so you may prefer to save your money.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

Standard cassette tapes hold 30 minutes of audio per side, so 60 minutes in total. Standard audio CDs generally hold about 80 minutes of audio, assuming it is in standard audio CD format. So, you will get only one tape per CD if you want to produce a CD that will play in any standard CD player. You will get more, however, if you convert the files to MP3 before burning - but many older CD players and low-end models cannot play MP3 CDs, so you'll have to test it first if you go that route.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

The easiest way to keep track and save all your work would be to right click on the desktop and create a "New Folder", right click on this folder and rename it to Recording or your own name preference. This way all your work can be "Save As" and point to the special folder you've made.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

If you're looking for a professional audio conversion tool to help turn your cassettes into audio files, Sound Forge, PolderbitS, Cubase, Garage Band, Logic Pro, and ProTools are all solid (albeit mostly paid) options.

For the reverse operation—transferring digital sound to tape—simply use the same cable setup, but plug one end into the cassette deck's microphone or line in jack, and the other end into the computer's line out, headphone, or speaker jack. Hit record on the cassette deck, then start the songs playing on the computer. Start with a low volume setting and adjust for good quality sound, then rewind and start over the recording at that volume level.

Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

• If the digital copy of the audio sounds distorted (like it's coming through a broken speaker), this is a sign that the signal coming out of the cassette deck was too high. Turn the volume down on the deck a little and see if that improves things. You can always normalize the digital recording afterwards to bring it up to a better volume.
• Check your computer every once in a while because Audacity will not tell you when it is done.

Don't throw away the cassette. Always keep your master copy. You will need it when your hard drive crashes, or you find there was a glitch in your transfer, or when your next new computer can record it better. It also gives you the copyright to your copy you have just made.

Attempting to transfer cassettes using a boombox or portable stereo to play the cassettes may result in recordings of poorer quality than expected.

Take care not to violate copyright laws with your recordings. Cassette tapes may be old, but the copyright is usually still enforceable. Keep these recordings for your own enjoyment; don't sell them to make money.

Be cautious about what kind of cable you use. Cheap cables often lack electronic shielding. If your cable isn't up to par, it may record the buzz of your computer fan as well as the analog audio.

You Might Also Like

Copy & Burn Audio CDs Using Windows Media Player

4 Easy & Fast Ways to Pair TOZO Earbuds

How to Use a Graphic Equalizer

Simple Steps to Pair Skullcandy Wireless Earbuds with Any Device

How to Clean Vintage Stereo Equipment: Step-by-Step Guide