Thread: remastering old tapes to put on mp3

ok here goes, i,ve got many many old tapes from 1991-2005 but b4 i plug in my tape deck i was wondering if there was any way of remastering the old tapes before i put them on mp3 so i get a better quality sound to put onto cd and upload as an mp3 file,i was hopeing there was some way to remove the hiss and maybe add a little bass or remove treble,AND all this from a free programme,im very green on this subject so any help is more that appreciated,Fingers Crossed ,321Gone.

There are ways, but don't expect it to suddenly sound like it came from cd

I don't really record tapes, but the principle is the same as with recording records.
Once u have it recorded, I use a program called Cool Edit Pro 2 (Or Adobe Audition 3) to remove any hiss / noise etc.
These progs aren't free (unless u know where to find them ). Once installed, u basically get it to anaylise the hiss (by itself) using the noise reduction filter & then remove that sound away from the rest.
Due to the treble also using some of those frequencies, it will reduce the treble & can make things sound a bit tinny, but u can adjust the amount it does it by to get a happy medium.
It also has eq, so u can adjust the bass a bit as well.
Just don't expect miracles

in my experience it's often best to go easy on the noise reduction.
the main thing is not to expect a leap in sound quality as it wont happen.
if frequencies have been lost they cannot be replaced.

Definitely do before and after comparisons as some processes (like the previously mentioned noise reduction) can throw up some strange audible artifacts. And when setting up the recording do a trial run on a reasonable loud section (where both kick & bass are playing) to set the recording level (leave a little head room but set a high level).

Oh keep your mobile away from it and disable any sounds from pop ups, MSN etc.

one other thing...dont be tempted to normalise the resulting soundfile to boost the volume. use the amplify function of your wave editor instead. this will avoid the breakdowns becoming stupidly loud in comparison to the rest of the recording

Thanks for the help people ,,i,ll dig around for those programmes i guess i,ll have to save hard for em :p ,and i,ll just play around with the settings you all mentioned until i get a kind of happy medium,burn a disc crank it on my big stereo and try hear if i,ve gone wrong anywhere or can improve on quality more ..Then back to the old drawing board.thanks again for the info lads i,ll get my head down with this one in the coming week.much appreciated

Just be prepared for a slog fella. I use a top quality tape deck and cables and run it all through a graphic so I've had two chances to tweak it before it even gets converted. Then once it's on pc you can use the software asmentioned to tweak it again. Then, once that is done, I can burn to CD and run it through the graphic and repeat if I have to.

It's a labour of love!

So that means do my favorite tapes with the better quality first ,then do my other tapes with the crappy quality a close 2nd this way i get something good to listen to just as the slog begins, nice advice danril good man

i record my vinyl with wavelab.
denoiser and declicker and it sounds pretty good..

Or for those of you that use Apple Macs another alternative is Audacity, which is free.

There's a nice little tutorial here too http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2006/techtips-10dec06.htm

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Phil_Leeds

Or for those of you that use Apple Macs another alternative is Audacity, which is free.

There's a nice little tutorial here too http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2006/techtips-10dec06.htm

Good luck!

nice one phil,,,

hope i do it right.... do you know a prog for a laptop that use windows 7.... that way i do not have to move the pc or my decks from one room to the next...

[quote=awesome 3][quote="Phil_Leeds":3c3enbwz]Or for those of you that use Apple Macs another alternative is Audacity, which is free.

There's a nice little tutorial here too [url]http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2006/techtips-10dec06.htm[/url]

Good luck![/quote]




nice one phil,,,

hope i do it right.... do you know a prog for a laptop that use windows 7.... that way i do not have to move the pc or my decks from one room to the next...[/quote:3c3enbwz]

Audacity also works on the PC - I have windows 7 & that installed - it works fine
[url="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/"]http://audacity.sourceforge.net/[/url]

I use audition, and create a noise reduction profile from the start of the tape. have to be careful you dont get clipping if your input levels are too high

Will you be using one of those tape to MP3 USB gizmos off ebay?

just a quick one ..... remember alwaysd record with your EQ flat and never try and remove hiss/pops ect on the way in to your Pc .... you will not help the sound

better to record with all the the crap still there and try and remove it later

im not up on hiss removal algorithm`s but i find tweeking the EQ a little can get rid of the worst .. but tbh somtimes its better to live with the hiss than than trying to remove it