Digitizing voice, Convert tape recordings to digital Options

[dodger]

I just got an Imac FP and would like to convert some recordings made with a hand-held microcassette recorder into the Mac. I interview family members using the recorder as part of genealogy research. My ultimate goal is to burn to a CD and send back to the family.

Is this possible?

[macmax]

Hi
It is possible, but you will need to invest in a firewire or USB Audio interface such as the Midiman Quattro or Digidesign mBox , or any of a host of similar devices.
You dont need anything fancy, as you dont seem to require multitrack abilities , but i would advocate getting the best quality that makes sense.
Your requirements should probably be 24bit 96Khz convertors, and stereo i/o.
(i believe midiman do a unit like this?)
I would recommend betting a decent Audio recording application, as there are various plug-in products available that will allow you to 'clean up' the tape recorded audio once its in the mac,(check out 'Raygun') making the end result cd a much more polished and presentable product.
It is difficult halfway thru a project such as this to change the production method and values, but i would have recommended using a portable DAT recorder, or at the very least a portable MiniDisc recorder, which record digitally and are far better than most portable cassette devices.
Note that the DigiDesign mBox is only designed to work with Protools!
The other products are all multi sequencer platform capable.
best regards
max

.

[lepetitmartien]

Regarding the use, 24/96 is a bit out of context.

For spoken voice a good converter 24/44 or 24/48 is enough. You're not recording the Philharmonic orchestra, yet…

Stereo is not a goal too, except if you interview more than one people at once, then it'll give some life into the interview. But that is a question of mic first point.

Protools free is a powerfull, professional quality product. Relatively easy to grasp but I don't know if is available as AS/RTAS format. Anyway there would be others with the same goal available.

Choice of audio interface depends of the software and the hardware involved, so a bit of other users inputs would be welcome (I don't believe I know every interface available). And surely there's a decent solution just right the corner without loads of cash to spend.

[Mr.T]

Agreed with the previous post. PT free will be the easiest and cheapest (free in fact) way to do this. All you'll need is an audio input on your Mac (is there one on your model?). If so, you'll just have to run a mini-jack cable from your hand-held microcassete recorder to your Mac's in, capture the whole thing in PT free, clean it (silence, levels->volume automation and even a little equing if you wish->PT Free comes with part of the DigiRack which includes an EQ plug), and then bounce it to disc ('Bounce to disk' feature in the File menu).
One advice->since you intend to put the whole thing on CD, forget about 48KHz-24 bit sessions, all you need is a 44.1KHz-16 bit session, since that's the only format CD handles. If you're interested, go there to download PT Free (and maybe the manual too...) :
www.digidesign.com
Hope that helps.
Greetings from Paris.

[lepetitmartien]

Unfortunatly, there's no audio in anymore on Macs (anyway they weren't good enough, so)So the interface (USB will be enough) is necessary. (Steve : Shame!)

For work on PT the 24/44 24/48 work is ok, reduce the bits and bolts at the end to 16/44

The later, the better.

If you work in the beginning at 16 bit, the noise level will be more noticable as you'll have less dynamics than in 20 or 24 (higher the bit, higher the dynamic, better the result). If you can stay 24/4X until the final bouncing. Just the same with saturation, especially with voices, it'll be harder to saturate at 24, you'll have headroom.

[Mr.T]

Huum...too bad for the lack of 'in', my G4/667 Digital Audio still had one...
On the dither question...well that's another question...which has been discussed many times on the PT forum. I would agree that for music, it would be better to work with 24 bit-44.1KHz setting (as I do) and then dither to be able to burn to CD (48KHz->44.1KHz dither is known to be really bad in PT, and in general I think), but , come on, we're talking discussion recorded on a mini-cassette recorder here !...
16bit/44.1KHz is more than enough and will save you some drive space and some time (less conversion to perform when you're done).
Just my humble opinion.

[dodger]

Thanks for all the good feedback. I may have to invest in another recorder since the only jacks available are for mic, earphone and remote and I don't think any of these will output to a firewire or usb audio interface.

Has anyone used an iMac from Griffin?