Audio Tape Recording - Sound Quality

mjanson73

Hello

I am recording from tape into WavePad and there is a distinct loss in sound quality for the majority of tracks.

The main problem is that sustained notes (such as orchestral chords) sound muffled and seem to be clipped after a couple of seconds, which is not the case when playing the tapes on my stereo. Plus, the bassline sounds faint so I'm using the Megabass function on stereo to get close to the required bass level.

Might be to do with the settings I'm not an expert - I'm using Line-In Recording with default Sample Rate (44100).

I'd be grateful if anyone can help.

Cheers,

Mark J

longmorn3

Mark: WavePad is a sound editor primarily. I know that it will record, but I have never used it for that. For my tape and LP conversions, I use Golden Records, and then move the captured .wav file into WavePad for final editing. Unless you have a boom box, I would recommend connecting your tape deck to your receiver, and then connecting the line out of the receiver to your converter (I use a Behringer UCS-202 or something like that I purchased), which connects to your computer via a USB jack. I get first-class recordings. Golden Records does have some limited audio editing capabilities, but it is nowhere near as full-featured for audio file editing as WavePad.

Golden Records is optimized for converting LPs and tapes and I think by skipping that software, you MAY be finding that WavePad isn't really designed to do what GR does so well. By the way, I don't work for NCH. It has just been my experience that you need to acquire the necessary specialized software to get a superior product. Just because something can do something, doesn't mean it can do it well. Just my two cents. Let us know how you make out; or, maybe, as often happens, someone with more knowledge will be able to explain what is going on in your situation.

Have a great day.

Regards,

-Phil

mjanson73

Thanks very much for your comments Phil - I have also raised a support call on this but still waiting for answer!

I mistakenly assumed Wavepad was designed for line-in audio recording and the editing effects were kind of add-on features. Not sure I trust Golden Records having seen some of the reviews, but I will check out similar products and let you know how I get on.

All the best,

Mark

longmorn3

Mark: I have been using Golden Records for several years with success. Because I was somewhat unhappy about upgrades only being free for three months, I did purchase a competitor's product that is sitting in its box in the basement. It was not nearly as good as GR. Just my experience and my two cents. Have a great day and good luck with finding suitable software.

Regards,

-Phil

mjanson73

You too Phil - I will try GR on an old PC in case it causes conflicts.

Cheers,

Mark

longmorn3

Mark: I am using GR on a reasonably new DELL XPS laptop (2 years old) and have used it with a previous version of WavePad on the same laptop. Now I just have the one version of WavePad on my main computer. I never encountered any conflicts. GR seems to be a nice, compact, well-behaved program.

Hope this helps and have a great weekend.

Regards,

-Phil

mjanson73

Hi Phil

I have tried GR and do get more consistent results but it still cuts some notes short, as with WavePad. Maybe it's the quality of my tapes but I don't get this problem just playing them through the stereo.

The support engineer has suggested trying the Mic Input, but this sounds worse and ends up in Mono! :wacko:

Thanks for your suggestions anyway!

Mark

longmorn3

Mark: Perhaps if you could supply more details as to your exact setup, we could be of more assistance. What type of "converter" are you using? I use the Behringer UCA-202. I play my tapes or records on my stereo tape deck or turntable and connect the Behringer to the "Tape Out" jacks on my amplifier. The other end of the Behringer connects via a USB cable to the computer. There are known issues with sound quality if an amplifier or fully-compatible converter are not used as a part of your recording setup. I am guessing your recording setup might be the source of your problem.

If you are using a "boombox" to play your tapes, you should be able to connect that directly to the Behringer.

Hope this helps. Don't give up - there is a solution out there ... somewhere ... Have a great day.

Regards,

-Phil

mjanson73

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your response - I am using a lead which connects from the headphones socket of my hi-fi to the line-in input socket of my computer (as advised by an audio shop salesman). The only other means of output from the stereo appears to be L and R 'signal output' jacks but this is just for connecting to the speakers as far as I know.

So presumably I need to buy an extra bit of 'converter' hardware like the Behringer to fix the signal issues ...

Best regards,

Mark

longmorn3

Mark: Your stereo should have a set of "Line Out" jacks. Those should be totally independent of speaker connectors. I am thinking that your hardware setup is your problem. I would recommend the Behringer UCA-202. It works just great for me. I suspect the lack of same is causing your audio distortion problems, as some device has to digitalize the incoming audio signals.

Here is a link to ebay where you can get one at a reasonable price: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=behringer+uca202

They are also available from Amazon and other retailers.

Let me know what you decide and how you make out. Have a great day.

Regards,

-Phil

mjanson73

Hi Phil

I've just found the Line Out socket - that will teach me to read the manual! I retried recording using different settings and the sound quality is (for me) acceptable using the 'Stereo Mix' option (rather than Line In) in Golden Records. If I was a more serious musician I might acquire extra kit, but I'm fine for now.

Many thanks for your advice!

A Happy Customer

longmorn3

Mark:

Glad to be able to help and I am happy that you have resolved your problem to your satisfaction. Happy audio editing. Have a great day.

Regards,

-Phil