Recovering tracks from cassette - any tips?

I'm recovering four song tracks from a cassette - the only source I have for them.  Has anyone done this and got any tips at all?  The main issue  that I notice is some sibilance here and there on the vocals.  What's a good way of removing/attenuating this?
 
Any help gratefully received! 

I grabbed a track from a cassette the other day. It was a basic voice only.... I had to use compression, EQ and Boost 11 to overcome the drastic level changes as the speaker moved closer and further from the mic. 

I needed a high pass to get rid of the hum. 

Sibilance is printed to the track so removing it is not easy. BUT.... you can reduce it bu using the EQ in the frequency range of the sibilance. 

Good luck with it... I worked on my track easily half an hour to get it halfway respectable.

You can also try a multiband compressor. Check out Power Tip #10 at:
http://www.garrigus.com/p...oks/SONARPowerTips.asp

Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com - SONAR X2 Power! - http://garrigus.com/?SonarX2Power
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://garrigus.com/?ProAudioTutor
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://digifreq.com/?DigiFreq
* Publisher of the NewTechReview free consumer technology newsletter: http://newtechreview.com/?NewTechReview

Ive used Tape decks and a product from Grace that plays cassettes to recover from cassetts into Sonar.  

Its kinda one of those things that as far as what is on the tape is what you are stuck with.  IMO going direct into your interface from a player is about the only way to do it.

Once you have it it Sonar, then you can process it with some of the suggestions above.

Ive done from tapes I have from the 70s and 80s - kinda fun going back into the memories   

to get the tracks into sonar, I simply ran a cable out of the headphone jack to a splitter (Y cable) and into my interface..... turned the levels all the way down and then adjusted as needed. 

A wave editor would be a better way to process a conversion. So far the best I've used was Sony Sound Forge for this. Wave Labs noise reduction isn't very good. Sonar is not a wave editor and the last software I would use for this. 
You could try Audacity which is free and it will share your Sonar plug ins. 
Also Try different Dolby settings. Dolby has an effect on hi frequency content and some decks had up to 3 different modes. 
Then There was that other one?? DBX?? can't remeber that's 20 years ago. 

Free from Digital Fish Phones - Spitfish (http://www.digitalfishpho...?item=2&subItem=5) is a really good de-esser, better than some that cost me quite a few dollars, might help with the sibilance.

For general clean-up, though I haven't used it, the also free iZotope Vinyl (http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/vinyl/) may help with other cleanups.

Hope those help & good luck.

Best,
guitardood

Also, to keep tape hiss at the lowest, hit your inputs with as much volume as you can (without clipping). You want a good signal-to-noise ratio. I have been doing a lot of cassette to Sonar conversions lately. The first thing I do is put Sonitus EQ in the FX bin. Grab band #6 (the highest freq band) and drag it down 4-5 db (this is approximate; it all depends on the tape). Usually that will help a lot with high frequency HISSSSS. Good luck!

Then There was that other one?? DBX?? can't remeber that's 20 years ago. 

 DBX was wonderful back in the day... You'd know it if you played one without the decoder - way compressed and screechy...

guitardood


Free from Digital Fish Phones - Spitfish (http://www.digitalfishpho...?item=2&subItem=5) is a really good de-esser, better than some that cost me quite a few dollars, might help with the sibilance.

For general clean-up, though I haven't used it, the also free iZotope Vinyl (http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/vinyl/) may help with other cleanups.

Hope those help & good luck.

Best,
guitardood

Do you know if there's a 64bit Spitfish yet? Last time I looked it was still only 32bit

Ya I would not use the headphone jack, Most of us must have a set of 1/4 to RCA cables laying around one would hope. I still have this RCA to 1/4" 8 channel  snake from my Tascam 8 track days. 

But that is why I pointed out the different noise reduction systems. Without the proper decoding you'll be fighting a mess. I have a nice Teac deck that has DOlby A-B and C. I think the DBX was only used on multi track, Think my Yamaha 4 track used it. 

You might want to consider demoing iZotope RX2

Be prepared to spend a day figuring out how it works!! 

These home hi-fi units were popular at the stereo shops back when I was in to stereo shopping:

Cactus Music
And that made me think of this.... some might forget this stuff. 

Don't forget to clean and de magnetize the heads! 

Ha! Yep, that definitely helps. Just be sure to keep the demagnetizer away from the PC! 


My cassette deck is in the same rack as the PC, so just to be safe, I pull out the deck before doing any maintenance. Not sure if just having the demagnetizer near the PC would do anything, but I definitely don't want to find out!

Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com - SONAR X2 Power! - http://garrigus.com/?SonarX2Power
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://garrigus.com/?ProAudioTutor
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://digifreq.com/?DigiFreq
* Publisher of the NewTechReview free consumer technology newsletter: http://newtechreview.com/?NewTechReview

I assume you can get an iPhone app to demag the heads now... right? 


Ya and I also have a VST plug in that simulates what the tape player would sound like with dirty heads too! :) 


Hey Scott... I think there's nothing in a PC that magnets screw up. A friend of mine was just telling me about this strong magnet he found inside a hard drive?? I pondered that one. But then there's the PC speaker in there for sure.  It's the old school monitors that didn't like magnets. Remember those! 

Here are some tips:

Use the best cassette deck you can. They are not all created equal. Clean the transport and the heads thoroughly. 

Use the RCA outputs if possible. Generally the quality will be better there than the headphone jack.

With noise reduction try to determine if Dolby B, C or DBX was used. Most likely Dolby B was used. Listen and compare the sound with Dolby B ON or OFF. Sometimes it is better to leave it OFF and gain the extra high end. The times it works perfectly with it ON is if you are using the exact same machine that recorded the cassettes. If you feel the high end is dull and the Dolby B is over compensating then leave it OFF. That sounds better than having it ON. But if the music sounds good and normal with normal top end present with it ON then leave it ON. This is one of the most difficult aspects to cassette transfers, determining if Dolby needs to be ON or OFF while transferring. Use your ears here!

Dolby C is a much more viscous form of noise reduction. Playing back with Dolby B on a Dolby C encoded recording still won't sound right. You will hear it. Hopefully it will be a Dolby B encoded recording. There were far fewer Dolby C machines around.

Set the levels reasonably high coming in. You will find once you set the loudest point, the music will rarely go over that.

Try using EQ to perhaps improve the resultant captures the best you can. Do not mess with the sound on the way in, it is a mistake. Connect direct from the cassette deck direct to the audio interface. If you have to control level maybe run it through a very neutral level controlling stage. 

If all else fails send the tape to me. I have a seriously expensive Sony deck that sounds like a million dollars with a super precision dual motor/capstan transport and with Dolby B and C. It also has all sorts of EQ options for different tape types on playback too which can be helpful. I will transfer it for you.  

Thanks for bringing it up. I have got a lot of cassettes that were recorded with a very nice machine and they still sound amazing. I should transfer them too.