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Very very newb question. I'm trying to transfer some old audio tapes to mp3. I've got a stereo mic cable going from a tape deck to my sound card, but it's only recording the left speaker.

The soundcard only has one input; will I be able to transfer the tapes in stereo? If I could even record each channel in mono I could mix them afterwards...

Any help? Thanks in advance...

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bouldersound Thu, 07/28/2011 - 19:59

Most likely the input on the sound card is mono and meant for a microphone. You'll probably need an upgraded sound card with stereo inputs on RCA connectors, something like this:

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.behringe…"]BEHRINGER: UCA202[/]="http://www.behringe…"]BEHRINGER: UCA202[/]

...which is only about $30.

If you expect to get into any more serious recording get something with a bit more capability, like proper mic inputs and hardware monitoring, but for basic transfer of tapes the above or similar should do it.

Boswell Fri, 07/29/2011 - 03:39

Unregistered, post: 374558 wrote: Very very newb question. I'm trying to transfer some old audio tapes to mp3. I've got a stereo mic cable going from a tape deck to my sound card, but it's only recording the left speaker.

The soundcard only has one input; will I be able to transfer the tapes in stereo? If I could even record each channel in mono I could mix them afterwards...

Any help? Thanks in advance...

Give us some details of your gear and we could probably suggest was going wrong. What is the make and model of the tape deck and of the sound card, and what exactly is your "stereo mic cable"?

Because of tape speed variations on each play, you will not get a useful result by transferring one track at a time and hoping to line them up again as stereo afterwards in the computer.

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