A service from
Matthew S Harris
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Analog To Digital Audio Conversion & Sound Processing

Convert Cassette Tape & Sony Minidisc To Digital File

FAQ

Preserve your audio Heirlooms: Digital Tape Conversion

Whether it's a recording of your first band, a family history interview, a friend's or relative's concert performance, a commercially produced tape you just can't replace, or an audio record of an important life event… wouldn't you like to be able to hear it again… maybe even share it with family and friends?

Preserve your stereo cassette tapes in digital audio format!

Let me convert your old cassettes into digital audio using a high-quality cassette deck and professional grade software, then clean & enhance the sound. Contact Me To Get Started	• Transfer stereo cassette audio tapes to digital format (MP3, WAV, others) • Apply audio filters to minimize tape hiss, clicks/pops, hum and other noise • Split tracks • Enhance low-volume/low-amplitude sound in each track • Normalize volume across tracks • Burn an audio CD or data CD/DVD
Digitizing and post-processing your cassette not only preserves its contents, but typically provides a more satisfying listening experience than the original tape!	"The audio file sounded amazing!! – I'm so glad I found you!" -- Christine J "I gave him scrappy audio and he cleaned it up as though I'd done it right the first time." -- Alex F See all 2 of my Yelp Reviews!
If your cassette can be played at all, it can be converted to digital format. I have successfully digitized cassette tapes up to 45 years old!

Post-processing almost always dramatically reduces unwanted sounds and enhances wanted sounds!

• Resolves many audio problems, especially for tapes originally recorded without benefit of a professional studio environment •
• Reduce noise such as hiss, pops, clicks, or hum to (usually) insignificant levels •
• Enhance sound by adjusting volume levels, expanding or compressing parts of the audio spectrum, and other manipulations •

Some things cannot be fixed with post processing, see the FAQ for more information.

Rates
Rates per minute apply to the number of minutes of actual recorded sound. Example: if a tape is 45 minutes on a side, but only 30 minutes of a side has been recorded, the cost for that side is computed for 30 minutes.
Discounts available for more than 2 tapes at once.
Per Minute	Service(s)
$0.84	• Make digital copy of both sides of tape(s) • Split (and, if possible, name) tracks • Normalize volume across tracks • Full post-processing for noise reduction & sound enhancement track by track • Burn files to client-supplied audio or data CD/DVD
$0.50	• Make digital copy of both sides of tape(s) • Full post-processing for noise reduction & sound enhancement for entire side. • Burn file to client-supplied audio or data CD/DVD
$0.14	• Make digital copy of both sides of tape(s)
$0.45	• Full post-processing for noise reduction & sound enhancement for an existing digital audio file

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. – What can't be fixed with post-processing?

There are a few things that cannot be fixed with audio post-processing:

Distortion or drop-outs due to stretched, crushed, wrinkled or otherwise physically damaged tape
Distortion caused by over-saturation of the tape. (The original tape was recorded at too high a volume)
Indistinct sound and speech that occurs when the original tape was recorded at too low a volume
Tapes where the magnetic coating has begun to lose its bonding to the tape (evidenced by brown powder or dust on the tape or in the cassette shell). Most of the time, such tapes can be copied, but the sound may not be of good quality.

Q. — What digital file formats can you provide?

I can save your audio in over a dozen formats. The most common are MP3 and WAV, but I can save digital audio in any of these formats: Extended Audio (.xac), Apple (.aiff), Apple-C (.aifc), Amiga (.iff), Sun (.au), Sound Blaster (.voc), Raw (.snd), MIDI Instrument Sample (.sds), Sample Vision (.smp), Dialogic (.vox), Matlab (.mat), Ogg (.ogg), Opus (.opus), Windows Media Audio (.wma).

Q. — I already made some digital recordings of my tapes or vinyl, but the sound quality is poor. Can you help?

Yes! I can enhance any digital recordings you have already made. I can reduce hiss, hum, clicks, pops, rumble, and many other enhancements. I can't fix indistinct sound (such as results when a digital recording is made of a vinyl disc with a dirty stylus or the vinyl disc itself is dirty or damaged). Distortion due to "clipping" cannot be removed. ("Clipping" occurs when a digital recording is made at too high a volume - the loudest parts are outside the range of the sampler and are "clipped".)

Q. — The tape or the leader broke, and the end of the tape has disappeared into the cassette shell. Can this tape be saved?

Yes! I can open the cassette shell and splice the tape as needed.

Q. — The cassette shell is falling apart or has damage. Can this tape be saved?

Yes! I can "transplant" the tape reels into a new cassette shell, if needed. This is only possible if the tape hasn't been spilled off the reels.

Q. — Why are you so expensive?

It's true, there are people out there who will convert your cassette for $5 – BUT – that's all you get.

I actually listen to your sound to determine how it can be improved – starting with the first playback. Post-processing is time-intensive. Your 60 minute cassette will get, on average, 3 hours of my time to ensure that your digital audio has the best listening experience possible.

Q. — What if you get my tape and can't do anything with it, for whatever reason?

Rarely do I get a tape I can't digitize and improve, but it does happen. The usual reasons a tape can't be saved are that the tape itself is too badly damaged to play, or that the original sound quality is too poor (clipped, over-saturated, indistinct). I promptly call or e-mail you to let you know the situation, and explain the problem. I promptly return your tape, and you owe nothing. (I do ask mail-order clients to pre-pay return postage; clients must pay postage/shipping both directions, regardless whether the tape can be processed.)

Q. — How do we do this over the Internet?

Until we have Star Trek transporters available, we rely on the US Postal Service!

If you are local to my area, I usually meet clients at a mutually convenient location to pick up and deliver tapes and finished work. More remote clients send me their tapes by US Postal Service, 1st Class Parcel. To ensure that it is always possible to return a tape, all clients must pre-pay the return postage (with delivery tracking) when mailing me a tape. Shipping a single cassette tape via USPS 1st Class Parcel with delivery tracking typically costs between $3 and $4 each way.

When I have completed the digital copying, and as much sound clean-up/improvement as seems feasible, I'll e-mail you a before/after snip of the audio for your approval. If you're satisfied with the result, that's when payment is due.

If you requested a CD/DVD, the burned disc is enclosed with the return of your original cassette. If you only wanted electronic files, the files will be made downloadable from the cloud!

All payments are processed through PayPal for mail transactions.

Send me a message to get started!