Audio Transfer + Digitizing: Cassette Tape & LP

There are a diversity of analogue audio formats created for consumer & professional markets, but I specialize in a simple two.

AUDIO CASSETTE TAPES

Developed in Belgium and released by Philips in 1963, the lowly compact cassette gained greater prominence during the 1980s when it became perhaps the most cost-effective format to record off-air radio broadcasts, transfer LPs, create mix tapes for friends & travels, and capture family histories with a simple mic and recorder. Pre-recorded and blank cassette stock came in several grades of audio stock, of which the most popular are Type 1 (Normal low bias), Type 2 (Chrome), and Tape 3 (Metal).

The cassette tape’s heyday spanned the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, after which CD (compact discs) took over before a rapid decline as digital formats like MP3s, FLAC, OGG, WAV, and others became the easiest format to acquire, distribute, and archive music without mandating sturdy storage units.

Tape has enjoyed a resurgence in tandem with vinyl LP because it’s among the more affordable physical media formats, but there’s a still a need to archive old cassettes with archival contents as digital files.

Cassette Tape to Digital File	Price (per tape)
1-60 minutes to Digital File (WAV, MP3)	$20
1- 90 minutes to Digital Files (WAV, MP3)	$25

Cassette Tape to CD
1-75 minutes to CD (incl. CD-R & case)	$25
76-90 minutes to CD (incl. CD-Rs & case)	$30

VINYL RECORDS

As CDs became the preferred music format for the average consumer, average and even veteran collectors mothballed, sold, or outright junked their LPs, and after years of being relegated to the dustbin of obsolete media, vinyl returned to its place as an audiophile format, the ultimate collectible format with its large gatefold design that showcases original art & liner notes, and as a refutation of all things digital, especially the lowly CD.

LPs are also ageless. Records from the 1940s can be played on any turntable with the right stylus and proper speed setting, and the most general formats of the record are 7″ 45 RPM discs (often used to a sell single song on each side), 10″ 33 1/2 RPM discs (popular in the 1950s), and 12″ 33 1/2 RPM discs.

LP to Digital	Price per (LP)
Single LP to Digital Files	$25
Multiple LP set to Digital Files	$20 (1st LP) +$10 each additional LP in set

LP to CD
Single LP to CD (incl. CD-R & case)	$30
Multiple LP set to CD (incl. CD-Rs & case)	$25 (1st LP) + $10 each additional LP in set

DIGITIZING, ORGANIZING, RESTORING, AND RENDERING TO CD OR AS DIGITAL FILES

Whether from cassette tape or LP, all audio is recorded to the hard drive as an uncompressed WAV file, after which it’s edited into original single tracks, or when there are deliberate pauses and gaps. The tracks can be saved in other formats – MP3, FLAC, etc. – and sent to the client via Google Drive, and / or archived on a DVD-R, memory stick, hard drive, and / or burned as a standard audio CD.

SPECIALTY SERVICES

Recording options including capturing audio at a higher bit rate, and several cleanup services (such as removing various degrees of pops, lessening hiss, augmenting low volume) and creating a more balanced file, especially when it’s an archival recording of a voice in less than ideal environments.

Cleanup / restoration / custom editing options are similar to what I offer for podcast audio, and are available for an additional fee.

For inquiries & estimates, please visit our Facebook page.

ADDITIONAL AUDIO SERVICES

VIDEO CONVERSIONS (NTSC / PAL / SECAM) + DIGITAL TRANSFERS (BETAMAX, VHS,VHS-C, S-VHS, VIDEO 8, HI8, DIGITAL 8, MINIDV, BETACAM, U-MATIC) to DIGITAL FORMATS