Although we have numerous streaming platforms for music today, it isn’t always a portable choice. If you haven’t downloaded your favorite playlists and lost a data signal, you’re stuck without songs until you get back into range of a tower.
Digitized music doesn’t always sound the best. Your listening experience requires the file quality to meet some minimum standards.
If you use lossy file formats, you won’t get everything from the recording when listening to the song. That’s why MP3, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis don’t always meet their listener’s needs.
FLAC and ALAC files are lossless, but they’re also significantly bigger than their lossy counterparts.
That’s why knowing how to record songs straight from a vinyl record to a cassette tape is a helpful skill. You can take your music anywhere with an appropriate deck.
How to Record Vinyl to Cassette
The easiest way to transfer music from vinyl to cassette is to use a blank tape in a recorder. As the turntable produces sounds, you can record them directly with the other equipment. The best results occur when you have high-quality speakers connected to your system.
If you want to transition your vinyl records to cassettes to enjoy the medium’s hi-fi benefits, you can follow the following steps to have a successful result.
You’ll need a hi-fi receiver and a tape deck available before proceeding. An excellent choice for that equipment if you need something is the Victrola Navigator 8-in-1 modern turntable.
It comes with a three-speed turntable, USB player, FM radio with an analog tuner, a CD player, and a cassette deck. You can record directly to MP3 for digital storage or use recording functions to transfer items to tape.
This product comes with a wooden stand that holds up to 50 vinyl records in its sleeves. Best of all, it has an uncomplicated assembly where no tools are necessary to complete the job.
It’s a fantastic set that will let you enjoy your favorite LPs and other vinyl by recording the playback to a blank tape.
1. Select the Right Tapes for Recording the Music.
It is better to record music from vinyl records on blank tapes instead of re-writing a previously used product.
Although you can find them available in some stores, including thrift shops, the best deals are found online since you can buy them in bulk.
You’ll find four different types available.
| Type I Cassette Tapes | • These are standard ferric oxide magnetic tapes. • They provide a normal bias. You would choose this option if your vinyl records produce a lot of bass frequencies. |
| Type II Cassette Tapes | • This option is made from a chromium dioxide formula. • They offer a high bias, which means you’ll get better results from the upper end of the frequency spectrum. |
| Type III Cassette Tapes | • With this choice, you’ll be using a FeCr formulation for your cassettes. • They’re essentially a combination of the Type I and Type II designs, combining the better bass results from the first and the uppers from the second. |
| Type IV Cassette Tapes | • Manufacturers use a direct metal formula to produce these cassettes instead of relying on oxide particles. • When only the best sound quality will do, this product is the one you want. • You’ll want to be careful when shopping for these because camcorder tapes tend to be of this type. • You don’t want anything labeled with “8 mm.” |
Type IV cassette tapes are significantly more expensive than the Type I or Type II options you’ll find online.
It is rare to find Type III available in new condition because they are relatively unpopular and didn’t sell well.
Your tape deck can tell what cassette type you’re using based on the notches found in the top.
2. Get Everything You Need to Create the Recording.
When you want to transfer vinyl records to a cassette, you’ll need a few tools to create the best results.
Although you can use a standard turntable and a portable recorder, it’s usually better to find an all-in-one system that includes each option. That way, you can play the record while spinning the cassette simultaneously.
If you’re using two separate equipment items, you’ll want RCA audio cables to connect them. It’s also helpful to have a power strip available to prevent possible electrical surges.
3. Finish Your Equipment Setup.
You’ll need to review your power distribution network to your equipment before starting. The deck, receiver, speakers, and anything else requiring energy must get powered up so that you can transfer the audio from the vinyl to the cassette tape.
With your RCA cables, you’ll want to connect the playback ports (the “out”) from the tape deck to the “in” port for the receiver. Taking this step ensures that the deck sends sounds through the speakers.
You’ll want to test that the output works as expected. If it does, you can plug the preferred device into the recording ports on the tape deck.
Every setup is slightly different, so you’ll want to verify the connection pattern through your user manual.
4. Set Your Tape Bias.
Some recording equipment won’t account for tape bias. If your items don’t support changes, you can skip this step.
Since tape bias changes how audio gets sent to the cassette, you’ll need the sounds to be within the correct structures.
If you don’t have the settings correct, the recording will sound muddy, muffled, and be of lower quality.
Most tape decks use a knob that lets you control for bias. Some newer models deliver specific settings that enable you to get accurate results.
- Type I bias cassettes are usually okay when you have the equipment on its default settings.
- For Type II bias tapes, you’ll need to adjust the settings higher to account for the upper-end frequencies coming through the recording.
- On Type IV products, it is usually better to start where you would for high-end frequencies.
You might need to make some individualized adjustments before proceeding with the recording. Once you’re satisfied with the sounds, it’s time to move to the next step.
5. Take Advantage of Dolby Noise Reduction.
When you transfer audio from vinyl records to cassette tapes, you need to use Dolby Noise Reduction (NR) technology.
It will help you take care of the hissing sounds that come from the tape while reducing the background noises in your immediate environment.
If you have a newer deck, you might have two NR choices. You can select whatever option sounds best to your ears.
When you have a high-end deck, a third Dolby S NR option becomes available. That one is the choice to use in almost every circumstance.
6. Start the Recording Process.
When you need to start recording cassette tapes, you’ll want to ensure that the write-protect tabs are present on the product. If they are not, you can always cover them with Scotch tape to continue with this step.
You’ll turn on your tape deck and receiver. What you want to record should be plugged in and ready to use with your equipment. Whatever lines are coming from the turntable should be secured to your cassette player.
Once you’re ready to proceed, press the “Record” button on the tape deck while starting the record simultaneously.
If you need to adjust the sound volume because you’re using a speaker-based transfer, try to do so before the music starts playing.
You’ll continue with this step until you fill up the first side of the cassette tape. When you reach the end of the recording material, flip it over to the other side to finish the transfer.
Some high-end decks will automatically reverse directions for your cassette so that you have a flawless transfer.
It does help to know how much time you have per side on your cassette. Unless you plan ahead for what is on the record, there’s an excellent chance that you’ll run out of room in the middle of a song.
7. Finish the Playback.
Once you’ve finished recording the music, you’ll want to play the cassette from the beginning to hear if the transfer was successful. Please remember to press the “Play” button only for this step.
You can listen to the new tape in whatever deck you prefer, whether that’s an OG Walkman or a hi-fi setup you have at home.
If everything seems correct, you can put the tape into its case for storage. When you feel artistic, try creating some album art that reflects the records you transferred.
You can also take the write-protect tabs down to protect the recording or remove the Scotch tape used to get it made.
Why Listen to Songs on Cassette Instead of Vinyl?
Although vinyl has its place in the music world, the medium comes with a few disadvantages.
For starters, you can have the record skip because the needle encounters dust or debris within the vinyl track.
When that issue occurs, you might need to reset the product manually. When the item is on cassette, you can avoid that issue altogether.
Your only requirement is to have the recording play consistently so that the transfer between the two items is complete.
There’s also a nostalgia factor to consider. For kids in the 1980s and 1990s, it was not unusual for their only album options to be on vinyl or cassette. Although CDs were available, the technology cost to play it at home was astronomical.
When Sony released the first CD player on October 1, 1982, the retail price was $1,000. That’s about the same as paying $2,500 for it today.
If you were fortunate enough to get a portable player, you had to be careful about how you walked because the device would constantly skip. That’s why cassettes were often the better choice.
You have a practical reason to transfer vinyl to cassette tapes because of the latter product’s durability.
They’d break if you stepped on them, but they were more rugged than a standard record. There’s no needle to replace for the deck either, which means you’ll get more repetitive play.
Cassettes are less expensive to make than CDs or vinyl, which means you can store your favorite songs securely without eliminating the hi-fi potential.
When you want to hear that music when you’re on the go, it’s the best option there is – outside of a 24-bit, 192 kHz file that has a data rate of 9216 kbps.