Ok, I know a lot of you know something about recording your music onto your computer. Is there a simple & economical way for my husband to go from his (analog) 8 track onto our computer? Right now he's plugging a cord from his 8 track into the audio in on the sound card (which I think might just be a mic jack?) and using a free downloaded software to record the playback into mp3 format. I'd love to get him a little bit better setup- maybe better software is all we need? Right now there are some issues with distortion of the sound, where things sound oversaturated (right word?)

This is not an effort to make high quality CDs, just a to have a way to store & send songs in progress to bandmates out of town. So, I'm not going for anything that will break the bank. Thanks much!

You're doing just about the only thing you can do. I would run the audio in through the Line input rather than the mic input on your sound card, assuming you have a Line input. And adjust the volumes until you are not getting any distortion. A good program to use is the Free Protools Demo found at Digidesign.com. Although if you have an older computer or an old processor, this may not be too handy. I have found that MusicMatch Jukebox works fine for recording into wav. and mp3 format.

But it sounds like you are doing well enough. Just keep adjusting the input volume and try the line input until you dont get a distorted mp3.

I agree, the line input is what I use. I also use MusicMatch and record the analog material as a wav document. I then cut the tracks in Wave Editor and save them as their own songs. After that, you just have to convert the tracks to mp3, which can also be done in MusicMatch. If you need specific instructions, you can pm me. Also, if you use this method, don't forget to delete the old wav files that you created initially, after you have converted them to mp3s.

Also, don't forget to unpause the minidisc recorder before the band starts.

Yeah...that helps too.

I also suggest Goldwave as a good free software to use. I record into that and also edit with it. As far as plugging the 8-track in, you are doing what you can do. There has got to be a way to keep it from getting distorted. On my computer, I can adjust the recording level in the volume control window. I've done the 8-track-to-soundcard setup tons of times.

(Edited by HeyItsBriggs at 8:38 pm on Nov. 25, 2003)

the 8track machine is going to have a high out-put....so you'll need to adjust the out level. set it on the most minimal setting you can. when i'm bouncing 4track cassette into my computer, i use cakewalk. soundcards are generally very noisy, so your output needs to be low and just set the program to record at a high level. trial and error. thats all.