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Want a secret? Your computer can be treated
just like a tape recorder.
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technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and
commentaries, continuously available online since
1983
T e c h n o f i l e
Recording sound on your computer, Part 1: Hook it up to
your receiver as if it were a tape deck
June 8, 2003
By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2003, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2003, The Post-Standard
Recording sound with a tape recorder or
VCR is easy. You put a tape in, press the record button and
that's it. But to many users recording on a personal
computer is a mystery.
What's up? Why does this have to be
so difficult?
It doesn't have to be. In a special
three-part series, I'll explain the secrets of using
your computer to make audio recordings. You'll find out
how to make recordings from a cassette deck, an AM-FM tuner
and a record player. You'll find out how to make audio
CDs out of your old cassettes or LP records, too.
Let's start with a little secret.
Most computer users don't know this. Nobody ever tells
you this at the store.
Ready? It's this simple: Your
computer can be treated just like a tape recorder.
Like a tape deck or VCR, your computer
has "input" and "output" connectors.
The basic idea is simple, whether you're connecting a
cassette deck or a computer. You plug the
"output" side of one device into the
"input" side of the other.
Windows PCs have at least two audio
jacks -- small holes where connectors plug in -- on the
back of the computer. (Apple Macintoshes sometimes have the
same connectors as Windows PCs and sometimes don't. Mac
users should see the companion article running on Wednesday
in the Technology section for specific help geared to Mac
OS X users.)
One of the jacks on the computer will be
the "input" connector (where the sound goes in,
naturally) and one will be the "output" connector
(where the sound goes ... um, out. Whew!).
Some PCs also have a "mic"
connector (pronounced "mike," for
"microphone") so you can plug a microphone
directly into your computer, as long as it has the right
connector. Many computers also have a jack for
headphones.
Look at the back of your computer.
You'll a few tiny holes for audio connections. These
connectors could be set back into the plastic case of the
computer or they might be lined up on what looks like a
chromium-plated strip. These are the computer's
equivalent of the connecting jacks on a tape recorder or
VCR, and they work exactly the same way.
These are "mini" jacks, the
same size as the headphone or earphone jacks on a portable
music player. The jacks on the back of your other
components, called "RCA" jacks, are much
larger.
To connect your stereo receiver to your
computer, you'll need a cable with left and right RCA
plugs on one end and a stereo mini plug on the other. Radio
Shack sells this kind of cable, as do many stores that
carry hi-fi and video equipment. (If you tell a store
assistant what you want to do -- such as, "I want to
connect my stereo receiver to my computer's sound
card" -- you'll be steered to the proper cable
quickly.)
Now take a look at the back of your
stereo receiver. (Or the back of your amplifier, if
that's what you have. Just make the mental translation
as we go along.)
Nearly every stereo receiver has
connectors for a tape deck. That's what you want to
look for.
Receivers have many input connections.
They always appear in pairs, for left and right stereo
signals. You'll probably see input jacks for a CD
player, a tape deck and an "aux," for example.
(No, an "aux" isn't a Peruvian pack animal;
it's an auxiliary input for an extra component such as
a second tape deck.)
On all receivers made more than a few
years ago and on many recent ones, you'll also find
phono inputs. If you have a hi-fi record player or
turntable, that's where you plug its cables in.
Most receivers have tape-recorder
connections called "Tape In" and "Tape
Out." They send the left and right audio signals to
the recorder automatically; you don't have to do
anything special once the gear is hooked up.
The recorder -- the computer, in this
case -- is able to eavesdrop on everything the receiver is
doing, all the time. This is often called the "tape
monitor loop" on a receiver because it puts the tape
recorder in an electrical loop; the signals that are about
to be recorded, the ones from the source, are sent to the
recorder while the signals that were just recorded, the
ones from the tape, are sent back to the receiver. A
"tape monitor" switch or button labeled
"source" and "tape" on the receiver
turns the loop on and off.
Plug in your cables while everything is
turned off. Connect the "Tape In" RCA jack on
your receiver to the mini "Out" jack on your
computer. Likewise, connect the "Tape Out" RCA
jacks on your receiver to the mini "Input" jack
on your computer.
Now you're ready for the
software.
Next: Software basics in Sunday's
Technofile column; Mac OS X audio connections in
Wednesday's Mac OS X (Road Less Traveled)
column.
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