# Talk about LOW BUDGET albums... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-low-budget-albums/342480 "2006-02-01T06:42:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![START](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@START](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/START)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-low-budget-albums/342480/1 "2006-02-01T06:42:57Z")
About 2 weeks ago me, my friend and his cousin dropped our first rap album in the most low budget way possible, we bought a 20 dollar tape recorder and a 99 cent blank audio tape and a CD of instrumentals for another 10 dollars. At first we just freestyled and recorded ourselves but by the next day we wrote songs with hooks and everything and we rapped while recording ourselves with the instrumentals playing in the background. The cool part about this is that our friends actually have some of our rhymes memorized and this little cheaply made tape has made it into the rotation for when we are all hanging out together. So that brings me to my question…\*How can I put an Audio Tape onto a CD? \* _That’s all I really needed to say, LOL_ ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-low-budget-albums/342480/2 "2006-02-01T07:12:05Z")
Play it into the computer through the microphone port while recording. Mix. Burn. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-low-budget-albums/342480/3 "2006-02-01T14:41:33Z")
If your computer has a microphone input and a line-in, use the line-in. On some sound cards the mic in is amplified and lower quality. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-low-budget-albums/342480/4 "2006-02-01T15:33:26Z")
You can get cassette recorders that can output directly to your computer, but they’re probably out of your price range ([this one](http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/other_misc/PlusDeck2/) is $150). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-low-budget-albums/342480/5 "2006-02-01T15:52:29Z")
> [@awldune](#): > > If your computer has a microphone input and a line-in, use the line-in. On some sound cards the mic in is amplified and lower quality. But the recording to audio cassette is going to be poor quality as well. Wouldn’t he be better off recording via microphone directly to the PC (assuming the computer is located conveniently)? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-low-budget-albums/342480/6 "2006-02-01T16:12:09Z")
> [@START](#): > > How can I put an Audio Tape onto a CD? This question comes up every so often. [Here’s one fairly recent thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=347237), in which I give links to several more. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-low-budget-albums/342480/7 "2006-02-01T16:20:33Z")
- - - The problem with the mic jack is that by using a mic, you will pick up another whole round of ambient noise. - And the line-in jack is not for microphones, a mic’s signal will be about 20dB too low too low without some kind of preamp, the PC will barely pick up any signal at all. If you have the proper cable, you can run the headphone/earphone-out jack from the tape recorder to the line-in jack. Just start with the tape recorder volume at zero and the PC’s rec volume at zero, and turn both up (while recording, and with the tape recorder playing) until you get a decent signal. The signal should always stay below zero dB, should bounce around _peaking_ at -3. * * * - The Windows audio recorder in OS’s past used to not record for longer than two minutes. Try Audacity perhaps, it’s a free download. ~