Alesis TapeLink Moves Songs From Cassette to CD – The New York Times

Advertisement
Supported by
Send any friend a story
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.
By John Biggs
It’s time to bury the audio cassette. Actually, it was time to bury the cassette a long time ago. The format is essentially dead and the cassette tape player is now as obsolete as the Edison wax-cylinder player. But what if you still have a few tapes clattering around in your closet? The Alesis TapeLink U.S.B. could wring one last bit of music out of this expired medium.
The TapeLink is a dual cassette deck with a U.S.B. plug. You connect to a computer, play a tape and the included software cleans and categorizes the audio automatically. It outputs audio at CD quality — although the audio coming off the tapes might be at lower quality — and includes noise-reduction systems to ensure a clean transfer. It has a list price of $299, but can be found for less online and at music specialty stores.
The deck works with Macs and PCs and comes with software called SoundSoap SE that will help clean up the audio. The entire system is retro-styled enough to do justice to your collection of road-trip mixes and your prized bootleg from that Terence Trent D’Arby/Level 42 doubleheader. JOHN BIGGS
Advertisement

source