Recording/digitize from dictaphone

Hi everyone

I've recently bought a (mono) cassette dictaphone with a mic-in and earphone port. I'm currently doing some tests like :

• Recording music from my computer (stereo) to the dictaphone (mono)
• Digitizing recording (voice, field recording, music) from the dictaphone to the computer

I already made some research without finding clear answers, so I had a few questions :

1. Does the fact that I'm using a simple jack 3.5mm (with stereo on both side) has an impact on the recording ? Obviously, the music will be recorded as mono... but wouldn't it be better to use a jack with a stereo port on one side (for the computer) and mono on the other (to "merge" both audio channels) ?
2. To record (or in reverse direction, digitize), I have to adjust the volume from 3 sources (volume wheel from the walkman itself, system volume of the computer and volume from the audio file itself). It's a bit confusing to me... Since the tape saturates quickly with excessive signal levels, do I have to do it for all of them or only one is enough ?
3. If you have any ressource to digitize correctly and with "best" quality possible from the dictaphone/walkman to the computer (preferably with open-source software), please feel free to share them

I apology if my questions seems stupid. Just want to understand correctly what could impact the quality before starting more serious recording

In advance, thanks for taking the time to help me

 

The 3.5mm jack will not make any difference.

The quality of your recording is more than likely impacted by a number of factors your dictaphone, the cassette you are using, not being able to bias and set the recording levels properly etc.
What is the dictaphone / what are the cassettes?

When recording from the dictaphone to the computer, I recommend plugging in headphone to the dictaphone first and set the playback level so it’s not distorted. Failing that, set the playback level on the dictaphone to maybe halfway or just over halfway. On the computer you must be able to see the level the signal is coming in at, just make sure it’s not too hot and distorting.

Recording to the dictaphone from the computer, you will have to do a trial and error since I guess you don’t have control over the recording. Set a volume on the computer, make a test recording on to the dictaphone. Play it back to hear what went on, keep adjusting till you are satisfied with the levels. Then do your recording.

One question, why are you recording with a mono dictaphone?

 

I'm using a Panasonic dictaphone with type I cassette

Should I make sure that my record stay like around -12dB when digitize it through Audacity so it's not distorted ?

The goal is to record a narrative/intimate voice for a project, it's the reason I'm going mono ! But in the future, I might as well buy a second one with stereo built-in for ambiant recording as well... and maybe more appropriate to "degrade" music by recording them on cassette ?

Thanks for your answer

 

You should just experiment with your digitising level’s and use the levels that sounds best to your ears without distortion, good luck with your project.

 

Thanks ! If other peoples wants to give me more specific advice about my use case, don't hesitate

 

The MIC-in has a very high gain for the very small microvolt levels coming from a microphone. So you need the feed it with very very low level signal so the recording doesn't get distorted. Its way better and easier to use a device with proper LINE-in to record from a sources like a PC.

Its pretty normal you have to tune and adjust all kind of volume levels and signals on the devices to get the best results. Welcome to the world of analog devices

 

Haha indeed, I've made some test and realize the music recorded saturate really fast with the MIC-in, unless I really tune-down the volume. Would it be better, in term of sound quality, to switch to a walkman with a LINE-in to specifically record music or would it be equivalent ?

Thanks in advance for your answer