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Ion Audio Tape2USB £99

Have you got hundreds of old demos and 'dictaphone down the trousers' bootlegs trapped on cassettes in the attic?

Transfer your cassette music to iTunes.

Transfer your cassette music to iTunes.

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Turn them into pristine digital audio via this chunky box. Build quality isn't sky high and the tape chassis flexes with each spring-loaded button press but it works just fine.

The supplied EZ Tape Converter 2 software picks up the deck's USB output and gives you a big fat record button. Hit record, press play on the tape and click to tell it when each track ends. Name an artist, album and the tracks and it magically transports them to your iTunes library. Easy.

And there's supplied Audacity software if you want to trim your audio files and filter some of that horrible tape hiss you'll have forgotten about.

The deck isn't great quality – even our most pristine pre-recorded tapes had some wow and flutter – and the inclusion of a second deck for recording is a complete waste of space given that you can't route audio in via USB for some old skool special effects.

Now, if only they could do something about having to wait 45 minutes to record half a C90...

Verdict

It's an OK cassette desk plus a cheap USB interface (output only), but it does the job in some style.

MusicRadar rating:

3.5 of 5 stars

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MusicRadar rating

3.5 of 5

Pros

Useful tool.

Cons

Quality not fantastic.

Verdict

It's an OK cassette desk plus a cheap USB interface (output only), but it does the job in some style.

Review Policy

All MusicRadar's reviews are by independent product specialists, who are not aligned to any gear manufacturer or retailer. Our experts also write for renowned magazines such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Computer Music, Future Music and Rhythm. All are part of Future PLC, the biggest publisher of music making magazines in the world.

Specification

Tape2USB

Price:
£99
Country of Origin:
UK
Description:
USB Cassette Archiver
Year:
2008

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