We currently have the capability of transferring cassette, reel to reel, and mini-cassette. Each format involves slightly different procedures, outlined below. These procedures assume that you have turned on the power to all of the equipment in the A/V Reformatting station via the APC power battery backup underneath the desk, then booted up the Mac.

Generally we will be creating two files: an archival master and an access file. The archival master should be saved as a .wav file and the access copy should be a .mp3 file.

If the files are part of a collection and will end up in Credo follow this naming convention:

collectionID-box#(if applicable)-item#-part#-filetype like so: mums741-b001-i027-001.access for .mp3 mums741-b001-i027-001.archival for .wav

1. Make sure the 1/4“ cables from the Revox are plugged into the front of the Focusrite Scarlett
2. Thread the tape on to the Revox.
3. On the Mac, open either Audacity or Audition to digitize audio (See each page for software settings.)
4. Determine whether the original tape is mono/stereo and turn the monitor selector on the Revox to the appropriate position.
5. Put either Audition or Audacity in monitor or pause mode so that you can preview the tape to determine levels.
6. If you are lucky the tape will have tone at the beginning of the tape (many of the WFCR tapes have this). Use this to set your levels. Watch the meters on the Revox. Adjust the gain nobs on the front of the Scarlett so that the meters in Audacity or Audition approximately match the levels on the Revox. If there is no tone on the tape, you may have to take a few passes to get the levels right. As a rule you don't want to be hitting 0db (“the red”) too often. Our motto should be: -12db is a good place to be.
7. One you set levels, hit record in Audition or Audacity, then hit play on the Revox.