Ringing Endorsement, For Which I Was Paid Nothing
If you weren't in the Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis, not Midland and Odessa!) during the early 1990s, you probably have no idea who Gallowglass is.
However, you've probably heard of audio cassettes. That's all that many bands were producing in the early 1990s, especially if they were small like Gallowglass.
Many people I know cherish their cassettes of bands like Gallowglass, because they are irreplaceable. Unfortunately, far fewer people I know have working tape players. And then there's the tape being eaten issue that crops up now and again even in the most well-behaved of tape players.
Here is your solution: Cassettes2cds. I sent them irreplaceable cassettes, heavily insured, and trembled with fear until I had confirmation that the package had arrived. Several weeks later, I have CD versions of all these cassettes. Remarkably little noise compared to attempts I have made at home with my PC. ITunes doesn't correct the volume very well, so the tracks are a little quieter than the rest of my music library - but by quiet, I do not mean "straining to hear."
This is the real deal, folks. Dig out your treasures, ship them off, and breathe a sigh of relief that the music of your college years can be enjoyed without fear of loss.
Wow. I've been doing this lately with a Walkman, a double-ended headphone jack, and a copy of Blaze Media Pro. Which, needless to say, is an awful lot of work, so I only do it with stuff I really want to keep... in fact your mixes are next on the list! That is a cool service to know about though!
I tried setups like that for preserving mine, but the noise level was so high. Blech. Good enough for my college radio shows - in fact, I hope it disguises how dorky my voice sounds on tape - but not for my precioussss...uh, I mean, my favorite music from college.