Although digital music has reigned supreme for the recent couple of years, there still are quite a few people around the world who simply can't give up on those golden memories of their youth, most of which are stored onto cassette tapes. However, due to their very nature, audio cassettes tend to degrade as years go by and they're being played over and over again, so creating a digital backup of the songs stored onto them seems to be a pretty good idea.

For this reason, the Alesis company has launched its TapeLink USB device, a dubbing and playback deck with digital-audio output via USB that allow users to digitize all of the music on their audio cassettes. While this is not exactly the first such product to arrive on the market, it does provide advanced features, most of which are meant to keep the cassette safe and even improve the quality of the audio stored within.

The TapeLink USB device contains a plug-and-play USB-audio interface that requires no drivers for use with most computers, whether we're talking about Windows-based or Mac machines. Furthermore, it sports a CD-quality 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio output for accurately capturing the tape recording.

Moreover, the device provides both normal and high-speed dubbing modes, which will save users some time when copying music, while the dynamic noise-reduction circuitry and Alesis' software suite assist them in cleaning up aging tapes. TapeLink USB works with metal and CrO2 tapes, and contains an LED level-meter for visual-level reference. It also provides a full auto-stop feature, which saves older tapes from breaking.

Furthermore, in order to process and improve the quality of the audio, the TapeLink USB is accompanied by three different software applications: BIAS SoundSoap professional noise-reduction software, which removes hiss, room noise, rumble, electrical hum, and other background noise, Audacity audio-editing software for basic modifications and EZ Tape Converter for easier data transfers.

The Alesis TapeLink USB can be found at several retailers for around 200 US dollars, which is indeed a rather big sum, but it's actually quite worth it, especially if you've got a lot of tapes that need digitizing.

 
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