My suggestion involves:
- recording your tape as one file
- Removing the tape hiss
- Splitting the file individual tracks
- Re-encoding the tracks into individual mp3 files
To do this will involve the following software which you can install from the Software Centre:
- Audacity
- Gramofile
- Installing restricted codecs - search for restricted and choose the restricted extras for your variant of ubuntu
- Sound Converter
Audacity
Audacity is a fantastic sound editor.
- Plug in you jack into the appropriate sound-in / headphone socket in your laptop or PC sound card.
- On your tape, approximately forward to where you have the "loudest sound"
- Play your tape
- Using Audacity, press the record button
- Adjust the input levels so that the sound doesnt "clip"
- Stop recording and rewind the tape
- Choose from the Audacity Menu - Transport - Sound Activated Recording
- Play your tape and record until the end of the tape
Now a bit of clean-up of the sound recorded.
To remove the tape-hiss choose from the Audacity Menu:
- Effect - Normalize. This will adjust the approximate sound level through the entire track
- Effect - Noise Removal. This will remove some of the lower frequency sounds that is the tape hiss - just follow the two suggested steps on the window. Play with the results to get the best sound on your track.
Finally, save the file as a .wav file.
Split Tracks
To break the one big .wav file into individual tracks use the Gramofile software.
Start the application and open the .wav file. Tell the application which folder to save the individual tracks.
Convert to MP3
Finally use Sound Converter
Ensure you have installed the restricted codecs for your ubuntu variant.
Run the application and select all the .wav tracks in the folder saved to by gramofile
Choose the Convert option and choose MP3
Sit back and wait for all the .wav files to be converted to MP3.