a good way to record off of the phone?

knewjakknewjak 1,231 Posts
edited August 2005 in Strut Central
So someone leaves you a funny message and you want to put it on a mix tape? How do you get a good quality transfer? thanks

  Comments


  • ayresayres 1,452 Posts
    get an adaptor from Radio Shack - it has a phone plug input and output and an 1/8 inch output that you can switch on or off. hook that to your computer or cd recorder or whatever. then call your voicemail, check your messages, and record.


    you may need to do some noise reduction to get some buzz or hum out - a lot of programs allow you to create a profile from a section with just buzz, then take that buzz from the entire file.

  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    i always thought those things were semi-illegal? i had a roommate that was a bike messenger for a while, and he stole one from some seattle law firm... we used to record all of our prank calls this way, but the way he explained it, they were pretty hard to come by.

  • bull_oxbull_ox 5,056 Posts
    nah, i think the law is that at least one party has to know its being recorded or something like that... the device to record it with is not illegal

  • mooneymooney 48 Posts
    get an adaptor from Radio Shack - it has a phone plug input and output and an 1/8 inch output that you can switch on or off. hook that to your computer or cd recorder or whatever. then call your voicemail, check your messages, and record.


    you may need to do some noise reduction to get some buzz or hum out - a lot of programs allow you to create a profile from a section with just buzz, then take that buzz from the entire file.

    Great advice. Heads up, don't get the cheap one from radio shack that suction cups to the back of the phone. That only works on the old school grandma land lines.

    If your rich, super lazy, or have a good corporate job check out your conference calling features. Qwest and some bigger companies will record your converstion for you and send back an MP3, cd, and transcriptions for a fee.

    Be sure your balling with some one else's card for this move.


  • knewjakknewjak 1,231 Posts
    [don't get the cheap one from radio shack that suction cups to the back of the phone. That only works on the old school grandma land lines.



    ...wait wait are you talking about a land line? thats thats what I'm using.

  • bull_oxbull_ox 5,056 Posts
    [don't get the cheap one from radio shack that suction cups to the back of the phone. That only works on the old school grandma land lines.



    ...wait wait are you talking about a land line? thats thats what I'm using.

    I got the suction cup when I was a kid and couldn't ever really get it to work anyway. But its only a buck or two if you wanna give it a go.

  • djdazedjdaze 3,099 Posts
    no, there's one that plugs directly into the phone from radio shack..it works very well and not very hard to come by either.

  • awallawall 673 Posts
    [don't get the cheap one from radio shack that suction cups to the back of the phone. That only works on the old school grandma land lines.



    ...wait wait are you talking about a land line? thats thats what I'm using.
    i think he means a rotary phone (the old kind with the dial and shit) and not necessarily a land line. as long as you have a newer phone you should be cool.

  • mooneymooney 48 Posts
    The suction cup only works on the old phones where the ear piece and mouth piece are round and can screw off. Think "old beige hotel phone". It will not work with today's fancy ass electronic phones.

    My point was don't get it twisted and by this one by mistake like I did years ago.

    Listen to Urrrs advice.

  • dope!

    *headed to radio shack

  • LamontLamont 1,089 Posts
    Stupid question: what device do you use to 'scratch' or manipulate your drops & shoutouts (from the phone) on a mixtape ? Is it strictly software or is it an extra on for example a Pioneer CDJ ?

  • damn, you guys are all, like, hi-tek and shit. I just used to put a mic up to the speakerphone.

    But my bro is a journalist, and does a lot of phone interviews, and he uses one that fits into his ear. He said it was a little strange at first, but he swears by it.

  • GrafwritahGrafwritah 4,184 Posts
    Use a scanner. Well, I haven't used one in a long while, but back when cordless phones were new(er) and still using the original 49 mhz or whatever, we used to use a scanner and a cordless phone to record pranks, etc. - just turn on the phone, tune to the freq, and you're good to go. Those older phones aren't sold anymore although you could probably easily use analog 900 MHz phones which are clearance items these days and still get by with a basic scanner.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    1) Co-sign on the Radio Shack device. It's very simple to use and relatively effective THOUGH most are only mono. You'll need an adapter to covert the jack to stereo.

    2) The buzz often time arises from people hooking into a phone line that's also attached to any device drawing electricty. The most ideal hook-up would be through one of those old school phones that don't use an outside power source.


  • ayresayres 1,452 Posts
    Stupid question: what device do you use to 'scratch' or manipulate your drops & shoutouts (from the phone) on a mixtape ? Is it strictly software or is it an extra on for example a Pioneer CDJ ?

    i'm too lazy to do that but CDJ or Serato will work fine. once you have it in the computer or on a CD, it's just audio, and you can scratch it like any other audio. I want to shout out Paul Nice - he gets busy with his drops.
Sign In or Register to comment.