older cassettes that drag

[Rev Fever]

I have a bunch of older, and quite rare cassette releases that I
really need to archive onto CDrs,
but some of them drag on playback, and sometimes even come to a
complete halt.

I have a good working, high quality cassette deck that I also
maintain on a regular basis,
so I know it is not the fault of the machine, as other tapes (newer
and older) play just fine.

I have also made sure thatthe cassettes are wound tightly, but not
too much to damage or stretch the tape,
and have also shaken the problem tapes to try to "loosen up" the
tapes on the spools so they would
hopefully play smoothly with no dragging or stopping. None of this
has solved the problem.

So, I am at my wit's end as to what else to do? I also do not want to
be forced to transfer the tapes from the
original cases into newer, possibly more lubricated ones. That would
be a complete nightmare.

Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (no wise crack
replies and "suggestions" please. :- ) )

TIA!

-Rev. Fever
Portland,OR
http://www.spiritone.com/~rvfever/

[Daryl Shawn]

Try rewinding, then fast forwarding each tape to the end a couple of
times. Beyond that, yeah, transferring the tapes to new cases is
probably the best idea. It's tedious but not that bad, especially if you
can find replacement cases with screws, instead of glued cases. Make
sure to rewind the tape first, then it's just a simple matter of lifting
the reels to the new case. Child's play compared to splicing, believe me..!

Daryl Shawn
www.swanwelder.com
www.chinapaintingmusic.com

[Nemo...@aol.com]

hey rev.....you might try as an experiment picking the least liked cassette (if there is one) and running it through the machine at fast forward and then rewind and see if that loosens it up.....i've heard in the past about "baking" old reel to reel tape but i really don't know that much about this method or if indeed this would help.....i have a BEST OF roy orbison cassestte that i want to burn to cd but all of my cassette players have given up the ghost.....if anyone would be willing to do this for me they could keep the cassette and send me the cd.....good luck!.....michael

"YOU CAN PUT A GUCCI ON A PIG AND IT'S STILL A PIG".....scoots galore
which leads me to ask, what's tackier than an imatation gucci?......a real gucci!.....ba-boom

new groovy tunes at:
http://www.myspace.com/klobuchar10
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[Rev Fever]

On Oct 23, 2008, at 11:53 AM, Nemo...@aol.com wrote:

hey rev.....you might try as an experiment picking the least liked cassette (if there is one) and running it through the machine at fast forward and then rewind and see if that loosens it up....

Thanx Nemo, but that is one of the first things I tried. It has worked before, and also hasn't, as well.    ngn..ngn..ngn..ngn!

Also, it is better to not use the rewind function on a machine for rewinding tapes, except for the briefest of rewinding. 

To "rewind" a tape, just take it out, flip it over, re-insert it and FF the tape to the end.  I have made decks last for additional years by sticking to this method.

-Rev.Fever

http://www.spiritone.com/~rvfever/

[Rev Fever]

On Oct 23, 2008, at 11:44 AM, Daryl Shawn wrote:

Try rewinding, then fast forwarding each tape to the end a couple of 

times.

Thanx for your prompt reply and a possible suggestion, but I have done that. 

No solution in this case.

Beyond that, yeah, transferring the tapes to new cases is  probably the best idea.

It's tedious but not that bad, especially if you 

can find replacement cases with screws, instead of glued cases. Make 

sure to rewind the tape first, then it's just a simple matter of lifting 

the reels to the new case. 

I have also done this in the past w/ another tape, and it *still* dragged!  Ay yi yi!

Also, w/ this current project, I would be looking at having to do that potentially SIXTEEN TIMES!

(16 different original cassettes!)  And then, what if it STILL did NOT work!?  Eeeeeeeeee!!! :-)

But, thanx again for yer suggestion anyway.

Daryl Shawn

www.swanwelder.com

www.chinapaintingmusic.com

I have a bunch of older, and quite rare cassette releases that I  

really need to archive onto CDrs,

but some of them drag on playback, and sometimes even come to a  

complete halt.

Rev Fever

http://www.spiritone.com/~rvfever/

[Daryl Shawn]

Drat! You know, actually, I doubt transferring the tapes to another case
would really help. I think what I'd suggest is to play the tape until it
sticks. At that point, take the tape out of the player and see if you
can find a gummy spot that may be sticking to your pinch roller. If so,
try to clean just that section of the tape, gently, or sacrifice that
one tune and cut out a section.

Do they always stick in the same spot? If it's different spots, do
multiple passes, then edit a complete track together. Fast-forwarding to
the difficult part from the beginning may help.

Another idea would be to put these tapes in a player with 2x tape speed.
Playing at the higher speed will have a better chance of getting through
the stickiness. Then in your audio editor, drop down the pitch and speed
by half, if that's possible without too many artifacts. It may even help
just to play on a player with a pitch control, cranking that up a bit.

good luck - I know this sucks..

Daryl Shawn
www.swanwelder.com
www.chinapaintingmusic.com

> http://www.spiritone.com/~rvfever/ <http://www.spiritone.com/%7Ervfever/>
>
>
> >

[Jeff Duke]

I have had that problem. Sometimes the felt pad on the tapes get old or come
off. They are easy to replace. Sometimes the spring band that holds the pad
is messed up. I have used a pencil to unwind and rewind them to loosen them
up. some other tips at :
http://www.techsupportforum.com/home-support/home-theater/232230-ripping-cassette-tape-problem-tape-old.html

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rcarlsen/cbm/fixcass.txt

Just curious, what music is it?

peace,
Jeff

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7:54 AM

[Rev Fever]

Late Reply Dept.-  (due to previous unavoidable circumstances)

As for the tape-drag problem, a good friend who is an *amazing* studio engineer and literally a true "sound scientist"...

(really, he can tell ya ANYTHING about sound, music,etc, no matter what it is, or what it entails, etc, from the science of why a TT tone arm works, 

all the way to fully grasping the latest ProTools etc and EVERYTHING in between, both older analogue to the latest digital whatever,etc.  

A true prodigy,etc. I am very fortunate to know him! )

...suggested that I open up the cassette w/ removing the top part only of the tape shell and then placing the tape still in w/ the bottom 1/2 of the shell

into a FOOD DEHYDRATOR (no kidding) and set that on the lowest setting on the unit and leave the tape in there for a minimum of 4 hours.

(and then leave out it at room temp for another 2 hours or so, afterwards) I tried that yesterday on a tape that I *knew* was dragging (and stopping) 

and lo and behold, it seems to have WORKED! The tape played mostly flawlessly until only the very last 5 mins or so on the B-side, 

and even then it only semi-dragged  a WEE bit and only off-n-on, and never stopped, so that possibly indicates to me that for the next tape(s)

they should remain in the FD for an additional hour or so.

Also, luckily for me, I also have another friend who just happened to have an "extra" FD he was not using, and he let me borrow it indefinitely.

(Can we all say "Synchronicity" boys and girls?) Luckily, that FD has 4 racks inside since I still have about *13 more* tapes to try to fix.

All the best,

Rev Fever

http://www.spiritone.com/~rvfever/

PS- Sad Note Dept.-  I heard that Jimmy Carl Black passed away on Nov 1st.   Fuck!   Another Light has gone out in the world.

Rev Fever

http://www.spiritone.com/~rvfever/