Cassette tapes!

[Naio]

This is an S&B question, but I figure you guys will know :B

I hooked up my S&B stereo for the first time in several years. Put in a cassette tape and it was promptly eaten. Put in another (foolish me). It played, but I noticed the timing was off, would slow and speed up a little. Then it was eaten.

I managed to find one album on cd, but for the other I had to buy another tape(!) on ebay. Problem is, I like obscure music.

Anyway, my question: Should I do something to try to fix cassette player? Should I use its second deck? Should I get another player at goodwill? Is the problem really that my tapes are from the 90s, do they degrade? I know nothing about these things, but I have a bunch of wonderful music on cassette that may not be replaceable, and anyway $$.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[DallasSteve]

I'm going to buy one of those gizmos on eBay or Amazon to convert some old cassette tapes to digital. They are some demo songs I wrote and recorded years ago so it's not something I can buy in an MP3 store. Just sentimental value, but irreplaceable to me. They are slowly turning to dust in my garage. I'm pretty sure I can copy my own songs without being sued, but John Fogerty can't.

[delwhjr]

Gdetrailer wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
I would feed your cassette a cleaning tape or two. If it eats them you will hae to dissassemble for manual cleaning.

Then I'd feed it some "Junk" tapes to make sure it's no longer hungry.

I have and if you are in Eastern lower MI perhaps we can get together a USB tape player.. add audacity (SP?) and you can make your cassettes into MP3 or even CD

I have been repairing A/V equipment for yrs, I have never found any evidence that a "cleaning" tape has any capability to "fix" any cassette player.

The OPs player NEEDS A REBUILD OF BELTS AND IDLERS along with some TLC with light lubricant on the correct places.

Over time the belts get gummy and or stretch and the only way to fix is to REPLACE them.

A "cleaning" tape cannot affect worn, stretched belts or hardened idlers, it only "wipes" the surface of the head with a SAND PAPER LIKE MATERIAL and even that is a stretch to say that works.

A REAL audiophile uses rubbing alcohol or a liquid head cleaner and swabs to properly clean the heads. I never bought or owned tape head cleaners..

OP could most likely get their deck repaired, there are a few diehard repair shops that are still repairing, just have to dig them up..

If the OP were to get their deck repaired, they CAN simply PLUG the deck into the LINE IN jack of their computer and make all the recordings they want to..

Computer sound cards can do a fair job at recording and it is built into the PC so no cost there.

I prefer using denatured alcohol (same stuff used in alcohol burners or stoves) Leaves no residue and acts as a cutting agent on older capstan idlers.

[delwhjr]

Chris Bryant wrote:
I probably have nearly every format of audio recording, though not the equipment to play them all.
I may be missing some, but I have-
Shellac 78 rpm records (no wax cylinders, the 78's are the oldest format I have)
no wire recordings
reel to reel 1/2and 1/4 track, 1/4' tapes (and equipment)
R2R 1/2" 8 track
33 1/3 vinyl, 45 rpm vinyl
dictaphone belts
8 track tapes
cassette tapes - including virgin C20 chrome bulk loaded
somewhere I think I have a master on betamax pro using a dbx Model 700 encoder (much different from current pcm formats)
Adat tapes
missing mini discs
Compact Discs (duhh)
now, the cloud 🙂

What formats have I missed ?

4 track tapes
El-Cassette (Sony, early 70s)
1in Reel to Reel (Ampex)
Closed Loop Cassette ( early 8 track replacement, never popular except in answering machines)
Man too many memories, some not pleasant!!:B

[DallasSteve]

I would feel a lot more sympathy for the record companies if they hadn't ripped me off so many times like when I buy an MP3 online and it turns out it's not like the original that everybody knows and wants to buy, but some alternate version that sucks and I can't exchange it for the correct product. If they're going to sell a version that isn't the famous version it should be labelled as such or they are in effect committing fraud.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

HEET works. E=MC2 is not really needed. Auto parts stores carry HEET as does Wal-Mart.

Chris Bryant

You missed pulling into any shopping center parking lot. Format 8:00AM to midnight. fifty thousand watts 130 db. Lyrics heavy with "MoFo" and other double-digit IQ presentations. The idea is to use sound pressure to squeeze ear drums together so they touch...

[Chris_Bryant]

I probably have nearly every format of audio recording, though not the equipment to play them all.
I may be missing some, but I have-
Shellac 78 rpm records (no wax cylinders, the 78's are the oldest format I have)
no wire recordings
reel to reel 1/2and 1/4 track, 1/4' tapes (and equipment)
R2R 1/2" 8 track
33 1/3 vinyl, 45 rpm vinyl
dictaphone belts
8 track tapes
cassette tapes - including virgin C20 chrome bulk loaded
somewhere I think I have a master on betamax pro using a dbx Model 700 encoder (much different from current pcm formats)
Adat tapes
missing mini discs
Compact Discs (duhh)
now, the cloud 🙂

What formats have I missed ?

[Bumpyroad]

just googled heet, sez yellow is methanol, almost pure.
red is isopropyl, standard rubbing alcohol. neither is ethanol.
bumpy

[RPreeb]

I first recorded from vinyl to cassette back in the 80's, then transferred everything from cassette to CD at least 15 years ago, probably started the project longer ago than that. Then most recently put all of those on computer and thumb drives. Everything I have now is stored and backed up digitally. Both of our vehicles have USB ports for playing straight off the thumb drive. Also have Sirius/XM in both vehicles.

Cassettes do wear out, and start sticking. I had it happen more than once. Even CD's get scratched pretty easily. Having multiple backups digitally is by far the best insurance that your hard to find pieces will always be there when you want them.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

......remaining on-track......

HEET gas line antifreeze is pure alcohol, not pharmacy 40% or 70%.

With a Q-tip it seems to work better cleaning the head and drive wheel. Patience is the key. Anything that touches the tape should be made sparkling clean.

For the rubber-band drive belt, a tiny cotton pad dampened with window glass cleaner works well to remove glazing from the rubber. Just look at the black on the pad.

[valhalla360]

delwhjr wrote:


As it says they will likely not come after you and realistically they would never know you did it unless you were to brag or distribute.
But the law does not allow for an individual to make copies unless you can prove it is covered by the Fair Use provision.

Excerpt from a legal opinion:

"Copyright law does not contain any caveat that allows unauthorized parties to make personal copies of copyrighted products. However, under the doctrine of "fair use," individuals may be permitted to make backup copies or archival copies of some materials as long as certain conditions are met. Creating a copy of a copyrighted work for your own ease of use is likely to be considered copyright infringement. But if you are making a copy so that you may use a copyrighted product in case the original is stolen, damaged or destroyed, your conduct may fall within the doctrine of fair use.

Copyright Infringement

Generally, copyright infringement occurs when an unauthorized party reproduces, distributes, performs, publicly displays, or makes a derivative work from a copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright owner. Although the practice commonly occurs, making a copy of a protected work for a friend or for personal ease of access is prohibited and may subject the person making copies to personal liability. Additionally, making a personal copy of copyrighted material so that you can use it in a different manner may be prohibited under copyright law.

Fair Use

Within copyright law there is a doctrine of law known as fair use. Although fair use does not actually give permission to make copies of a work or otherwise use a work without consent, the doctrine provides a defense to copyright infringement. The factors considered when applying the doctrine of fair use include: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount of the work used, and the effect the use has upon the market for the copyrighted work."

Your own quote covers it. "Fair Use" allows you to make a backup. It's not a question of "IF" they will pursue you, as they will lose. Fair use is a judicial clarification of copyright law that is well established. It's an area where the "law" doesn't clearly cover the issue so unless they want to re-write the underlying law, the judicial rulings are effectively law.

Again this assumes, it is just a backup and you are not distributing or otherwise profiting from the copies, which the OP isn't doing.

[loggenrock]

x2 on the rubbing alcohol! Another suggestion - the tapes themselves. Since I imagine they have been sitting for a long time... try 2 things 1st. Pencil in a spindle drive hole - will the tape turn freely? 2nd - if not, tap the tape a few times 1st on 1 flat side, then the other, on a counter or table. Helps re-align the way the tape itself was spooled on the reels inside the case. Then try the pencil thing again - often helps... ST (still listening to cassette tapes and vinyl albums...)

[Gdetrailer]

wa8yxm wrote:
I would feed your cassette a cleaning tape or two. If it eats them you will hae to dissassemble for manual cleaning.

Then I'd feed it some "Junk" tapes to make sure it's no longer hungry.

I have and if you are in Eastern lower MI perhaps we can get together a USB tape player.. add audacity (SP?) and you can make your cassettes into MP3 or even CD

I have been repairing A/V equipment for yrs, I have never found any evidence that a "cleaning" tape has any capability to "fix" any cassette player.

The OPs player NEEDS A REBUILD OF BELTS AND IDLERS along with some TLC with light lubricant on the correct places.

Over time the belts get gummy and or stretch and the only way to fix is to REPLACE them.

A "cleaning" tape cannot affect worn, stretched belts or hardened idlers, it only "wipes" the surface of the head with a SAND PAPER LIKE MATERIAL and even that is a stretch to say that works.

A REAL audiophile uses rubbing alcohol or a liquid head cleaner and swabs to properly clean the heads. I never bought or owned tape head cleaners..

OP could most likely get their deck repaired, there are a few diehard repair shops that are still repairing, just have to dig them up..

If the OP were to get their deck repaired, they CAN simply PLUG the deck into the LINE IN jack of their computer and make all the recordings they want to..

Computer sound cards can do a fair job at recording and it is built into the PC so no cost there.

[Gdetrailer]

2oldman wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
Pretty much any LEGIT "commercial service" WILL REFUSE to copy any COMMERCIAL recorded material due to COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT..

It's NOT hard to find ones that WILL.

Sure, you CAN find some fly by night outfits which will GLADLY TAKE YOUR MONEY AND GIVE YOU AN INFERIOR COPY OF AN INFERIOR SOURCE..

Each copy generation causes the QUALITY to go further into the dumpster..

Cassettes and 8 tracks start out pretty much IN THE DUMPSTER as far as sound quality and noise goes..

It is YOUR MONEY to throw into that dumpster if you like but in reality pretty much most of the music you have on those formats ARE readily available on CDs already AT A REASONABLE COST..

Consider this, you will most likely pay a third party easily $5-$10 for each tape, they will give you a BURNED CD in return. They will use your worn out, stretched tapes with dropouts, tape noise and high wow and flutter and cheap CONSUMER quality equipment and signal processing.

You can often find the same albums already PRESSED on CD for $5-$10 each and they use the ORIGINAL MASTER RECORDINGS AND TOP NOTCH PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT during the entire process.

There is a huge difference..

The only possible exception I can think of is if it is a one off or non released album.. One I can think of is Dire Straights Brothers in Arms, the cassette version contains special extended length songs.. The record did not, it had the standard length songs instead, not sure which version they may have released for CD..

[JimK-NY]

I find it hard to believe anyone still uses a cassette to keep audio they value. My cassettes have long since been replaced. In 2010 I also ripped all of my CDs for digital storage. CDs also deteriorate. Digital files can be easily kept on multiple drives. Periodically I replace my older drives and transfer the data to new drives. Once you have digital files you can easily make new CDs and select the specific tracks you want.