Converting 1/4 inch tapes
 

Hi Everyone

I have 5 old open reel 1/4 inch tapes from about 40 years ago that I would
like converted into either mp3 or wav format on a CD/DVD. I would do this
myself, but don't have an open reel tape deck anymore. Does anyone know any
way that I could get these converted, such as a commercial service, or
anyone who has an old open reel tape deck who would be prepared to do it
under suitable arrangements!

Many thanks for any help you can give - please would you respond to
, as well as posting a reply here

Cheers

Glenn

Converting 1/4 inch tapes
 

In article ,
Glenn White wrote:
I have 5 old open reel 1/4 inch tapes from about 40 years ago that I
would like converted into either mp3 or wav format on a CD/DVD. I would
do this myself, but don't have an open reel tape deck anymore. Does
anyone know any way that I could get these converted, such as a
commercial service, or anyone who has an old open reel tape deck who
would be prepared to do it under suitable arrangements!

The problem is it's pretty time consuming. Before anyone says - 'you just
leave it running' most amateurs seem to used every speed possible on just
one track of a tape. And mix up mono and stereo...

5" reels suggests mono 1/4 track to me usually at 3 3/4ips. So depending
on tape type could be 6 hours worth per tape.

Having done lots of this sort of thing, most have forgotten just how much
rubbish will be on the tapes for one or two gems - and just how poor the
quality will be.

However, don't let me put you off. ;-)

--
*It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Converting 1/4 inch tapes
 

In article , Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:
In article , Glenn White
wrote:
I have 5 old open reel 1/4 inch tapes from about 40 years ago that I
would like converted into either mp3 or wav format on a CD/DVD. I
would do this myself, but don't have an open reel tape deck anymore.
Does anyone know any way that I could get these converted, such as a
commercial service, or anyone who has an old open reel tape deck who
would be prepared to do it under suitable arrangements!

The problem is it's pretty time consuming. Before anyone says - 'you
just leave it running' most amateurs seem to used every speed possible
on just one track of a tape. And mix up mono and stereo...

Must confess that a while ago I had a 15ips tape to transfer to CD but my
15ips deck died. So I transferred it at 7.5ips and then processed the
sampled data to change the rate. :-)

Having done lots of this sort of thing, most have forgotten just how
much rubbish will be on the tapes for one or two gems - and just how
poor the quality will be.

OTOH It may be some 'lost gems' from the BBC or similar...

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/AudioMisc/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/Audio/armstrong.html
Barbirolli Soc. http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/JBSoc/JBSoc.html

Converting 1/4 inch tapes
 

Hello Glenn

This year I have been converting my own old tapes to CD
(5-inch and 7-inch reels recorded at 3 3/4 stereo).
I do this from a Tandberg TD20A onto a Pioneer CD recorder.
That is the analog - to - digital stage.
I then rip the CDs to the computer.
Conversion to MP3 is then the easiest step.

I have to do this one track at a time
because even inaudible tape hiss is such that the CD recorder
does not recognize the break between tracks.
This means I have to listen to the music
and leap up from my desk (I work at home) whenever a track finishes.

Another method would be to record each tape side as a long single track
and then do the breaks on the computer.
I decided against this strategy.

I could do the conversion for you at a price
- and depending on what the music material is
My music taste is varied but I don't like everything.
And the results would be "as is".
A professional will give you professional results
but will charge you professional prices.

Best regards from Ray

Converting 1/4 inch tapes
 

In article ,
Raymond RUSSELL wrote:
I could do the conversion for you at a price
- and depending on what the music material is
My music taste is varied but I don't like everything.
And the results would be "as is".
A professional will give you professional results
but will charge you professional prices.

I'm afraid they would as it's a very time consuming process to get the
very best results. I usually tweak the azimuth and tape path on 1/4 track
recordings - you can get a very considerable improvment in sig noise if
the original was off standard as many are. And it's not something software
can sort afterwards.

--
*Half the people in the world are below average.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.