Overview of Tape Transfers
Playback equipment for magnetic audio tape is rapidly becoming obsolete. For formats like open reel, no new machines are being manufactured. In the world of compact cassettes, no current production machine can match the sonic quality of the legendary Nakamichi machines.
The Audio Archive has standardized on the very best machines ever manufactured for each format. Because many of these machines are now irreplaceable, we have multiple identical machines - we even try to keep the machine serial numbers close together for part interchangeability and zero project downtime.
Having an inventory of identical machines allows us to keep all of our machines in perfect service as we rotate through our production machines on a staggered service schedule. We are never forced to forego maintenance because we need a machine for a big project. This means that whether you have 10 tapes or 10,000 tapes, the sound quality will always remain consistent from the first tape to the last.
Reel-to-Reel
We support the following open reel formats, including:
Width (inch) |
Format |
15/16 IPS |
1.875 IPS |
3.75 IPS |
7.5 IPS |
15 IPS |
30 IPS |
¼ |
Mono |
|
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
¼ |
Two-Track |
|
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
½ |
Two-Track |
|
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
¼ |
Quarter-Track Stereo |
|
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
¼ |
Four-Track |
• |
• |
|
|
|
|
We have a full complement of noise reduction decoders for:
We can rehydrate your brittle acetate tapes suffering from edge curl, or dehydrate your tapes suffering from sticky binder (sticky shed syndrome). The STUDER A820 Master Recorder with custom SHR headblocks has such low scrape flutter that tapes that squeal on most open reel decks will not squeal on the STUDER A820.
For ultra low-speed tapes (15/16 and 1-7/8 IPS), we use actual logging machines rather than the more nearly universal practice of slowing down a faster machine. Machines expressly designed for low-speed logging will provide wider frequency response, lower wow-and-flutter, and more accurate tape EQ (equalization). This becomes particularly important when transcribing tapes, where clarity of reproduction will improve comprehension.
Cassette
The Nakamichi CR-7 series (CR-7, CR-7A, or CR-7E) is our machine of choice for transferring compact cassettes. You can find out why here.
We use outboard Dolby noise reduction (B-type, C-type and S-type). The outboard noise reduction makes a significant difference, because we can fine-tune the performance of the Dolby decoder. This ability to fine-tune the decoder makes a significant improvement on all tapes, but can especially improve the audio on aging cassettes.
Other Magnetic Media
We can also transfer other magnetic media formats, including:
We take the same meticulous approach with these formats as we do with reel-to-reel and cassette.