Hi,

I want to digitalize my collection of tapes and wanted to ask some things.

Equipment would be an old Technics Stereo Cassette Deck 615 connected to a Marantz MR 230 amp. I hope I mustn't bee too ashamed

Is it always save to turn the DOLBY NR switch on? In think it removes some hissing and noise and doesn't change the sound.

There is also a switch where I can select between CrO², Fe-Cr and Normal. Between the first and the second I can't hear audible differences. I guess it indicates the tape type, but none of my tapes has such a sign, so I have to try to figure it out for myself.

For examples:

http://home.pages.at/loom/normal.ogg
http://home.pages.at/loom/cro2.ogg

So "normal" sounds much more lively and detailed, just more "bandwidth", but also has greater hiss and distortion - Does it make sense at all to turn on CrO²?

Is there a good method to clean the sound a bit without changing the music? (CoolEdit here)

Thank you,
Sebastian

Only if the tape was recorded with that feature (Dolby On during the record process).

If you have "normal" tapes you should use the "normal" switch, if you use another switch the sound can result coloured and tiny. If you have a different type of tape then you should the apropiatte switch for each type. This is important in the record process too. If you record a METAL or Cro2 tape like a normal tape the sound will be colored and with a lot of high frecuencies.

You can use some directx plugins with cool edit, like NOISE REDUCTION, this plugins helps to reduce the hiss in tapes that was recorded with out Dolby NR System.

Maybe you want try to connect the cassette deck directly to the sound card, the amp can add some artifacts.


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Thank you.

I don't know if any of these cassettes is recorded with Dolby. It is all Underground Black Metal, most Demos recorded with a 4 track recorder, so I doubt it But some really sound better with it anyway...

Same goes for the other. On the very few cassettes that show some indicators, like the manufacturer, there is no sign like METAL or CRO2...

I'll have to try out with every tape I guess

I will check Noise Reduction out. I hope it will leave the "good" high frequencies intact...

Connecting to the deck would be unpractical, it is a very old connecting system with cinches. I always would have to stick the cinches in and out somewhere else when I want the signal to go to the amp.

Regards,
Sebastian

I just hauled out one of my old cassettes. The case says CrO2, but on the cassette itself the
clue is in small type: "EQ - 70 us" the "u" is really a greek mu, so it is 70 microseconds. Anyhow, if you
see that, then use the CrO2 switch.

If those tapes with a brand also have a model, like "TDK SA" or "Maxell UDXL" you could look up
whether they are CrO2 (those 2 examples are)

AHA! the case liner says that (at least the TDK) cassettes have "auto sensing openings on the top
edge which automatically switch bias and equalization settings to the CrO2 position on machines which provide this feature" It appears that the hole wtih the "write protect" tab is about 3 mm wider than
the actual tab, on the side towards the center of the cassette. I would say that is the definitive test
if there is no label indication.

yeah, I don't recall ever seeing any cassette tapes without the Cr and/or 'metal' holes in the top edge of the cassette when they were Cr or metal cassette tapes. The Cr holes are right beside and kind of an extension of the recording tab holes as you say, and the metal ones are closer to the middle of the cassette. So if those aren't present, it is probably safe to say that they are just 'normal' tapes and you should use the 'normal' setting.

Type I = Ferro = Smallest holes = 120 µs playback setting

Type II = Chrome = CrO2 (sometimes actually made of Fe+Cobalt) = larger holes = 70 µs playback setting

Type III = FerriChrome, discontinued since early 80's (70 µs plaback setting ?)

Type IV = Metal (made of pure Fe) = large holes + extra holes near the middle = 70 µs playback setting


Type II, III and IV have the same playback setting, but different record settings.

You might want to look at this site. It's primarily related to vinyl as the source, but has good info regarding cleaning up the wav file.

http://www.delback.co.uk/lp-cdr.htm

I always use Cool Edit's denoise feature for tapes. Isolate a background noise sample, analyse it, and the programme will take it out without disturbing the music too much at all.

Depending on the music you can do this just on the intro, quiet passages, etc.

I leave the dolby on and use the correct setting, usually 70 microseconds.

If it sounds flat, equalize it a little as a final step.

Thank you for the informations. Saves me hours of work with these ~50 MCs!

I tried the denoise feature now (with one tape), but the sound was like from within a tin. No dynamics at all and very, hm, xingish. Maybe you can't do this to badly produced music... I will check out the other suggestions on the linked site.

Regards,
Sebastian