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'''Volume control''' | '''Volume control''' | ||
If things are too loud, it will sound distorted and totally ruin your recording. To control this, you can tweak the level of volume on your player, along with the input volume on your computer. It's best to fix this before you record, as changing the volume in post will not help fix the recording. Instead, play a song off the tape in full and make sure Audacity's volume meter never reaches max. It's fine if this happens once or twice, but if your recording is "redlined", you should adjust your volume levels. The ideal setup is to have a healthy volume level on the player, and turn your computer input volume down to compensate. You should also make sure the level on the player doesn't max out either. | If things are too loud, it will sound distorted and totally ruin your recording. To control this, you can tweak the level of volume on your player, along with the input volume on your computer. It's best to fix this before you record, as changing the volume in post will not help fix the recording. Instead, play a song off the tape in full and make sure Audacity's volume meter never reaches max. It's fine if this happens once or twice, but if your recording is "redlined", you should adjust your volume levels. The ideal setup is to have a healthy volume level on the player, and turn your computer input volume down to compensate. You should also make sure the level on the player doesn't max out either. Sometimes the tapes themselves were recorded loud and distorted, but there's no fix for that. | ||
'''Pitch changes''' | '''Pitch changes''' | ||
If the tape audio feels like it's "wowing" up and down, or "fluttering" with squeaky, watery instruments, this could be a sign that your tape has sticky shed (SSS) or your player has a mechanical issue. Try playing a different tape, and if | If the tape audio feels like it's "wowing" up and down, or "fluttering" with squeaky, watery instruments, this could be a sign that your tape has sticky shed (SSS) or your player has a mechanical issue. Try playing a different tape, and if that sounds good, the tape itself is likely the issue. If the problem persists across all tapes, it's likely there's a problem with the tape transport mechanism on your player. This is an issue we recommend stopping playback for. | ||
'''Ringing or squealing''' | '''Ringing or squealing''' | ||
This kind of distortion is much more noticeable because it can be very loud on the recording, but it also makes a high pitched ringing noise from the player itself. This is an other issue caused by sticky shed, where the tacky tape sticks to the play head and gets pulled along in a series of sticky steps, as opposed to a smooth, constant stream. This is almost certainly an issue with your ''tape'', and not your player. If this is happening to you during playback, it's advised you stop playing the tape and treat the sticky shed first. | |||
'''Song quality gets worse over time''' | |||
Sometimes tapes are dirty, and other times, this can be a sign of sticky shed. If you've noticed the end of a track sounds more muffled than the beginning, stop playback, eject the tape, and look at the play head for any gunk that's collected on it. You should wipe this away periodically, with a cotton swab soaked lightly in alcohol, and make sure it's perfectly dry before putting the tape back in. As you play more tracks, it's possible for more gunk to collect, so you'll probably end up having to play the whole tape twice. If the gunk has a reddish-brown color, or matches the color of the tape, it's likely the tape has extreme sticky shed, and we recommend not playing it. | |||
'''Extreme dropouts and stuttering audio''' | |||
Take out the tape and inspect it. It's possible your tape has been crinkled or mangled by another player. You can still play it, depending on how bad the damage is, but you will experience dropouts and stutters. However, we've seen war tapes that were very poorly recorded, and the left or right audio channel will drop out completely, even on a totally intact tape. | |||
'''Audio abruptly stops''' | |||
If your wiring is fine, and the tape hasn't been ripped and chewed by the player, it's possible this segment of tape has been improperly recorded or erased. | |||
== Troubleshooting == | == Troubleshooting == | ||
