wrote:
Brad wrote:
Hi,

I have been recording audio cassettes (family gatherings & my
kids) into
MP3 files.

Unfortunately one of these cassettes is Ampex (problem brand)
with a
history of "drag". I removed the tape and put it in a new
cassette case,
but it wasn't a complete "fix". Note: The cassette player(s) I
have been
using holds the cassette in a up/vertical (common in modern
cassette
players) position.

I suspect the tape composition used by Ampex is at fault.

I would like to get a reply from someone who actually had this
problem,
if you "fixed" the problem, what technique did you use?

Thanks in advance, Brad

See this article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_baking

We routinely bake 2" quadruplex video tapes at work using a commercial
food dehydrator running 12 hours at 135 F. Several hundred quad tapes,
a few 3/4" U-Matic cassettes (plastic housing), 1/2" and 1/4" open
reel audio tapes have gone through the process. NONE have been damaged
and ALL (so far) have played properly. One of the tapes was a 1/4"
alignment tape on a plastic reel. It too is fine.

The actual problem is the binder absorbs moisture and while Ampex did
have a problem with this until they identified the issue, 3M, Memorex,
Fuji and other brands have required baking as well.

G²

I wonder if the OP's verified that the *program* material on the tape is
recorded correctly? If the problem exhibits consistently (ie drags at
the same rate, in the same spots) on various players, it might simply
have been a speed problem in the machine the tape was recorded on. It
sounds like he's done most of what one does when you have this problem,
so I'd look into that. If the cassette was originally recorded in a
machine with poor speed regulation there's no fixing it, except to
manually vary the speed of playback to match reality.

That's not going to be easy. In any case, I'd get the best digital
transfer possible, then play with the pitch in that domain...unless
there's a mechanical issue that can be dealt with.

jak