Reel to reel to digital transfer service

Reel to reel tape conversion is more than playback. These are the things that decide whether the digital file is a faithful copy or a compromised one.

Calibrated studio recorder

A high-quality, calibrated studio tape recorder reproduces the sound recorded on the tape accurately across the full frequency range, from low frequencies to high. We calibrate our recorders regularly and verify their frequency response by measurement, so that every frequency is reproduced at the correct level.

Tape speed

Reel-to-reel tapes were recorded at speeds from 15/32 ips on logging recorders up to 30 ips in studios. We always play a tape at the speed it was recorded. The speed can also change in the middle of a tape if the owner recorded new material at a different setting, so we check the whole tape, not just the beginning.

Playing a tape faster than it was recorded, for example at double speed to save time, cannot be fully fixed afterwards. Duration and pitch can be corrected in software, but the noise level rises compared to playback at the original speed, and high frequencies are often lost. At double speed, a 12 kHz tone on the tape becomes a 24 kHz signal, which the playback head cannot reproduce. That is why we never use double-speed playback.

Track configuration

The same 1/4" tape can hold one full-width track, two tracks, four tracks, or eight tracks on multitrack machines. A quarter-track stereo tape carries two programs, one in each direction. If it is played on a half-track head, the second program is picked up as well and plays backwards underneath the first. A full-track mono recording played on a narrower head loses signal level. When the level is raised afterwards, the noise rises with it. The head has to match the tape.

Equalization

The tape itself does not reveal which equalization it was recorded with. Unless the box or other information indicates the curve, we use a standard curve (NAB or IEC) that matches the tape speed. If the tape is known to have been recorded with a non-standard or historical curve, we use that instead. We can play back tapes with any equalization curve.

Noise reduction

Professional and semi-professional tapes were sometimes encoded with Dolby A, Dolby SR or dbx noise reduction. Consumer recorders sometimes used Dolby B. Without a decoder, or with the wrong one, the recording is not reproduced correctly. We identify the encoding and decode it with the matching decoder during the transfer.

Splices, leaders and trailers

Old splicing tape dries out and comes loose, and the tape separates at the splice. A tape without leader cannot be played from the very beginning, because the beginning has to be wound around the take-up reel before playback starts. We repair splices and add missing leader and trailer tape, so the whole recording is played from start to finish.

The process is described step by step in our reel-to-reel digitization guide.

By default, you receive 24-bit / 48 kHz WAV files. Higher sample rates and 32-bit float are available on request. Each mono or stereo recording is delivered as one file. 4-track and 8-track multitrack recordings are delivered as one file containing all 4 or 8 tracks. Every delivery includes technical metadata in AudioMD format and MD5 or SHA checksums for each file.