Enrichment · Passion Projects

Save the voices
on the tapes.

Cassettes from the 1970s to the 1990s hold voices no one else has: birthdays, interviews, a grandparent telling the old stories. Tape ages, and you usually get one good play. Work through each tape the way archivists do, log what is on it as you listen, and know how much storage the masters will take before you start.

Add a tapeWhat you get

Your tapes

The worked example is made up: a 64-minute chrome tape from 1987 marked Dolby B, half way through the workflow, with three segments logged. Saved on this device only.

Loading the tape form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Passion ProjectsFree

What you finish with
A record per cassette with your number, label, tape type, noise reduction, minutes and condition; sample rate, bit depth and channels; ten workflow steps from inspection to three backed-up copies; a log of segments with side, start time, contents and voices. Works out the WAV master’s size per tape and in total; flags a tape that should not be played, slack tape, a noise reduction setting to match and settings below archival.
Who it is for
Families with boxes of cassettes, students doing oral history projects and the relative who owns the last working tape deck.
Format
Browser workflow log with a saved record per tape. Prints a tape’s record, a list of every tape or a blank form to keep with the deck; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Number each tape and inspect it before it goes near the deck.
  2. Choose settings once: 24-bit, 96 kHz for masters if your interface supports it.
  3. Clean the deck, set the levels, then record each side in real time.
  4. Log segments and voices as you listen.
  5. Make a sharing copy, then back up the masters three ways.

Add a tape

The workflow

From shelf to safe, in order1Inspectmold, pads, slack2Clean the deckheads, capstan, roller3Set the decktape type, Dolby4Levelspeaks near −6 dBFS5Recordreal time, WAV master6CopyMP3 to share7Back up3 copies, 2 kinds, 1 away
Capture once, carefully, and keep that master untouched. Every later edit starts from a copy.

Why the master stays untouched

Noise reduction and trimming are judgment calls, and tools get better. Archives keep an unedited master captured at high resolution and make every edited or compressed version from a copy, so nothing heard on the tape is lost for good.

The storage math

A WAV file’s size is the sample rate times the bit depth times the channels times the seconds. Stereo 24-bit audio at 96 kHz takes about 34.6 MB a minute; at 48 kHz, about 17.3 MB; CD-quality 16-bit at 44.1 kHz, about 10.6 MB.

Sources

  1. International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives. IASA-TC 04: Guidelines on the Production and Preservation of Digital Audio Objects (iasa-web.org).
  2. Library of Congress. Recommended Formats Statement: audio works and Caring for audio recordings (loc.gov).
  3. National Archives. Caring for Your Family Archives: audio and video (archives.gov).
  4. U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Data backup options, the 3-2-1 approach (cisa.gov).

The worked example is made up. Very old, moldy or broken tapes are best handled by an audio preservation service; playing them can destroy them. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.