Am I the only one who thinks restoring old cassette tapes is way more fun than vinyl?

I found this stat online from a 2022 audio preservation survey that said over 80% of recorded cassette tapes from the 80s are still playable if stored right, but vinyl degrades way faster. My local library in Portland has a tape deck in their media room and I spent 3 hours last weekend fixing a 1987 mix tape I found at a thrift store for 50 cents. Has anyone else tried cleaning tape heads with isopropyl alcohol and gotten amazing results?

2 comments

2 Comments

wright.kevin11d ago

Wait, did that survey factor in the different tape formulations from the 80s? Because I swear those super cheap Type 0 ferric tapes crumble no matter how you store them, but my Type II Sony UX cassettes from '86 still sound crisp. Is there a particular brand or tape type you've found holds up the best for restoring?

coleman.seth11d ago

Oh @wright.kevin you're totally right about those cheap Type 0 tapes crumbling. I had a handful of Memorex d120s that basically turned to dust when I tried to play them. But my TDK SA90s from '85 sound like they were recorded yesterday after a good clean. The isopropyl trick is real though, I used 91% on a qtip and got so much gunk off the heads on my library's deck it was disgusting. That mix tape I fixed had some chrome bias Sony UX-Pros in it and now it plays clean after a quick demagnetize too.