Can Audiotapes Deteriorate?

[winstonmin]

I have audio tapes collected over the years, and when playing the original radio version of Alan Bennett’s “Talking Heads” (as they are back on the TV), the quality of the sound in parts was very poor, as if the tapes were sticking. Do audio tapes deteriorate with time, and can they wreck a cassette player?

[bhg481]

In the days when computers used magnetic tape it was considered good practice to fully wind and rewind tapes regularly to help prevent sticking.

[andy-hughes]

They can oxidize over time, leading to a drop in sound quality.

[Hagen]

Yes, cassette tapes certainly can play less smoothly after a while. Cassettes were my medium for music for many years before CDs came along, and I remember that the tape didn't always wind smoothly from one spool to another. If your cassette has a transparent window, you can sometimes see a "ridge" in the tape where some of the tape has wound slightly higher or lower onto the spool than the rest.

Uneven winding causes wow and flutter (where sustained long notes on higher instruments sound "sour" or break up). Occasionally the tape will stop playing and in the worst case it can wrap around the playing head. This would happen particularly if the recording didn't take up the whole tape and you had to wind to the end before turning over. This happened less frequently with higher quality tapes (TDK were the best I came across). If your tape does seem to be running unevenly you can try fast winding from start to finish and back.

I don't recall any significant decline in sound quality other than dropouts when some of the magnetic particles came off the tape, leaving a "hole" in the sound.

I can't see that the tapes would damage your player, but it's a good idea to clean the playing heads regularly. Use a cotton bud and a weak solution of alcohol. Those head cleaner cassettes (which I'm sure you can't get any more) were pretty much useless.

[winstonmin]

Thanks very much for the information. I have had tapes getting stuck and having to extricate them. So before I play a tape I shall run it backward and forwards as you suggest. Thanks.

[Hagen]

You're welcome. Might be worth backing up your recordings on CD or MP3 if they're irreplaceable.