How many years does it take for pre-recorded tapes to noticeably decline in sound quality? Any general rule of thumb? 10, 20 years? Or are there too many variables?

reli i still have tapes that i had recorded when i was a teen about 17 and it still sound good i am 45 years old so it has some years on it

Lots of variables. The main ones would probably be:

1. Quality of tape
2. Storage temperature
3. Condition of playback heads over the years
4. Level at which the music was originally recorded
5. Sunlight

In general, the better you treat the tapes, the longer they will last.

Tapes last longer than cd depending on the quality of tape, why ohh why did they have to invent cd and why did we fall for it.

quote:

Originally posted by Fatdog:
Lots of variables. The main ones would probably be:

1. Quality of tape
2. Storage temperature
3. Condition of playback heads over the years
4. Level at which the music was originally recorded
5. Sunlight

In general, the better you treat the tapes, the longer they will last.

with Fatdog I have the original TDK's MA-R metal tapes over somewhat 30yrs. and still to this day they sound great. I keep them in a cassette case made out of nylon and I keep them on the floor where it's believe or not much cooler and yes out of sun light!

quote:

Originally posted by rimmer36:
Tapes last longer than cd depending on the quality of tape, why ohh why did they have to invent cd and why did we fall for it.

Why would a CD decline in quality faster a tape? Seems like tapes magnetic memory could decline, but there's nothing magnetic on a cd.

I have a few going back to 1975 and one given to me from a cousin from 1969 that still works fine.

The supposed "expiration date" of recorded/recordable media don't mean much of anything... If you take good care of your tapes, you'll enjoy them for decades. You can apply that same statement to CD's as well.

Hi-There's a thing called Ferric Oxide decomposition or degradation that will eventually like over 40-50 years maybe longer with env. control-will,well the tape will get brittle as with all plastics over time.
I'm an expert-truly.I have 1,000's of cassettes.
The bext way to reduce this from happening sooner than later is keep'em dry and cool! Away from sunlight or anything else damp or heat of any kind.The best is a vacumn tight room with sterile and fresh clean air.
Look at what Warner & some of the other major giants do wiith their film.They have seriously environmentally controlled rooms for their tapes and films.
I think they store them underground in caves under the desert or in a mountain or some crazy thing.
But this is the best way to keep em from squelching!
That dreaded sound when this begins to happen.
All you can do is shake the case vigorously by tapping the side hard on a hard smooth surface(there's actually a technique for this) and hope for the best.Sometimes going ff all the way through the tape twice helps.Never rewind when you can FF!
I have some from 1977' and 78' and they sound great.But some of the K-Tels from 79' are getting a little funny.Alot of it depends on the tape quality from new and how much you play them adversly affects the sound longevity.
Any questions feel free to ask.
I love,love my cassettes!!
Have a super weekend-Ghettoboom777.

quote:

Originally posted by rimmer36:
Tapes last longer than cd depending on the quality of tape, why ohh why did they have to invent cd and why did we fall for it.

I also have tapes from the early to mid 80s, and
they still sound fantastic!

quote:

Originally posted by ghettoboom777:
The best is a vacumn tight room with sterile and fresh clean air.
L

How is that possible?

I do believe this cannot exsist

Hi walkgirl-Maybe I should have been more descriptive in this.The drier the air,the better.Moisture is a killer on tapes.
They do use environmentally controlled rooms for tape storage.I'm not to sure as to how they control their environment.I'll look into this.
Have a great weekend-Ghettoboom777.

WOW, ramon, you don't look a day over 42.

quote:

Originally posted by ghettoboom777:
Sometimes going ff all the way through the tape twice helps.Never rewind when you can FF!
:

I don't understand this part

Hi reli-if you keep rewinding like from say a certain point in a cassette it tightens up.Rewinding can if done in the same place after like listening toi a song tightens up that particular spool.
I've been always told and have experienced that ff is the best.It doesn't tighten up a particular spool.
I always ff to the end so it's always ready at the beginning when I need to listen to the tape again.
I hope this clears it up a little.
It just makes sense to me as I have experienced the "Tightened Spool" syndrome before.
Have a great one-Ghettoboom777.

My problem with old tapes is the little pad that eventually falls out.

quote:

Originally posted by NoSync:
My problem with old tapes is the little pad that eventually falls out.

Fixin' broken cassettes was me specialty back in the day. Rewind the tape all the way and take the tape apart, take out that little metal piece the felt pad was on and just glue it back on. Or instead of having to take the tape apart, rewind it all the way and carefully pull out a little of the tape from over where the felt pad goes and glue the pad back on that way. I hope that made sense .