need solution... please help

[Beckman]

Ok, I have some really old tapes from old Tascam cassette tape recorders that I am supposed to transfer to digital. Now of course they are in a super slow speed. I use Cubase and I have transfered them using a tape deck, but I need to speed the tracks up to normal speed. I have messed with this for hours and can't seem to find a good solution. The "time warp" process in Cubase is useless. I need to simply speed up the tracks.

Any ideas?

I have a lot of Native Instruments apps and tons of sampling software but decided to ask someone first before I start rigging somethig up that "will do".

[AndyH]

I don't understand the "of course they are in a super slow speed" bit. The tapes were recorded at a speed higher than your playback deck can do?

I don't know Cubase capabilities, but this is easy enough to do in some (many?) editors -- to an extent -- if the problem is as I guessed above. One process requires the ability to both convert the sample rate and the ability (or facility) to adjust it without conversion. The latter effects playback via header information changes but does not actually change the data.

In this method you use adjust sample rate to increase playback speed the appropriate amount. Say you recorded at a sample rate of 44.1kHz while the tape was being played back at half speed.
* First you do an adjust sample rate to 88.2kHz so playback speed is now correct. Your hardware does not have to support playing that sample rate, you just need to effect the file.
* For step two you downsample that back to 44.1kHz. The rate you choose for step one is simply the ratio between the correct speed and the recorded speed times the recorded sample rate.

The other method is generally called time stretch. It accomplishes the same thing with only one operation on your part. I haven't used it myself to do anything in particular (that is, nothing other than apply a preset and listen to the result, just to see what happened). There will be a transform dialogue into which you must supply the correct parameter values.

The "to an extent" part is that equalization is changed by playing tape back at a speed different than the recording. That will need some adjusting and may be a bear. I've only done this for 78 RPM disks played at 33.3 RPM, where the problems are a little different.

[jmail]

If you're playing the tapes back in a regular deck, don't... Find yourself a similar deck to what was used to do the original recordings. You might find one at a rental place. Be sure and "clean" it before you use it. No amount of plug-in is going to bring you "up to speed" without there being some oddball sounding residual effect. You'll sound like Robert Plant on Houses of the Holy...

[Beckman]

Thanks guys.

I had finally figured out that I could change the bit rate and it increases the playback speed. Some tracks it seemed to work out real well. Tracks that were bass heavy didn't work out.
So it looks like I'm going to take jmail's advice and seek out an old Tascam deck with the variable speed jog wheel and see what results I can get. Another thing I forgot about these old Tascam recordings is that the deck takes advantage of all four tracks on the tape. So even if the sound quality was good, I'm missing two tracks.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Audiodude]

Ok, well, I'm not sure what difference bit depth (I think that's what you meant) would have made, but I'm glad you got it sorted out...