Audiomover Tech - Fixing the Cassette Tape Pressure Pad
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- čas přidán 6. 04. 2017
- Hundreds of thousands of cassette tapes have moved through our studio. In our experience there is one problem with aging cassettes that is more common than all others. This video explains what it is and how to fix it.
Send your audio and video tapes to www.audiomover.com
#RobertJohnHadfield
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Thank you so much. I bought thriller on cassette and was really confused when it was foggy sounding. After I watched this I actually got a piece of 3m pad tape and cut it small and used it.
Thanks so much for posting this. I am just now getting back into audio cassettes after recently getting into vintage audio. I grew up in the 70s and early 80s and have dragged around a bunch of rock cassettes for the last 40 years. I always wondered even back then why some sounded crappy. Figured I spilled beer on them at some point. Saw your video and went to one I just tried to play a few days ago, and sure enough the pressure pad was gone! I have a pack of replacement pads coming from amazon and I can't wait to hear the difference!
That's awesome! Let us know how it goes.
Your a legend dude i have a mixture and maybe 70 cassette tapes having this quiet sounding playing issue I check the pressure pads,on the ones that are quiet it's probably alot them also have some still sealed never played or been recorded I remove from thanks for a straight forward video👌
This is incredible. This is what CZcams is for. Thank you!
Wow, thank you!
I’ve been a Certified Cassette Tape Surgeon for the past couple of years! My cassette collection is growing but 1 out of every 10 have some sort of issue and I have to fix em! I’ve had to splice a few tape reels which is always meticulous but very rewarding when the cassette finally works!! 🎶 Scotch Tape, scissors, an exacto-knife, super glue and patience will be most of the tools you need to be a certified Cassette Tape surgeon like myself 😂
Thank you so much, I have an old tape that I played a lot of as a kid and wanted to give it a listen. Very helpful and informative.
Thank you!!!!!!A month ago, I had just bought this extremely rare Selena cassette from 1986 when she was 14 years old. And it didn't have the pressure point on the cassette. So it sounded muffled. I saw you video and did exactly what you said to do and..... wow.......
Congrats on that find.
You're welcome!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was so dissapointed when I thought the new cassettes I bought were broken but I had to find a way to fix them, that's when I came upon your video and can I just say you're a lifesaver thank you so much. Who knew such a tiny piece could have such importance haha
Thank you SO much. I had this George Garrison tape that sounded weird and thought I had to re-record the whole thing. But thanks to this, it sounds great 👍
I recently inherited a big collection of cassettes from the 80s/90s and this video helped me save my Judas Priest Painkiller cassette. Thank You!
yeah, judas are my favorite....since 80's
And anything by Judas Priest deserves to be saved!
@@audiomover No doubt!
Ha! A penny a tape…. I remember that. Thanks for sparking a memory 😊
Now I can bump my pops’ copy of Journey - Frontiers. Thanks for the knowledge!
You bet!
Very informative. Great video. I have an old cassette tape and the pressure pad fell off. Thanks for posting!
Some of the old Memorex and Philips cassette tapes used felt pad covered foam instead of the metal springy brackets. Just like 8 Tracks used! Had to cut a small square of foam and reglue those back it.
Thank you for this video! I tried this on a few cassettes and now they have clear audio and it was very quick and easy to fix!!
That is great! Glad to hear it.
I always replace my felts.Its always good to replace ur pressure pads.I just fixed 2 cassettes today.I replaced both pressure pads on my Billy Idol Cassettes. Now they sound like New! ☺Great video.
That's actually a great point. There are some cassettes that used material that would break down and literally crumble. We've literally had to scape them off and replace them. And there are still others that we have seen that wear away and become concave after years of use. As you can imagine, we have seen almost everything you can imagine here in the studio.
Wow, that was incredibly helpful. I am a handy person already, but I wanted to learn a little about this, also because my Walkman is old and I’d hate to accidentally break anything. What you said about going to buy another cassette tape and take it apart, basically harvest it, I do that to other things around the house. My kids are always breaking things. But yeah, I am nostalgic and I love this sort of thing, so if you can keep posting useful tips on this subject as well, that’s great! Thanks
So helpful. I'M EXCITED FOR THIS . I do run into a problem that after I insert the q tip as instructed the darn tape won't move. WEIRD
I go to the Salvation Army and Goodwill a lot. Records (six for $4.00). Cassette tapes for 49 cents. There are CD's but I don't care much about them. When I get my records home, before they go on my TT, I wet wash them. But tapes are a different story. Some of them sound just awful. I looked and low and behold, the pressure pads had fallen off. I searched for "cassette tape repair" and I found your site. They work perfectly now. Thanks. Stay safe.
Thank you so much for that information and demonstration. I will go to work immediately!
Thank you so much. I really didn't know that the cassette don't sounds so good without the pressure pad. I already fixed allot of my cassettes. :)
Thank you for this site, bought Breakdance OST on cassette from a charity shop and it sounded duff was about to through it out but got one of the pads from a cheap blank cassette and the cassette sounds as good as new. Awesome, cheers!
damn....throw!!
If you have a cassette without screws but still want to completely replace the metal strip and pressure pad, there is a way but at the risk of damaging the shell. I gently break it apart with separator pliers and a screwdriver to disassemble. Replace the strip/pad, then use a tiny bit of super glue at each corner when putting the shell back together.
Make sure to give it a couple hours to dry so in case glue does find it's way to the tape ribbon, you do not want to play it right away and have glue on the heads and pinch roller.
Probably a better method to repair but that is what I have done
Love this video. I had a cassette by The Girls Next Door and the pad had fallen off so I just glued it back on and was like “huh I wonder if that’ll actually work” looked it up and here I am.
:)) thank you for posting this...I'm happy to have inserted new pressure pad/bar to a favourite tape following ur instructions... ... n now it's playing like new - :)) ... I'm feeling Ur enthusiasm in recovering this mode of audio. Love cassettes; switch themselves off after a certain time, do not jump/jitter wen 'on the move' :)
This is so awesome!! Thank you. Time to repair some classics!!
Let us know how it goes!
Greetings from England. My daughter reliably informs me that Elmer's glue is the same as PVA glue over here. Anyway, we have just glued my Charlie Earland cassette and waiting for it to dry! Thanks.
This is so cool. As I kid I couldn't resist those $.01 deals, I ended up with piles of tapes and then CDs that II listened to once and forgot🤦♀This also unlocked a childhood memory of letting my older brother open up one of my Mariah Carey cassettes and swap out the tape so my mom wouldn't realize he was listening to Tupac 😂 Thank you for that, I love this channel!
Hi Audiomover
you also can buy those replacement pads and those have already glue on the back, some have a good size made for those cassettes some are bigger and you need to cut them in the right size, also what can happen is that the pad not be missing, but can be dirty and can go stick a bit on the tape what inhibits the tape and loosens it again that also can make the tape sound bad as slow down and speed up the music a bit
Would replacing an old felt pad with a new felt pad improve the sound?
Still listening tape on my old pioneer deck. But today I put a tape the song was awful to listen.
So I clean the head the the pins roller 🙄🙄🙄 still the same
Thanks I found your video.
And thanks for advice. 👍
Just bought a tape and opened it to find the pad fall out! I thought it was all over been then thought I wonder if you can just glue it back in and hey presto I seen video..... cheers!
The pressure pad missing, or deteriorated in the 8-track tape cartridge is even more often the problem with them. The simple solution, especially if you want to copy the tape to another or to digital recording, since it won't be played again for long time, is to get a scrap of soundproof drop ceiling. The kind with the smooth white surface and soft foam attached to that smooth surface. Make sure the smooth white surface is against the back of the tape. Regular foam without that smooth coating will make your tape wear out and play slow or break.
That's great! Yep, those 8 track pads just disintegrate.
Thank you!!! This helped me fix my Led Zepplin 3 tape
Sometimes the felt pad is made of a type of foam, which desintergrates over time.
I made a drop in pressure pad to fix these tapes. Just place it over the spring. There is no need to apply glue. It's self adhering and comes with an applicator that works like a pezz dispenser.
My tape recorder makes a crackling static sound when i want to hear a cassett and audio is low or far away :) I Enjoy very much your AudioMover clips.
I have used the glue method myself when repairing a Radio Shack Realistic cassette and it works well.
Yep! simple. :)
Where can the felt pads be purchased? I'm looking for some to use on my reel-to-reel tape deck. I enjoyed the video, will hook my cassette deck back up to rack system.
This is explained very well good job 👍
Glad you liked it
Great video thank you my pads are there okay I have had to replace the belt on my panasonic walkman and it is playing until the tape start to spool out☺
Sat through a lot here just to find out what kind of glue to use and all I got was "Elmer's".
ditto
Great, thanks for the tip!
I have used just adhesive furniture felt, the stuff that one puts under furnitures to prevent scraping of the floor. Just try to get the right thickness. Also if the pads glue is failed there is a chance that the splice between the leader and tape might peel off with the new felt due to failing glue...
Thank you so much.
If the pressure plate is flattened with lots of use will it make the sound on the tape play slower. Reason why I ask is because I tested s new tape on my cassette player after I put in the slow sounding one and it played normal, clear and fine! Thx!
I have a brand new cassette, but it was made in 1980. The pad is still on it and the tape looks good. The first one minute was ok and then the warbling sound started. I fast forwarded it (not on play) and reminded it and it’s even worse. Now what do I do? It’s a rare tape of Virgil Fox wedding music.
Thanks so much for this info bc I have many cassettes, but in my case is not the felt itself is that it keeps unraveling when I play them what is it? I use to clean that little piece that connects to the tape when you press down with a Q-tip dipped in alcohol but is not working do you hava an idea why this happens, the unravel?
just opened some mint pre recorded tapes from 20 years back and a couple get stiff at certain points and stop playing or will not rewind. any idea what that is? pad? or lube? or whack the tape?? they are new so must surely be an easy fix , before i damage them further. thanks.
Excellent app instructional video
Damn you saved my queen a kind of magic cassette!! thanks sir
Awesome!
(Sorry if this is long😅)
Thanks for the video, found this really fun to watch, I’m having trouble when play my cassette tape, and it’s not the player outputting sound, (it works fine) but the cassette itself. After learning about the pressure pad and being able to take it out, I was wondering if it’s even necessary to put back in. I haven’t done anything, (yet) but if you have recommendations on fixing kits for cassettes do let me know please.
i still buy and listen to cassette tapes, not to be some hipster or to resell them. I do it because when i listen to a tape, i often stop and focus on it. In this age we have a million songs our finger tips, why focus when you can listen to them all at once? With a tape i unwind, sit and enjoy exactly whats in front of me and i enjoy the process and songs that much more. I dont think it was intended for humans to have the internet and EVERYTHING at our finger tips.
Hi John. I have a cassette tape that you can hardly hear the audio as the hiss of the tape takes over. Would you suggest a pad replacement or is this a sign of the tape being degraded? Thanks.
Much appreciated.
what if the tape is ¨new¨? Like a cassette that has never been played since it was manufactured. I have this issue with a new (20 years in a original wrap) one
Thank you so much for the info! What are your recommendations for cassettes that are not missing the felt pad but still sound muffled? I have some tapes that are 45 years old and want to convert them to digital files but they are so muffled it’s hard to hear the voices on them. They are tapes of my mother and her friends singing. How would you recommend fixing the sound? Do you do that in your studio? Thank you!
I hope you were able to get it working!
awesome! THANKS!
You can also replace the pad and metal bar without taking the tape apart but the process is like building a ship in a bottle.
Thank you 👍🙋♂️
Like 90 percent of my tapes have the pressure pad detached but still in the case. That’s why my copy of Bad Animals didn’t play 99% of the time and when it did it was slow and warbally.
No need to buy a tape. Just buy some furniture/ornament surface protection felt pads from the hardware store, cut the pad to size and glue it in. No brainer.
Would be very difficult to cut according to the size of the pressure pad.....can't be done with scissors, need special tool for that.
Arup Dutta It may be a bit tricky but you could probably use an X-Acto knife to cut it to size! That’s the best tool I can probably think of now to get the job done.
Ami Ru Ro, yes that is a good one. Can use that.
@@arupdutta7687 If you've actually got sharp scissors, no problem. If you've got rubbish or child safety ones, then it can't be done, but the size of the pad isn't even critical as long as it's the same width or wider than the tape.
@@arupdutta7687 those scissors for fingernail cutting might help
Some of my cassettes sound great others sound slow, this oddity can happen half way through a tape on just one side then the next track sounds fine, the pads aren't missing any ideas?
Hi there 9EG. You may have fixed this issue now, though I was having a similar problem to you, recently with my Sony Tape deck. When I played pre-recorded albums they would go through periods of sounding slow. I've done some research around and it could be one of several different problems. 1st off continuous playing of tapes (they say 10hrs) can cause the metal oxide from the tape to rub off onto the head of the tape deck and the pincher roller. If that is the case it would be ideal to clean the head with Isopropyl alcohol and the pincher roller with a special rubber based cleaning solution. 2nd problem maybe that the cassette has not been wound evenly. This usually happens when the tape is switched over and forwarded and reversed mid way through the tape without playing through a whole side. This can cause the tape to be wound up unevenly and cause havoc for the tape deck to play through. To fix this issue simply play the tape all the way through on both sides and the tape should be wound up neatly. The 3rd issue may be to do with the Tape Deck belt drive which will often dry up over due course. This will undoubtedly slow the player. However most decks should be eligible for servicing at specialist stores. Hopefully you can get this problem fixed
I noticed that when I play the tapes in the car with a broken pad it still seems to play fine, but in a boom box is where it sounds really bad. I did some research that some higher end players can compensate for a broken pad and still work. How does that happen? Usually tape decks in cars are higher quality than the decks in a boom box or stereo.
Most likely you have a dual capstan deck in your car. Car stereos need to play well with more vibration affecting it, and so it needs to control the tape tension from both sides, which also means the tape should have better contact with the tape head without having to be pressed against the felt pad.
Sometimes you also need to give the pressure pad pin to develop a shape bulging upside in case it is having bulge towards the inner side.
Not always so simple. I've found that pads can differ in size believe it or not so taking pad from another cassette may or not work correctly in the one needing to be fixed. Of course this ONLY happens in a tape that I REALLY REALLY want to work. lol. So, I take the pad off and try others until home free.
That's a good point. This video applies to 95% of the situations we face in our studio. There are some pressure pad mounts that are much more complicated. And there were some cassettes where the pressure pad wasn't even on a mount, it was glued right onto the cassette. And those pads were much larger and had a consistency similar to the pads in 8 track tapes. We have to get really creative when replacing those.
It seems like many of these companies tried to innovate if they could; even it it was a questionable idea.
@@audiomover i think i have one of those tapes that im trying to repair, any chance for a video on that?
I have done work on my cassette but it doesn't play some old cassettes even though the pads are fine should i try and replace the old pads?
Thank you!
You're welcome!
You look so happy))))
Hi there, I wonder if you could help me with a tape I was trying to restore - the tape is one that my father has recorded his poems which he wrote for me when I was an infant - my father passed away last week and so restoring his stuff is an important project to me now.
I dropped the tape accidentally and although it has the felt on and it was working properly before, now it doesn't read properly and sounds some alien-like sound!
Is there anything I can do? Please let me know if you receive this, thank you!
Hello, what type of adhesive do you use to attach the clear tape the wheel?
You can use a small piece of clear adhesive/mastic. Also revel contact adhesive if you want to use liquids
You can still play tapes without the felt pressure pads on a dual-capstan machine without problems. (Like the higher end Nakamichi decks)
Good idea if you have one, but you missed one of the main dangers and so did the maker of this video. Se the picture of the pressure pad at 3:33 in this video. That one, "better design" has the metal bent to hold the pad in place better. If the pad falls off, those 90 degree bends will eat at the edge of your tape and often cut or tear the tape.
This video really helped, but my one tape has the pad and is all good but still warped. I see on the tape on the outside the sticker for the tape which says who it is and all this. Is warped so I'm thinking maybe was left out in the sun? Maybe for too long, let me know what can be done with that. Thank you!
You can do this - dismantle the cassette shell - very carefully take out the tape reels (should be tightly wound all to one end, otherwise the tape will spill out) - check for any dust inside, clean the anti-friction pads with a soft moistened cloth - take out and clean everything inside - and then carefully put back everything - fast forward and rewind from end to end - and then play the entire length of the tape "without stopping" - this is important as the reel will be tightly wound at one go - continue playing like this. Hope this will help. Cheers from Kolkata, India.
I find that most prerecorded tapes are glued together and don't seem to have screws. Unfortunately I have a number of tapes that have play really really slowly now. From what i've heard other people say that it was design flaw in them and they over time need to be lubricated again. I have one those that I don't think I can fix that way. It seems to be completed locked, There may be something inside if it keeping it from going. Any suggestions on how to get cassette like that apart without wrecking it? Or is that one a lost cause?
True, it seems that most prerecorded tapes were sealed shut.
We recently made a video about opening these types of tapes. czcams.com/video/NR3sslF8x0o/video.html
Thank you handsome!
Great video for explaining, I used this as my guide. Never have done this before. Not having much success though. I only have had 1 tape out of 11 tapes successful. Not sure what I am doing wrong? Any suggestions? Thx :)
7 Black Sabbath tapes CBS Records Canada no screws
1990s, didn't work
1 FM Surveillance no screws
1990s, didn't work
2 Motley Crue screws
1990s, didn't work
1 Iron Maiden no screws
1990s, didn't work
1 Johnny Cash screws 1980s SUCCESSFUL!
Using your method; Here was my process
replaced the pressure pad only, replaced with relatively unused pressure pad from unused tapes.
Also, tried
replacing the units metal strip & pressure pad relatively unused pressure pad from unused tapes.
using gorilla glue & also i have tried crazy glue... very light application (smeer)
tried two tape different tape players to test.
My tape player in my car plays music more on the right side and very low on the left and idk why on both types my Bluetooth adaptor and an actual cassette tape. Will cleaning it make it work again? 1998 ls400
Bro 🤔 do you know how to fix a cassette tape where the sound of the tape hums when played, then the sound is not there, and the motor rotates normally, if that's what component should be replaced 🤔??? I'm confused ?🤔
Well if you have a 3 head Nacamichi cassette deck, the tape path has pressure pad lifter, effectively rendring the pressure pad useless, because these machines are so good they don't need the pressure pad. Also by not in contact with the pressure pad, the life of the head is significantly extended.
Is missing this pressure pad something that would cause tapes to sound extremely muffled? I have a few missing this pad that sound that way.
its important cuz the tape needs to have a flush contact with the play head. if there are small gaps between the tape and the head, the audio quality will be worse.
Still rather deal with this issue than the nightmare of old scratched up CDs
Cd's also have the rotting issue over time.
I recently purchased a radio shack microcassette player off of eBay. I have one precious tape that I saved from an old answering machine that is almost 25 years old. I was in the process of taping the microcassette on to a regular cassette, and the player started to eat the tape. I want to CRYYYY!!!! What can I do? I can't fix something like this. Any suggestions. This tape is precious to me. My child's voice at 4 years old! Help!!!!
cool! these days with the revival of tapes, someone will come up with red, silver or gold type pressure pads that make your tapes sound better then a CD
Sir I quite brought audio tapes recently , some sounds good some isn't , any advice for revive the old tapes
No chance to revive....maybe the original recording was poor....check the pressure pads if they loose/worn out, might need change.
how do i clean a moldy tape?
I opened a brand new 80s tape and the felt fell out. I didn't know what it was and when I played the tape it sounded like 💩. Once I watched your video I knew exactly what had fallen out. Now I need some glue and ill be good to go
Awesome! I'm glad it helped. It's amazing how something so seemingly insignificant can make such a big difference.
I just bought a crappy cassette player and it is supposed to be used to convert the tape to an audio file but I baught it cause I got the "awesome mixtape" vol.1 and 2 from gaurdians of the galaxy and I wanted to listen to them the felt is on the tapes but the first day I was listening to them it got slow SUPER wobbly, like I can barely tell what the song is. I Don't know why this is happening and in panicking cause the tapes were really expensive what do I do?!
Yeah...tried several time but once I have q tip in the cassette hole, the machine will not fast forward nor will it reverse with the q tip inserted....must be another answer
yes the genius made it an afterthought at the end of his tutorial that if the machine has a double capstan the Q-tip won't work .
once again another genius trying to teach things out of order on CZcams got to love these geniuses
Hey My cassettes have these pads but ti still sounds muffled should i replace them with new pads?
Maybe your tape head is dirty. You can do two things to fix it. Get a cotton swab soaked in alcohol (not the kind you drink!) and clean the tape head. Make sure it's dry before you put a tape in. The other thing you can do is get a cassette that cleans not only the head, but also the rollers and capstan in addition it demagetizes the heads. Go to Amazon and they have them. Just a few bucks. I use it after about 10 hours of play. Good luck. Stay safe.
So is this the reason why certain instruments sound wobbly?
You forget to mention , when the pressure pads get stiff that to put to much pressure on the tape goes so slow that its sound horrible, now i know that you could fix that by also replacing the pressure pad, but what do you do when you can get a ahold of a tape to replace the pressure pad (those damn things are hard to find now days and kinda expensive to buy them only to use the pressure pad for replacement.
I've heard of people getting little pieces of felt. I've never tried that though.
What should I do if my cassettes are playing slower than they should? I’ve been listening to a few cassettes ever since I got a new player and they seem to play slower. It happens with most tapes I have
I’ve seen this problem in other videos and believe it or not, some people say that it’s the player (device) not the tape! There’s a way to adjust that. Not sure what you have so I can’t help much with that part
@@NGonz1225yeshh it’s a Jensen brand player. I don’t have the packaging with me right now but later I’ll go check since I held onto it just in case
my tape from 1981 has no metal spring. i glued in a piece of sponge and it works fine.
I have several Mobile Fidelity cassettes that have had the pressure pads fall off. This has not happened much with other tapes. Has anyone else had this problem with MFSL tapes?
Is it possible to unwrap a cassette? What causes it to be warped? Can anyone help?
A warped tape is damage on the cassette.Weather it be mold,sunlight,extream heat..etc.Once a tape is warped,the cassette is basically done.I suggest go and buy a new cassette.👍
Does this work for Teddy Ruxpin tapes?
So I completely replaced the housing. New pad and all, but the playback is still super slow. I’m lost and maybe someone could throw some suggestions? Thanks.
Are you're sure it's the tape and not the player? Have you tried other tapes?
Have you tried the tape in other players? Is the tape slow and warbly both? or just slow?
I got the same problem I bought a new tape with music when I put it on my revox 225 professional tape deck it did not had no sound at all then when I took the cassette tape play that thing came off a brand new tape it was seal but old tape that was weird cus is new well I guess that life
My master of puppets tape was sounding amazing because it was clear and of course the music is fucking awesome but at one point it just started to muffle mid song so Im excited to try this cuz welcome home sanitarium has to be clear and blasted through speakers not muffled
I've a got a tape that I got today, and the pressure pad is still in there, but the sound is very warped. How do I fix this?
same problem here, the felt is still in there but it warps, and even stops completely at a point. Perhaps the pad tilts a little bit to each side and that causes the tape to lose its pressure against the pinch roller...
If the sound is warped, then that means the cassette is worn out.