- As much as I applaud fan efforts to preserve the pre-SE audio tracks via the laserdisc, they pail in comparison to the cassette recording my dad did while at CBS\FOX. I appreciate any and all offers to transfer the cassette we have to a digital format for later use. After talking with my dad, even though he did the recording for me (something that he could hand down) and I could do with it what I want, he made it conditional because it was meant only for me. But, we decided to purchase our own metal tape deck and plan on digitizing the track that way.
Make sure you get a high quality deck with an unworn playback head, and then have it serviced and its heads aligned by a respected tech knowledgeable in vintage tape equipment. Just having a “metal” setting doesn’t mean much - a lot of cheap decks had that and sounded like crap. Also, test the deck on some less valuable tapes before running your tape through it. You wouldn’t want it to eat the tape, or have the pinch roller deposit a bunch of junk on it.