How to Fix Cassette Flutter

If your cassette tape slows down, then speed's back up quickly, it's suffering from a wow and flutter effect. The record and playback settings on a cassette player with custom quarter-speeds must be correct. Grime and oxidation accumulate on the cassette head after a while too. A setting review and basic maintenance cleaning tasks can significantly improve your audio experience.

Things You'll Need

• Cassette cleaner kit

Instructions

Custom Quarter-Speed Players

1. Insert your tape into the player.

2. Press the "Pause Switch" button to release it.

3. Adjust the "Mic Level."

4. Move the "Rec Mode" switch to "3X" or the highest level. Note that in several players, 3X or the highest level typically has been converted to 4X, which is the quarter-speed recording mode. If your cassette player has an original 4X speed, select it instead. Verify that the cassette player's "Rec Mode" setting is set at the same speed during playback if wow and flutter still occurs.

General Cassette Players - Cleaning

1. Apply the cleaning fluid according to the directions in the kit.

2. Insert the cleaning tape into the player.

3. Press "Play."

4. Remove the cleaning tape when it has finished playing.

Tips & Warnings

• Invest in a high-quality equipment if you regularly play or restore cassette tapes. Often noise and flutter is compounded when lower quality equipment is used, such as connecting old speakers to a new cassette player.

References

• C Crane Company: Important Information About Your Custom Quarter Speed Cassette Player/Recorder (PDF)
• Izotope: Restoring Audio with Izotope RX (PDF)
• Philips Audio Cassette Cleaner (PDF)