Micro and Mini Cassettes Transfer to CD | Audio Restored

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Mini- and Microcassette facts

• Prior to modern mini- and microcassettes, the earliest Dictaphones date back to 1907 when a dictating machine, based on the well established recordable wax cylinder, was first trademarked by the Columbia Graphophone Company.
• Unlike the Compact cassette, and the Microcassette, mini-cassettes are not driven by a capstan and pinch roller – instead, the tape is pulled past the head by the reels. Although this leads to greater wow and flutter compared with the capstan-driven devices, it allows the cassettes to be slightly smaller, and is perfectly adequate for voice recording.
• Comparable playing times for the Mini- and Microcassettes (30 – 60 mins per side) compared to standard cassettes, were achieved by the use of thinner tape and half or quarter speeds (2.4cm/s and 1.2cm/s compared with 4.75cm/s for the standard cassette).
• In addition to their use in dictation and answering machines, microcassettes have found use in computer data storage and as a medium for recording music.
• Stereo models were released in 1992, and for higher fidelity, microcassettes were even produced using Type IV (‘metal’) tape. However, these were phased out within 2 years.

Audio Enhancement

After listening to your recording, we apply whatever digital restoration is necessary to improve the sound quality. Please bear in mind that mini- and microcassettes were never intended for, or capable of high fidelity reproduction! Therefore, we endeavour to make the audio content as clear and easy to listen to as possible.