Simulate cassette tape audio profiles using FFmpeg

Re:Simulate cassette tape audio profiles using FFmpeg by JSR_FDED on Sunday July 26, 2026 @08:36PM (#49063854)

I’m wondering besides the hiss and wow/flutter, what is the frequency range of cassette tape? Is there an “eq” to tape where certain frequencies are rendered more strongly than others? And how does it compare with records?

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Re:Simulate cassette tape audio profiles using FFmpeg by rahimnathwani on Sunday July 26, 2026 @09:12PM (#49064070)

Back in the day, the plastic that wrapped blank tapes was printed with details about the tape inside, including a frequency response chart.

Of course it differed by brand.

It's also worth considering that a lot of tapes were recorded with Dolby B noise reduction, which boosted high frequencies on the recorded tape, to increase the signal to noise ratio. (You had to use Dolby B at the playback end, too, or it would sound too bright.)

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Re:Simulate cassette tape audio profiles using FFmpeg by ssttoo on Sunday July 26, 2026 @09:22PM (#49064144)

Looking at the first example [1] looks like there is high pass, low pass, and two more “cuts”

[1] https://github.com/AARomanov1985/Audio-Cassette-Simulation/b...

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Re:Simulate cassette tape audio profiles using FFmpeg by spencerap on Sunday July 26, 2026 @09:12PM (#49064069)

I’m not sure of the correctness, but I see the author adjusting eq in the source, this is from the “BASF LH Extra C90” preset:

> highpass=f=50,lowpass=f=13000

> equalizer=f=500:width_type=q:width=0.8:g=-1.2,equalizer=f=6000:width_type=q:width=0.7:g=-4

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