Search hundreds of documented cassette tape brands and models from the 1960s through the 1990s. This database helps identify vintage compact cassette formulations, production eras, and known preservation issues including pressure pad failure, shell drag, lubrication loss, and tape squeal.
If you have one of these tapes, our professional cassette tape to digital transfer service can convert it safely with real time monitored playback and in house handling.
Digitize My Cassette Tapes →Cassette tapes degrade silently. Pressure pads crumble, lubricant evaporates, and shells warp — often with no visible warning. Many tapes in this database are 30–50 years old and entering critical deterioration. The safest time to transfer them was a decade ago. The next best time is now.
Most vintage cassette tapes can be identified by the brand name, model name, and tape type printed on the shell or insert. Look for the length designation: C-60, C-90, C-120 which indicates total recording time in minutes. The tape type is usually marked on the shell or indicated by notches cut into the top edge of the cassette housing.
Type I (Ferric) tapes were the most common consumer format and cover the widest range of brands and production eras. Type II (Chrome or High Bias) tapes offered better performance and were typically marked "CrO₂," "Chrome," or "High Bias." Type IV (Metal) tapes were the highest performance format and are the least common. If your cassette has no markings and no notches, assume Type I.
Use the database below to look up your brand and model, check the production era, and review any known preservation issues before attempting playback.
The most common format. No notches on the shell. Marked "Normal" or "Type I." Produced from 1963 through the 2000s and covers the widest range of brands and preservation risk levels.
Marked "CrO₂," "Chrome," or "High Bias" with a single notch on the right side of the shell. Better high-frequency response than Type I. Common from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Marked "Metal" with two sets of notches on the shell. The highest performance format and the least common. Requires a metal-capable deck for correct bias during playback and transfer.
120-minute tapes use thinner magnetic stock than standard lengths. With age this stock becomes brittle and is highly susceptible to stretching, breakage, and print-through. Consider these high risk for transfer.
Browse cassette tape brands, models, and formulations to identify common preservation risks before playback. This database covers vintage tapes from brands like Maxell, TDK, Sony, Memorex, BASF, Scotch, Certron, and more to help determine whether professional cassette tape to digital transfer is the safest option.
| Brand | Model/Series | Duration (min) | Tape Type (I/II/IV) | Approx. Year/Era | Known Preservation Issues | Additional Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Agfa | C-120 | 120 | I | Mid 1970's | ||
 | AMPEX | Professional Audiocassette | 60 | I | Late 1970's | ||
 | AMPEX | Low Noise | 90 | I | 1980 | ||
 | Audio Magnetics | QHF C-90 | 90 | I | 1970-1972 | ||
 | Audio Magnetics | Tracs | 60 | I | 1976 | ||
 | Audio Magnetics | Tracs | 60 | I | 1979 | ||
 | Audio Tech | Low Noise | 60 | I | Mid 1980's | ||
 | BASF | Studio Series | 90 | I | 1978 | ||
 | BASF | Profesional II | 90 | II | Early 1980's | ||
 | BASF | Chrome Super II (Possibly Fake) | Unknown | II | Mid 1990's | ||
 | Certron | LN60 | 60 | I | 1976-1978 | Tapes are often detached from leader & need to be cut open to be spliced as there are no screws. | |
 | Certron | LN90 | 90 | I | 1976-1978 | Tapes are often detached from leader & need to be cut open to be spliced as there are no screws. | |
 | Certron | Low Noise | 60 | I | Unknown | Tapes are often detached from leader & need to be cut open to be spliced as there are no screws. | |
 | Coronet | C-30 | 30 | I | Early 1970's | ||
 | Denon | DX1/60 | 60 | I | 1987 | ||
 | Digitech | DT II Super Chrome | Unknown | II | 1993 | ||
 | Go Pac | 30 | I | 1974 | |||
 | Goldcrest | C-60 | 60 | I | Early 1970's | ||
 | Hitachi | C-60 | 60 | I | 1976 | ||
 | InterMagnetics | 60 | I | Early 1980's | |||
 | KMC | 60 | I | Early 1980's | Possibly a Kmart Brand | ||
 | Kmart | 90 | I | Early 1980's | |||
 | JVC | GI-90 | 90 | I | 1985-1986 | ||
 | Laser | XL 90 | 90 | I | Late 1980's | ||
 | Laser | UHD II 60 | 60 | II | Late 1980's | ||
 | Maxell | UD 60 | 60 | I | 1977 | ||
 | Maxell | UD 90 | 90 | I | 1977 | ||
 | Maxell | LN 90 | 90 | I | 1980-1982 | ||
 | Maxell | LN 120 | 120 | I | 1982 | ||
 | Maxell | XLII-S | 90 | II | 1982 | ||
 | Maxell | XLII 90 | 90 | II | 1987 | ||
 | Maxell | XL II-S 100 | 100 | II | 1988 | ||
 | Maxell | UR 90 | 90 | II | 1988 | ||
 | Maxell | Instant Start Series | 90 | Unknown | Early 1990's | Leaderless Tape | |
 | Maxell | Capsule | 90 | II | 1992 | ||
 | Maxell | XL II 90 | 90 | II | 1996 | ||
 | M Electronic | MHQ II-S | 90 | II | Late 1980's | ||
 | Memorex | Chromium Dioxide 90 | 90 | I | 1971-1975 | ||
 | Memorex | MRX 2 Oxide | 90 | I | 1974-1975 | ||
 | Memorex | MRX 3 Oxide | 60 | I | 1977-1978 | ||
 | Memorex | MRX I | 60 | I | 1982-1984 | ||
 | Memorex | dBS 60 | 60 | I | 1988-1989 | ||
 | Memorex | MRX 1 60 | 60 | I | 1989 | ||
 | MS900 | C-90 | 90 | I | Mid 1980’s | ||
 | Music Master | Low Noise High Output | 30 | I | 1981 | ||
 | Norelco | 60 | I | Late 1960’s – Early 70’s | |||
 | Orion | Unknown | I | Late 70’s – Early 1980’s | |||
 | Panasonic | C-7 | Unknown | I | 1980's | Possibly Fake | |
 | Philips | CD Extra | 90 | I | 1997 | ||
 | Pickwick | LN 60 | 60 | I | Mid 1970's | ||
 | PMC | C-60 | 60 | I | Unknown | ||
 | Quantegy | 472 | 60 | II | 1996 | ||
 | Radio Shack | Concertape | 60 | I | 1978-1979 | ||
 | RCA | RC 60 | 60 | I | 1990's | ||
 | RCA | RC 120 | 120 | I | 1990's | ||
 | Realistic | C-90 | 90 | I | 1973 | ||
 | Realistic | C-60 | 60 | I | 1977 | ||
 | Realistic | Supertape Hi-Bias | 90 | II | Early 1980's | ||
 | Rezound | Copy Cassette C-63 | 63 | I | Unknown | ||
 | Scotch | C-45 | 45 | I | 1975 | ||
 | Scotch | Highlander | 60 | I | 1980 | ||
 | Scotch | Scream'R | 45 | I | 1990 | ||
 | Setico | C60 | 60 | I | 1984 | ||
 | Sico | 60 | I | Early 1980's | I can only assume the same company as Swire Intermagnetics / Intermagnetics/ and later Laser | ||
 | Sony | C90 | 90 | I | 1971-1975 | ||
 | Sony | HF 60 | 60 | I | 1985 | ||
 | Sony | HF | 90 | I | Mid 1990's | ||
 | Sony | Metal SR | 100 | IV | 1992 | ||
 | Swire Intemagnetics | 90 | I | Mid 1980's | Another Intemagnetics brand | ||
 | TDK | Dynamic D-C 90 | 90 | I | Late 1970's | ||
 | TDK | C-120 | 120 | I | 1973 | ||
 | TDK | SD C-60 | 60 | I | 1973 | ||
 | TDK | D-30 | 30 | I | 1982 | ||
 | TDK | SA 90 | 90 | II | 1984-1985 | ||
 | TDK | D 60 | 60 | I | 1986 | ||
| TDK | D 90 | 90 | I | 1986 | ||
 | TDK | SA90 | 90 | II | 1989 | ||
 | TDK | SA-X60 | 60 | II | 1992-1993 | ||
 | TDK | SM30 | 30 | II | 1996 | ||
 | TDK | D90 | 90 | I | Mid-late 1990’s | ||
 | TDK | CDing II | 74 | II | 1997 | ||
 | TDK | SD110 | 110 | II | 1998 | ||
 | TDK | CDpower | 90 | II | 2001 | ||
 | TSI | 90 | I | 1973 | |||
 | Ultrasound | C-60 | 60 | I | |||
 | Zenith | Low Noise High Density 90 | 90 | I | Mid to Late 1970's |
Many cassette tapes are prone to damage during playback especially long play C-110, C-120 tapes.
Our cassette tape to digital transfer service uses fully restored professional decks with real time monitored playback. Free tape repair included. In house since 1996, never outsourced. Mail in nationwide.
Understanding why old cassette tapes fail is as important as identifying the brand. These are the most common issues encountered during professional cassette tape to digital transfer.
If your tape shows any of these issues, our cassette tape to digital transfer service is designed to safely digitize cassette tapes with real-time monitored playback and professional equipment.
The foam pad inside the shell holds the tape against the playback head. It deteriorates with age and a crumbled or missing pad causes dropout, muffled audio, or complete playback failure. Particularly common in Certron tapes due to their screwless shell construction.
The plastic spools inside older cassettes become brittle over time and can crack or shatter during playback. When a spool hub breaks, the leader tape detaches and the recording becomes inaccessible without opening the shell and rebuilding the tape path. This is one of the more common failure modes on tapes from the 1960s and early 1970s.
Magnetic tape is coated with a lubricant to reduce friction during playback. As this evaporates over decades the tape squeals against the head and guides, causing speed instability and audio distortion. Especially common in ferric tapes manufactured before 1980.
Worn or warped shells create excess friction against the tape reels, causing inconsistent speed and wow and flutter in the transferred audio. Often indistinguishable from deck issues without direct inspection of the shell.
Many tapes from the 1960s and 1970s were spliced during manufacture using adhesive that has since dried out. These splices can snap during playback, breaking the tape and potentially damaging the playback head.
C-120 extended-play tapes use thinner magnetic stock than standard-length tapes. This stock becomes brittle with age and is highly susceptible to stretching and breakage during playback or transfer.
Most cassette tape to digital transfer services use inexpensive USB cassette converters, consumer devices that retail for under $30. These play the tape at whatever speed they can manage with no bias adjustment, no azimuth calibration, and no real-time monitoring. The result is audio that captures what is on the tape but loses the quality that was there.
Azimuth alignment alone makes a significant difference. If the playback head angle does not precisely match the angle at which the tape was recorded, high frequencies are lost and the audio sounds dull and lifeless. Our decks are either properly calibrated to factory azimuth specification or equipped with automatic azimuth adjustment. Consumer converters offer neither.
Audio Conservation has been transferring cassette tapes in-house since 1996. Every tape is played on a professionally restored deck, primarily Nakamichi, Studer, or Tascam, machines considered the finest cassette tape equipment ever manufactured. Playback is monitored in real time for every transfer. Tape repair is included at no charge. Nothing is ever outsourced.
The difference between a $30 USB converter and a restored professional deck is not subtle. It is the difference between a recording that sounds retrieved and one that sounds preserved.
View Our Cassette Transfer Service →Look at the top edge of the cassette shell for notches. No notches means Type I (Ferric). A single notch on the right indicates Type II (Chrome or High Bias). Two sets of notches indicate Type IV (Metal). The type is also usually printed on the shell label or insert as “Normal,” “CrO₂,” “Chrome,” “High Bias,” or “Metal.”
Type I uses standard ferric oxide tape and was the most common consumer format. Type II uses chromium dioxide or cobalt modified formulations for improved high frequency response and lower noise. Type IV uses metal particle tape for the highest output and widest frequency response. Each type requires different playback bias settings for accurate cassette tape to digital transfer.
Many are, but age introduces real risk. Pressure pads deteriorate, lubricant evaporates, plastic spool hubs become brittle, and tape splices fail. Tapes from the early 1970s should be professionally inspected before playback. A damaged tape played on the wrong deck can be made permanently unplayable in a single pass.
TThe “C” designation indicates total recording time in minutes. C-60 holds 60 minutes (30 per side) and C-90 holds 90 minutes. C-120 tapes hold 120 minutes but use significantly thinner tape stock, making them more fragile and prone to breakage as they age.
If your tape is more than 25 years old, has been stored in a hot or humid environment, shows any discoloration or unusual odor, or squeals during playback, professional cassette tape to digital transfer is strongly recommended. The database above flags known high risk brands and models based on real world transfer experience.
Audio Conservation transfers cassette tapes to 44.1 16-bit WAV files delivered via cloud download, USB thumb drive, or archival Gold CD-R. WAV is an uncompressed lossless format and the highest quality option for long term preservation. All delivery formats are available at checkout.
Every year thousands of irreplaceable recordings are lost to tape deterioration. Audio Conservation has been recovering them since 1996 using professional equipment, inh ouse only, with real time monitoring and no shortcuts. Mail your tapes from anywhere in the United States.
