I have some old reel to reel tapes of family stories that I am trying to digitize.  The problem is that the tapes start out at a normal speed and pitch but as they play they start going slower and the pitch drops.  I am not sure if this is a problem with the original recordings or the yard sale reel to reel player I am using :).  I've been looking at varies ways to increase the speed and pitch in Sonar or other software packages (Acoustica/Audacity).  I love to find a tool where I can dynamically control the playback speed via midi, mouse, or by drawing fades/curves.  Does anyone know if there is a way to do this in Sonar Platinum, a plug in, or in another program?

acromero.az
I have some old reel to reel tapes of family stories that I am trying to digitize.  The problem is that the tapes start out at a normal speed and pitch but as they play they start going slower and the pitch drops.  I am not sure if this is a problem with the original recordings or the yard sale reel to reel player I am using :).  I've been looking at varies ways to increase the speed and pitch in Sonar or other software packages (Acoustica/Audacity).  I love to find a tool where I can dynamically control the playback speed via midi, mouse, or by drawing fades/curves.  Does anyone know if there is a way to do this in Sonar Platinum, a plug in, or in another program?

  Sounds like the deck need a good "once over" if possible. Could be a power rail to the motor drifting or some sort of heat buildup effecting something somewhere (back break reel motor?). It could be something weird with the tape winding on the reel. You might want to try to play the reel all the way to the end, then flip it and play it back to get the winding tension even then try playing it again.
 
The only software that might track this may be something like Capstan from Celemony but that is a costly route even by monthly subscription.
 
Do you have a friend with another machine you could try to rule out the one you have?
 
Take care,
h

Thanks for the idea.  This is actually the second machine I have acquired :).  Tapes have always intrigued me some.  As the tape is pulled up and winds on the take-up reel, the diameter gets larger and larger.  Isn't that doing to slow down the speed of the tape going across the head?  I'm sure the engineers figured out a way around this, but it is interesting that the first part of the reel I am recording plays fine and as it continues, it gets slower and slower.
 
I did find that Accoustica MP3 audio mixer allows you to "draw" rate changes which affect both speed and pitch.  It is a $25 program and appears to be more for DJs.  It works similar to the volume lines you can draw in Sonar.  To me this seems like the only useful part of this program.  This program isn't advertised on the Acoustica web site but it seems like they still allow you to purchase it. 
 
I'm still hoping for some VST plugin that will allow me to change the playback rate of a track so I can just use a "real" program like Sonar.
 

The Capstan (and pinch roller) controls the speed of the tape over the head. if the tape is slowing down it's a fault in the machine.   What you've described of Acoustica would do what you need to correct the recording.

Hi,
 
On the better decks you had motors connected to both reels and when in play mode, the feed motor was energized to create some back pressure to keep the tape on the reel. Cheaper machines had one motor and everything was done with belts and pulleys. If the tape plays on your other machine then it is probably something in the mechanics of the transport (electrical or mechanical) of the one you are using.
 
I have also had problems similar to what you describe from the old "back coating problem" binding up the tape path and causing the tape to literally stop moving. Take some Isopropyl alcohol and Q tips and clean the entire tape path - that might help.
 
It turns out that they added binding cement that got "gooey" on the back coatings on the later tapes way back in the 70's and caused the binding to break down over time causing buildup on the tape paths and "real" problems for studios - Look up Baking Tapes on Google.
 
Take care,
h