FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
2022 Transfer Rates:
(Minimum $50/order)
Transfer prices are:
All 24, 16, and 12-track tapes are $100 each (this includes baking and setup)
(Large 12-14" reels are $150)
All 8 track tapes (Analog, ADAT, DA88) are $75 each
Cassettes - Audio content up to:
30 mins $20/ea
60 mins $25/ea
90 mins $30/ea
Over 90 mins $40/ea
DAT Tapes - Audio length
30 mins $30/ea
60 mins $35/ea
90 mins $40/ea
Over 90 mins $50/ea
Please ask us if you have questions.
All other tape transfers are billed at $80 per hour of work
(If tape baking is needed, it's $5 per item.)
We can do discounts if you have over 10 items of one type in your session.
In addition to the transfer costs outlined here, there is a $10/item charge for all processing and handling (This covers our time for file management, rewinding/fast-forwarding, billing, etc. This is NOT a $10 fee to do the actual transfers.)
* If you have more than 10 of some items, we can do a bulk rate, so please inquire.
It can get expensive to transfer a lot of tapes. Before doing the work, we cannot make an estimate as any tape could be blank - or filled with the maximum amount of audio – a difference of zero to 100%. Tapes sometimes take great effort to get playing well, while others are nearly flawless. So an estimate is not possible in advance: Your tapes will take just as much time as they require. (If you think you can remember what's on the tapes, you could roughly estimate for yourself and we will try to guess, but it can be inaccurate.)
Please be careful what you're paying to dub; if one of your 100 tapes was a long radio interview, you might be paying $50-75 just to have that interview in digital format. We will work with you to try to prevent copying of unneeded material, but we cannot always know for sure.
If you'd like, we can often clean-up artifacts like noise and hiss after your transfer. It is often fairly quick to do, and for only a small charge. We can sometimes do wonders for crackling vinyl or hums and buzzes.
Tape Baking and other issues:
Around 1975, tapes changed formula and often require baking in a hot-air oven; about one day for 1/4” reels and 2-3 days for 2” reels. Once a tape is baked, it's usually ok to play for many days afterward.
Smaller plastic reels of tape are tricky; the heat needed to properly bake them can also warp the reels; usually these are baked slower at low temperature.
We've not had ADAT or DAT tapes require baking (although they can have their own problems)
There are various other issues beside baking that can come up (splices breaking, leader tape sticking to the reel). Most of these we can handle, but sometimes tapes simply will not play or transfer cleanly.
* We store and play tapes carefully, but there is no way to “value” tapes or the music they contain: therefore we cannot insure or guarantee your tapes for any loss or damage! We will do our best to maintain and keep the tapes safe, as we have done for thousands of original master tapes over the years. There is always some risk involved with tape handling, but we have an excellent reputation and history.
Transfer Details:
We feel that 96kHz/24bit is ideal for typical audio use and storage. Yes, higher resolution is possible - but not recommended. We will also use CD-quality rates for cassettes and some lower-quality tapes at times.
Anything on digital tape (DAT/ADAT/DA88) needs no conversion, so is copied directly at the original rates.
We will give a simple pass/transfer of any tape; sometimes there may be a glitch or dropout from the tape itself. It's usually not possible for us to hear all small issues as they go by. If you spot a problem later, we can check to make sure it is from the source tape, if not, the transfer can be redone at no charge.
Mailing Us Tapes:
There is a $20 charge for tapes shipped to us from out of town. (If you would like tapes mailed back, we can return them via USPS Media Mail and it will be much cheaper to return them. There is an additional $20 charge to ship back, plus your shipping costs.) If you do have a friend in the L.A. area, we prefer that you send your tapes to them, then have them bring them by and pick them up when done; it's safer, easier, and less-expensive. Thank you!
There is no safe delivery from the Post Office or UPS: Instead, we ask that you send your tapes via FEDEX, and have them Hold them at the counter for us to pick up:
You will need to include our phone and email so we will be notified when they arrive. Please send us the details when you ship - Fedex is supposed to notify us when they arrive, but it's up to you to send us a note when they have arrived, just in case Fedex does not contact us; it happens sometimes.
(You cannot send to Fedex from the post office or UPS, only Fedex can send to Fedex; Fedex Ground option is the cheapest way.)
IF you are sending Fedex, the information to use is:
Darren Edwards - Round & Wound
HOLD AT LOCATION: Fedex
21937 Ventura Blvd.
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
(818) 730-7734
Email: RoundandWoundLLC@gmail.com