FFmpeg scripts recreate the sound of vintage cassette tapes

A bash-and-FFmpeg toolkit runs audio through processing chains that mimic specific cassette tapes, layering in tape hiss, wow-and-flutter pitch modulation, bandwidth limiting, and EQ curves to match each format’s character. Presets cover six real tapes, from clean late-era Type I stock like the TDK D90 and Maxell UD C90 to warm 1978 Sony normal tapes and the notoriously noisy Soviet MK-60, which gets heavy flutter and aggressive frequency cuts.

Usage is straightforward: FFmpeg must be built with libmp3lame, then you drop into a tape’s folder and run one of two scripts — one converts existing local files (mp3, ogg, m4a, aac), the other captures a live web stream into segmented files. Output lands in an ./out directory. The project is MIT-licensed, making it freely reusable for lo-fi music production, retro audio effects, or archival experiments.