What’s Speed Pitch Control in a Cassette Recorder/Player?
A cassette recorder/player with speed pitch control allows you to adjust the playback variable speed. The speed of old-school cassette players usually can be changed a few percentage points. For a cassette tape device, slowing down the speed means you will get a lower pitch while fastening the speed means higher pitch instead. However, there are some specific cassette players that enable you to change the pitch while the speed can remain the same. For most cassette devices including tape decks, cassette tape boomboxes, portable tape recorders, the pitch control will alter both speed and pitch.
How to Use The Speed Pitch Control?
With pitch control, people can speed up the cassette tape to review the content faster or slow down the speed when they need to hear something more clearly. And there are some people who love to change the pitch when they listen to music cassettes, and the pitch control function makes it possible.
A tape recorder with pitch control also helps people to precisely adjust the recording speed and get the best results that users need. And some people say different recorders may not record at the exact same speed, a speed pitch control is used to fix the speed minor discrepancy.
Back in the day, pitch control is also a nice option for musicians who play live instruments to match the pitch of their instruments when playing along to the playback.
Different Types of Cassette Recorders/Players with Pitch Control
Portable Cassette Recorder/Player with Pitch Control
Example: SONY WM-D6C Walkman Professional Cassette Player Recorder with Speed Control
The biggest advantage of a mini cassette play is its portableness, it does not require a large space and you can carry it anywhere you want. The SONY WM-D6C cassette recorder was a classic and high-end portable cassette player, and it was so pricey in the past.
In the 80s, the SONY WM-D6C cassette tape recorder came with a premium Dolby C noise reduction, which makes recordings more clear and reduces cassette noise much more effectively than the old Dolby B noise reduction system.
The small cassette recorder is compact, but it does have a line-in connector that allows users to connect the recorder to external resources and do direct recording. The speed pitch control knob is on the top of the product, according to Sony, users can adjust the tape speed accurately ± 4% in the playback mode.
Another strength portable cassette recorders have is that you don’t need to worry about the power sources. This little recorder has three ways to power: AA batteries, power adapter that works with house current, or a 12v car battery.
BTW: Many portable cassette recorders do not have a built-in pitch control, but some tech enthusiasts can add a modded pitch control to them. If you are interested in how to do that, you probably want to see the video below.
Multitrack Cassette Recorder with Speed Pitch Control
Example: TASCAM Portastudio 424 Cassette Recorder with Speed Control
The TASCAM Portastudio 424 also comes in a small size, but it is not considered to be a portable cassette player. This kind of cassette recorder has 4 tracks and you can use the direct feature to record the 4 tracks at one time. The feature makes the product excellent for people who need to record live music.
Apart from that, the 424 MKIII multiple track cassette recorder has dbx noise reduction for eliminating tape noise and it comes with more controls on the panel to adjust the recording quality. You can adjust the EQ settings and sound effects flexibly to every track.
And the pitch control settings are also advanced than regular portable tape recorders, this TASCAM Portastudio 424 MKIII recorder has separate speed control and pitch control. With the tape speed feature,you have three pre-set speeds. And you also have a precise pitch control that provides a 12% range of speed control in play mode and record mode.
Cassette Boombox with Speed Pitch Control
Example: SHARP GF-9696 Cassette Boombox
If you wanted a portable cassette player with great sound levels, a boombox should be your first choice in the 80s. The SHARP GF-9696’s got 6 speakers and excellent woofers.
As a boombox, the SHARP GF-9696 offers bass and treble controls. And you can simply change the sound settings for the right or left channel when recording and playing cassettes. With two built-in microphones, you don’t need extra mics to start recording.
The pitch and the echo controls are beneath the cassette compartment, and users can slide the control easily to lower or speed up the speed.
Cassette Tape Decks with Pitch Control
Example: TEAC Double Cassette Deck W790R
The Teac W790R is a 3 head cassette recording deck that can do auto-reverse and continuous playback. And it comes with Dolby B and C noise reduction to ensure clear audio results. Besides, the Dolby HX Pro is also featured for people who need to record loud musical passages without having negative effects of high frequencies or suffering from distortion.
The cassette deck is equipped with One-Touch operation including one-touch recording, one-touch normal, and high-speed dubbing. The Teac W790R features a variable +/- 10 percent pitch control, which is loved by old-school DJs. A cassette tape deck might be bunky and heavy, but it’s definitely the most powerful cassette recording device.
