Question concerning reverse and speed adjusting

[AllenR]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here. I normally use a Roxio product for audio editing but that program doesn't have the reverse feature. Let me briefly explain what I want to do and maybe someone could tell me if this is possible with Audacity before I download it;

I have a reel to reel tape that is a "4 track inline recording" that I want to make a stereo CD of. I do not have a 4 track player, my reel to reel deck is stereo. So here's what I'm thinking is a possible solution: Playback side one and record the two tracks and create an audio file. Then, flip the tape over and record side two, which plays backwards. After recording side two, use the reverse feature to create a audio file which now plays forward. Then, sync the two files together to create a stereo CD. If there is a slight difference in the speed that my deck plays back each side, then I'm thinking that with a feature that could adjust the speed of the file I could align them and hopefully get my desired result.

Does this sound possible with this Audacity program?

Many thanks!

Allen

[steve]

Yes it's possible, but lining up the tracks precisely will be quite tricky (use the "zoom" buttons to see the waveform more closely).
Also, depending on the accuracy of the playback speed you may need to correct the speed in fairly short sections which will be repetitive and time consuming work.
I'd recommend that you try working on a short sample first to get the hang of it before attempting longer sections.

[AllenR]

Thanks Steve!

[AllenR]

The files lined up perfectly [46 minutes!] without any editing on my part! I'm so glad to be able to finally hear this recording! I guess my reel to reel is in very good working order! Thanks again!