A developer has published a free, open-source tool on GitHub called "Audio Cassette Simulation" that uses FFmpeg to make digital audio files sound as if they were recorded onto old cassette tapes, complete with hiss, wow-and-flutter pitch wobble and other analogue imperfections. The project taps into a wider nostalgia trend, as cassettes—like vinyl before them—have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years despite having been largely abandoned for digital formats decades ago.

The tool offers simulations of six different tape stocks, including BASF LH Extra C90, Maxell UD C90, two Sony variants, TDK D90 and a Soviet-era MK-60, each imparting its own distinctive distortion and tonal colour. Users run bash scripts (which can also process live streams) that apply tape noise, pitch modulation, bandwidth limiting and equalisation via carefully tuned FFmpeg filters, with results saved as MP3s in an output folder. While it can't replicate the physical feel of handling a cassette or the dreaded sound of a tape being chewed up by a faulty player, it does let users transform pristine modern recordings into something that sounds distinctly like the 1980s.