Jack, this sounds like an exiting project.
I for one would love if you convert a couple of your more memorable tracks to MP3 and post them somewhere where we could have a listen.
You might be surprised what we can appreciate, even if the banjo strings were made of Woogy Mammoth hair.

Yes, I said Woogy. When I was a kid I used to ask to wear the woogy socks on cold days.

It's a good thing those reel-to-reel tapes made it onto the ark, so they weren't lost in the flood.

Love ya, Jack.

Murph, I'll see what I can do.

J.P., Boy, you are not kidding. Many of these tapes are nearly 50 years old. They are deteriorating fast. I have to clean the heads and capstan on the tape deck after every pass, thus the urgency to get them into the digital realm.

Thank you for preserving them, Jack. I want to listen.

Me too.

A real labor of love. I look forward to hearing more (literally and figuratively) of the process/progress.

What kind of music is on them? What instrument(s) did you play back then Jack?

He played banjo and guitar AT THE SAME TIME.

Yeah. Right.

Two hands on the guitar, one foot and his on the banjo.