Abstract: A timing recovery system for the low density longitudinal record channels utilizing capstan velocity or feed forward rate in a magnetic tape recording/reproducing system in which the capstan feed forward velocity, derived from an encoder, provides a signal whose frequency is proportional to the speed of the tape driven by the capstan. A scaling circuit is provided by a frequency-to-voltage converter followed by a voltage-to-frequency converter, the output signal providing a demodulation clock having a multiplied frequency proportional to the data rate reproduced from the tape. The demodulation clock, fed to the timing window generation circuitry, provides an input to data detection circuitry to provide a clocked data output, regardless of the reproduce speed within a very large range of speeds.