Tape Woe's I Think

jcmusic · Jul 31, 2011

Well this is the second time I can remember this happing to me, so it's time to find out why!!! Today I was making a recording on my Studer I had made one tape A and was happy with the results. I started on the B tape when I got finished I rewound it for playback to check the recording as I normally do, well it was during this playback I noticed the tape start to sound funny!!! Anyway after the first three songs the tape started sounding like my deck was slowing down and picking up speed (YIKES)!!! I just about went into a panic the first tape was fine this sounded like it was be drug through the heads fighting all the way!!! I check everything all looked and was working properly as far as I could tell. I put on another tape to be sure of what was going on and it sounded perfect!!! Hmm!!! Next I put the B tape on my Otari deck to be sure it wasn't the Studer, and sure enough the tape played like it was in slow motion. anyone else ever had this happen to them??? So what I am saying is it was the tape that was bad about half way through, I can't explain and don't what would cause this!!! Other than the tape formula itself any ideas???

Jay

RogerD · Jul 31, 2011

Hi Jay,

On my A820 in the record mode only the deck would stop 3/4ths of the way through. The deck played all the way in playback but only in record did this happen and the take up reel chattered on start up.

Ki our resident Studer expert,pointed out that it had to be the tape it self (sticky tape). I cleaned all the guides and rollers with alcohol and no more problems.

My guess it's the tape and I would clean all the rollers and guides and see what happens. Like Ki told me,the transport tape system and logic is so precise even just a little tape path quirk can foul things up, and my problem came out of nowhere.

Any error codes?

tony ky ma · Jul 31, 2011

Hi Jay
Do you keep tape in tail end ? the advantage of this is make your tape loose (fast rewind first) before record or play back, it will has a better tape's constantly tension
tony ma

c1ferrari · Jul 31, 2011

RogerD said:
Ki our resident Studer expert,pointed out that it had to be the tape it self (sticky tape). I cleaned all the guides and rollers with alcohol and no more problems.

My guess it's the tape and I would clean all the rollers and guides and see what happens. Like Ki told me,the transport tape system and logic is so precise even just a little tape path quirk can foul things up, and my problem came out of nowhere.

+1

Gary D · Jul 31, 2011

Jay ,
Clean your tape path with a Q tip clean all the rollers make sure there squeaky clean .Metal surfaces that contact the tape gum up , you can't see it but it's there.Clean your pinch roller also.
Like Roger said the problem came out of nowhere and effected tape speed .Good luck.

jcmusic · Jul 31, 2011

Hi Roger,
I cleaned everything before I started I also rechecked the tape path when the issue occured, I have no error codes either. Like I said I put another tape on and all was fine. I will be recording more this week so we shall see if the issue pops up again!!

Jay

RogerD said:
Hi Jay,

On my A820 in the record mode only the deck would stop 3/4ths of the way through. The deck played all the way in playback but only in record did this happen and the take up reel chattered on start up.

Ki our resident Studer expert,pointed out that it had to be the tape it self (sticky tape). I cleaned all the guides and rollers with alcohol and no more problems.

My guess it's the tape and I would clean all the rollers and guides and see what happens. Like Ki told me,the transport tape system and logic is so precise even just a little tape path quirk can foul things up, and my problem came out of nowhere.

Any error codes?

jcmusic · Jul 31, 2011

Tony,
All my tape is stored tails out.

Jay

tony ky ma said:
Hi Jay
Do you keep tape in tail end ? the advantage of this is make your tape loose (fast rewind first) before record or play back, it will has a better tape's constantly tension
tony ma

DonH50 · Jul 31, 2011

Do people still bake tapes?

jcmusic · Jul 31, 2011

Thanks Gary,
I will be sure to give a good going over this week.

Jay

Gary D said:
Jay ,
Clean your tape path with a Q tip clean all the rollers make sure there squeaky clean .Metal surfaces that contact the tape gum up , you can't see it but it's there.Clean your pinch roller also.
Like Roger said the problem came out of nowhere and effected tape speed .Good luck.

jcmusic · Aug 3, 2011

I did some recording yesterday without any issues so I am pretty sure it was the tape!!!

Jay

MylesBAstor · Aug 3, 2011

DonH50 said:
Do people still bake tapes?

Ask Bruce

Think he bakes the majority of the tape he gets in, obviously ampex's. Not all tapes need to be baked though. Just talked to Kevin Gray and the two new Audio Fidelity Grateful Dead lps were recorded on Scotch 250 (if memory serves me correctly) and didn't require baking. But think an oven is a mandatory part of most remastering studios, right Bruce

JackD201 · Aug 3, 2011

Tape dummy warning:

How do you bake a tape and what does it do? Dry it out?

Steve Williams · Aug 3, 2011

Jack

There are interesting answers to your question at The Tape Project forum.

JackD201 · Aug 3, 2011

I've been peeking in from time to time but as I've said, not having any techs around these parts just depresses me. What I do need is for you guys to clone Ki and send the clone over.

Steve Williams · Aug 3, 2011

Here is one

http://www.tapeproject.com/smf/index.php/topic,249.0.html

JackD201 · Aug 3, 2011

Thanks Steve

DonH50 · Aug 3, 2011

The problem with old tapes is that the surface absorbs moisture while the glue dries out, causing separation of the oxide (particles that hold the magnetic flux that creates the sound) from the backing (the actual "tape" part). Baking dries out the materials and tends to "re-activate" the glue so everything stays together as it should. While this can and does happen with all tapes, IIRC you DO NOT want to bake very old (acetate) tapes as the material is fragile and may not survive. Those tapes we sent to a professional restoration service, who would sometimes run a controlled bake (special oven) and transfer. Acetate is clear, while the later materials are more opaque. Put a light behind the tape and it will shine through (mostly) if it's acetate and hardly at all if it's one of the newer poly-whatevers (I forget). Acetate gets very brittle and the oxide tends to flake off badly; my advice if you have one is to transfer it ASAP to a newer tape. Unless I am completely misremembering, which is possible...

I used to bake in an oven using letter racks to hold the reels and allow better air circulation. I preheated and put the rack in the upper third to reduce local hot spots from the heating elements, and usually took the extra step of placing a large cooking sheet on the bottom oven rack placed just over the heating coils to block direct heat radiation (sort of a heat shield). Usually 120 to 140 degF for 30 minutes to a couple of hours, depending upon how bad the tape was. Use metal reels or be darn sure the plastic won't warp, and make sure the tape is wound as perfectly as possible. If there are a lot of "ridges" or "ripples", rewind and wind back to get a flat surface on the side. The tape will tend to conform to the wind during baking so you do not want sections of tape sticking up and getting warped, plus you risk losing sound if the oxide flakes off. I opened the oven door and let the tapes cool gradually and completely before removal.

I am sure I made a lot of mistakes that others will correct, but that's my quick memory of the problem and baking process.

HTH - Don

MylesBAstor · Aug 3, 2011

JackD201 said:
I've been peeking in from time to time but as I've said, not having any techs around these parts just depresses me. What I do need is for you guys to clone Ki and send the clone over.

c1ferrari · Aug 3, 2011

Looks as if I'll have to learn...

DonH50 said:
Do people still bake tapes?

considering a food dehydrator rather than an oven.

jcmusic · Aug 3, 2011

Guys all this talk about OLD and BAKING tapes, the tape in question here was not old tape, it was brand new stuff!!! RMGI 468.

Jay

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