Just out of curiosity, how do cassette tapes fare? Have they been known to
have these type problems, too?
Richard
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 7:02 AM
To: finale@shsu.edu
Subject: DON'T TEST: Re: [Finale] copying reel to reel tapes
I'm on deadline but had to jump in here. This tape-baking is something that
I do for restoration clients, and although I replied to Vivian privately, I
have to respond to this message before folks do the wrong thing.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote, on 4/9/2008 5:15 AM:
2) The baking process he refers to is a last resort; let's start with
the first resort.
If you know these are gummy tapes, this is the first resort for some very
good reasons.
3) Let's ssume you still own a reel-to-reel player that works (not a
safe assumption unless it's direct-drive; if there are rubber belts
involved, they have a finite lifetime). If you do have one that works,
play one of the tapes and see for yourself what condition it's in.
Do NOT play the tapes. Whether they are gummy, flaking, non-Mylar, etc.,
amateur handling can damage them. Even in otherwise good situations, splices
can fail and tangle the tapes unexpectedly. There are ways of handling
tests, and just playing a tape isn't the place to start.
4) At level one of detioration, there will be drop-outs, because the
glue that attaches the magnetized iron particles (which is how your
signal is encoded) to the (usually) mylar tape base also has a
lifetime. Some of the magnetized iron can literally fall off over
time. If you open the box and there's rust-colored dust in it--that ain't
good.
Mylar and usually paper tape binding is good. Acetate tape loses its
binding, sometimes catastrophically. All tape types (and there are
others) can be damaged by test playing, especially for those who used
thinner tapes (especially .5 mil Mylar) back in the day when these were
popular with home recordists or people who wanted to get a lot of recording
time and didn't realize the consequences. Even playing thin tapes can ruin
them linearly with folds and creases. Playing tapes with poor binding can
cause oxide to fall off.
5) At level two of detioration, which is what you are worried about,
serious fluctuations in termperature and humidity (particularly
humidity) while in storage will actually turn some or all of the
iron/glue/mylar product into congealed gunk. If that's your situation,
you need to follow Christopher's instructions. Depending on the degree
of gunkiness, baking may or may not save a portion of your material.
Gumminess is not an issue of storage. It's an issue of long-term chemistry
with certain formulations of tape, including very well stored Ampex
mastering tapes from the 1980s. These will go gummy irrespective of how they
were stored; my own top-of-the-line Ampex masters from this era are all
gummy, while most of the Maxell masters are fine.
6) It's a little late for this, but reel-to-reel archivists have
always recommended end-to-end rewinding of all your tapes once a year.
That way, if a process of adhesion to the next layer has begun at a
low level, they will get aired out. If your tapes are still in
playable condition, please consider doing this in the future.
Do NOT -- repeat do NOT -- rewind potentially gummy or flaky tapes. With
gummy tapes, even if the layers are not stuck together (which is rare,
except at splices), this will cause the gummy surface to heat, stick, pull
off oxide and create clots of oxide on the tape surface that have to be
removed by hand. The gummy tape will ALWAYS get caught in the guides and
usually snap and make a tangled mess. With flaky tapes, the oxide will shear
off in great sheets before there's time to stop it.
When I prepare old tapes, I test first, then if working with a tail-out tape
that requires winding to the front, I slowly wind on a special jig with the
oxide OUT and not in contact with any hardware. Handle tapes as little as
possible; clean and repair splices first.
I have a huge reel-to-reel collection, and the dire predictions about
the shortness of the half-life of the medium are greatly exaggerated.
The first tapes I made in 1957 are still in perfect condition; and
keeping them this way is not the mission impossible it's sometimes made
out to be.
1957 was likely acetate. Depending on how those were stored, they will
either be in perfect condition, warped (they are organic materials), moldy,
flaking, etc. You do NOT want to find out they're about to flake into a pile
of oxide when you're test-playing or -rewinding them.
If the tapes in question are masters or only copies, find someone who has
done restoration and get some advice FIRST. They should give you a free or
nominal cost recommendation on one of your tapes. If they've done gummy or
flaky tapes before, they will know almost immediately.
Should yours be gummy tapes, the
