Re: [ARSCLIST] Do these tapes need to be baked or not?

[Steven Smolian <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>]

Don't spend time obsessing on this.  They are Ampex 406.  They fall into the
1975 period.  Ergo, they need baking.

Steve Smolian


----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Sevier" <roughrob@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2004 5:54 PM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Do these tapes need to be baked or not?


> Esteemed Archivists,
> I have ten or so AMPEX DBX 406 tapes, the latest of which was recorded on
> in
> mid-1975. I've gotten several different reports as to whether or not these
> tapes need to be baked before playing them back. Is there a reliable
> resource that can tell me whether or not this specific model has problems?
> Does anyone on the list have an answer based on experience? I've played
> phone tag with someone over at QUantegy (who I understand bought AMPEX.)
>
> One possibility, if there is any doubt, is that I have one or two tapes
> that
> contain no music that I need at all (everything is contained on a quarter
> inch mix.) These unnecessary tapes were stored under identical
> circumstances
> as the tapes that I need to dump down. Would it make sense to experiment
> first with the unnecessary tapes? How would I know if the process is
> failing?
>
> Thanks in advance for the advice.
> Rob Sevier