[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [ARSCLIST] audio reel to reel - how bad is bad - or is this pre-cupping?
At 02:41 PM 2009-02-10, Michael Biel wrote:
Richard L. Hess wrote:
As Lou pointed out, acetate and polyester tape will behave
differently. This is usually more prevalent on acetate tape than
polyester--at least that's where I've seen it.
Of course there is the assumption that the mewbies know how to tell
the difference between the two types. Hold the reel up sideways to
the light and generally there will be light glowing thru acetete
tape but not thru mylar/polyester. Sometimes you might even
discover that the reel has both types intermixed.
Hi, Mike,
Well, I thought I had one up someplace, but I can't seem to find it now.
Actually, I interpret your pages to indicate that it is good to
compare the tape on several different type heads if you have them available.
Damaged full track tape presents certain alignment problems that can
often be solved by NOT playing it with a full track head. When the
tape has deformed even slightly it can present an uneven or
irregular pattern that will cause phasing that can not be cured by
any head azimuith adjustments to a head reading the entire width of
the tape. A narrow track head might be better able to find a place
on the tape where it can be aligned to -- and sometimes this will
change during the reel.
This is, of course, true, but lately I've been finding that tapes
where I would have gone to a narrower track head on an A810, for
example, play fine with the full-track head on an A80. I used to draw
the line at 7.5 in/s for NOT using a full-track head when I had A810s
in this format, but with the A80, I routinely use a full-track head
at 7.5 in/s and don't hear any of the azimuth combing.
Gettnig back to the effect of the possible damage, while the
physical damage certainly has a role to play, the "how bad is it"
is as much -- or more -- a factor of the recording speed and the
track width. This is crucial. A full-track 15 in/s tape that will
play fine with a certain amount of damage would be rather
unlistenable at 3.75 in/s quarter track, for example.
Cheers,
Richard
Right! But what you got is what you got!
Yes, certainly, but it helps to understand that you need to be more
concerned about the denser tapes (narrower tracks, slower speeds)
with this type of damage.
Cheers,
Richard
Richard L. Hess email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.