Stupid Question about Maxell XLI Tape

[MikeSD]

I just got a few 7" reels of Maxell XLI tapes. They have recordings on them and play great. The problem I see, and I'm not sure it's a problem, is they tape is wound so the oxide appears to be on the ourboard side of the reel.

One side is normal brown shiny color and the other side is flat black. I assumed the black side is the oxide side.

Is that correct for this tape? Is that black side, not really the oxide? Just for grins I rewound one tape the other way, brown side out, and tried to record something. Didn't work. But the black side out, records fine.

Where am I screwed up on this? It appears the black side (dull) is not the oxide and the brown shiny side is the oxide side. At least that's the way it works. What's up? Or more to put it simple... which side goes to the head side?

[YeshuasFan]

As an old open-reel buff years ago, I used XLI tape frequently [although I preferred Ampex 20:20 or Grandmaster tape]. The black coating was explained to me as an anti-static coating to ensure smoother transport over the heads and to also buffer the layers to lessen bleed-thru. At least that was the explanation I received from Ampex 25 years ago.

[MikeSD]

That doesn't exactly answer the question. I don't care what it's for. I need to know which side it should be on. Head side or away from the head? If I look at the reel, do I see black or brown. I've found that the black is back coating.

ensure smoother transport over the heads

That would seem to seem only possible if the black side contacted the heads. I tried that and it didn't record at all. Records properly only when black side is outboard.

So the question is: Does the black side (back coating) contact the tape heads or is it outboard side?

[YeshuasFan]

Sorry,
The side with the brown emulsion is what should be in contact with the head. The flat black side should be on the outside away from the head.

[MikeSD]

Thanks, I did say it was stupid. By trial and error that appears to be the way it works too.

I'm recording some classic country on one right now, on my Akai GX-77. I guess some might say that's stupid too. The quality seems quite good.

I haven't used reel to reel since the middle 60s when I was in the military. But now I'm back to it. Just bought a couple of Akai GX-747 and a couple GX-77. Overboard?

[YeshuasFan]

My first recording experience was with an Akai open-reel deck that I bought in 1981 and wore out in about 7 years. I've since moved into digital recording but I wish I'd kept copies of the stuff I recorded on that old Akai. Granted that stuff was not multi-track, but I put together some killer tracks by dubbing to a Pioneer cassette deck using Cr02 tape, then running the outs from the cassette deck into two channels of a mixer and using a mic through another channel to "overdub." I even used this technique initially when I purchased a stand-alone CD recorder because I couldn't afford a multi-track unit at the time--only I used a CD player to playback the initial tracks.
The important thing is that even with primitive equipment, or even contemporary equipment that is less than state of the art, you can find ways to work around the limitations of the equipment--that's what bouncing down/ping-ponging/track reduction is all about.

Doing classic country, you will probably get a better "feel" for the songs using analog than digital.

thanks for allowing me to reminisce.