GP9 doesn't shed?

mamm7215

mamm7215

Member
I'm curious since in my reading about sticky shed I've come across a few articles etc. that say of all the affected tape, GP9 is supposed to not have the problem. My issue: My TSR-8 came with about 6 reels of tape. 4 had been used 1-2 times and 2 had only a couple of recording passes at the beginning. 1 of the reels was Quantegy GP9, on a shiny red reel! (I love the look of it...) The problem is that tape sheds all over the place, and badly. Could it be 456 or something else put on that reel that's labelled GP9? Just curious is all...
All the other tape is 456
 
mamm7215 said:
The problem is that tape sheds all over the place, and badly. Could it be 456 or something else put on that reel that's labelled GP9? Just curious is all...
All the other tape is 456
Click to expand...

Absolutely yes it could be something else.

That is one reason I caution against buying so-called one-pass or any open tape. If you didn’t open it and you don’t know and trust the person who did, you have no way whatsoever of knowing that the tape on the reel is what the box and reel says.

Not all studios, home or otherwise are as organized as one would think. Over the years I’ve seen all kinds of tape on all kinds of different reels.

On the other hand, even though GP9 has a reputation for no or low oxide shedding, there were always the odd batches no matter what brand or model of tape. Also, when you use GP9 without adjusting tension, the tension will be a lot higher because the tape is stiffer, thicker and heavier than 456. Depending on the condition of your tape path, this may or may not increase shedding to a noticeable degree, but it will wear your heads faster.

:)
 
Ok, good to know. All of the tapes came with the deck when I bought it. If GP9 is that much stiffer that the wear will be faster then I'm not even going to worry about it. I may just toss the tape and keep the reel. It's not just small specks, sometimes big chunks fly off, and none of the other tapes do...
 
Just did a test of the tapes that came with the TSR-8. 3 456 reels are good. 2 reels of 499. 1 is bad. 1 reel of GP9-it's definitely the worst of the lot. Very bad shed. So it's not the deck I don't think, or the tape path. I'm not sure I'll even worry about baking since I have 4 good reels. I definitely will be picking up some RMGI in the future.
 
mamm7215 said:
Just did a test of the tapes that came with the TSR-8. 3 456 reels are good. 2 reels of 499. 1 is bad. 1 reel of GP9-it's definitely the worst of the lot. Very bad shed. So it's not the deck I don't think, or the tape path. I'm not sure I'll even worry about baking since I have 4 good reels. I definitely will be picking up some RMGI in the future.
Click to expand...


Also note that 499 is +9 tape too and is thicker and stiffer than 456, so you’ll have the same tension issues as GP9. IMO 499 historically has worse than normal shedding, but it’s not sticky-shed. GP9 has the best record in my experience… very low oxide shedding compared to any other tape. And like 499, GP9 has never had sticky-shed.

But as I stated earlier, we can’t rule out the possibility that the previous owner put a different tape on the GP9 reel… maybe mixed the tapes and reels up. The red GP9 reel is older and collectable so hang on to the reel and ditch the tape.

:)
 
That's exactly what I'd planned to do :)
Interesting point you make, none of the shed seems "sticky" or "gooey" in a moist kind of way. It's all flaking/dusting off of the reels in question. I don't really have any experience with a definitely gooey shedding situation but the GP9 absolutely flakes/chunks off more than the others...
 
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