MRL calibration Tape, Expiration Tape???

[studiodrum]

Hey Guys,
I have a 1" Ampex 406, MRL calibration tape, made in June 1989. . . and I was wondering how long these tapes last, . .do you think its still good anymore, .or is that the era of the sticky tape syndrome. . . Thanks guys

 

[cjacek]

I have a 1" Ampex 406, MRL calibration tape, made in June 1989. . . and I was wondering how long these tapes last, . .do you think its still good anymore, .or is that the era of the sticky tape syndrome. . . Thanks guys

Quantegy took over from Ampex in late 1995 fixing the old formula. Therefore, what you have there is from the old unstable Ampex days. It's backcoated thus being suspect as much as the other backcoated tapes from that era. It may def have sticky shed. You can bake it though.

 

[Beck]

Yeah, that's sticky shed days all right. If it has been cared for properly you can bake it and it will be fine.

 

[MadAudio]

But isn't the number of times you can use a calibration tape (sticky-shed or not) limited? At least that's what I heard once.

Is this an unused tape?

 

[Beck]

But isn't the number of times you can use a calibration tape (sticky-shed or not) limited? At least that's what I heard once.

Is this an unused tape?

We're talking thousands of passes, so in a practical sense it's not really limited. If used with care... that means degaussing before each use, they don't really go bad.

J McKnight says MRL tapes will last "For ever." Based on my experience with older MRL tapes, that's probably about right. I have a recent MRL tape and one of the same model from 1978. I was surprised to find the levels of the frequencies to be in perfect agreement (once I baked the tape from 78). This is a testament to McKnight’s tight quality control standards over the years.

Calibration tapes aren’t used all that much in their lifetimes unless you get an old one from a busy service tech.

The one thing that will kill a calibration tape is a neglected tape path as far as demagnetizing goes. That’s why the first step in a calibration is to degauss the machine. One pass on a neglected machine will impact high frequencies… 16 kHz and above, and can ruin the tape. The highs will be further erased with each pass.

 

[studiodrum]

Thanks guys, . .Yeah, I was afraid that it might be from the 'sticky' era, . .

Oh well, I guess I will just try and bake the tape. So, after baking the tape, will I only get one pass outf it, . . or will it be good for awhile? Thanks again all. . .

 

[MadAudio]

We're talking thousands of passes, so in a practical sense it's not really limited. If used with care... that means degaussing before each use, they don't really go bad.

J McKnight says MRL tapes will last "For ever." Based on my experience with older MRL tapes, that's probably about right. I have a recent MRL tape and one of the same model from 1978. I was surprised to find the levels of the frequencies to be in perfect agreement (once I baked the tape from 78). This is a testament to McKnight’s tight quality control standards over the years.

Calibration tapes aren’t used all that much in their lifetimes unless you get an old one from a busy service tech.

The one thing that will kill a calibration tape is a neglected tape path as far as demagnetizing goes. That’s why the first step in a calibration is to degauss the machine. One pass on a neglected machine will impact high frequencies… 16 kHz and above, and can ruin the tape. The highs will be further erased with each pass.

Thanks for clearing that up for me, Beck.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Thanks guys, . .Yeah, I was afraid that it might be from the 'sticky' era, . .

Oh well, I guess I will just try and bake the tape. So, after baking the tape, will I only get one pass outf it, . . or will it be good for awhile? Thanks again all. . .

It should be good for several hundred more passes before needing to bake it again...that's been my personal experience with baking my own tapes in my food dehydrator oven.

Cheers!

 

[Tim Gillett]

It should be good for several hundred more passes before needing to bake it again...that's been my personal experience with baking my own tapes in my food dehydrator oven.

Cheers!

How long it stays good before going sticky again is just time and the environment it's been stored in, during that time. It's not related to number of passes.

Sticky shed of tape is caused by its absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. It has nothing to do with being played except that it's exposed to the atmosphere for a short time.
But playing a sticky shed tape even once without the moisture driven out of it is of course asking for permanent damage to it.

Tim

 

[evm1024]

How long it stays good before going sticky again is just time and the environment it's been stored in, during that time. It's not related to number of passes.

Sticky shed of tape is caused by its absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. It has nothing to do with being played except that it's exposed to the atmosphere for a short time.
But playing a sticky shed tape even once without the moisture driven out of it is of course asking for permanent damage to it.

Tim

Tim Don't be daft. Ghost knows that it is not the number of passes.

 

[Tim Gillett]

Does he? How do you know that? I would have thought he could speak for himself.

Tim

 

[Beck]

Does he? How do you know that? I would have thought he could speak for himself.

Tim

Use the search feature... he does speak for himself quite extensively on the subject. You're new around here, aren't you?

 

[evm1024]

Does he? How do you know that? I would have thought he could speak for himself.

Tim

Say nothing and people will think you are a fool. Say something and they will know that YOU are a fool.

He did not say anything because he most likely was still rolling on the floor laughing his ass off!

 

[cjacek]

Is Tim Gillett trying to pick a fight with the Ghostmyster now ? Oh my ... and I thought I'd seen it all!

 

[cjacek]

Tim Gillett to The Ghost of FM: That'll learn ya!

 

[Tim Gillett]

Wouldnt you LOVE for me to pick a fight with Ghost?

The venue's booked, the tickets on sale, the promo posters up, and the only thing missing is the fighters.
But all is not lost. If ever I'm planning to pick a fight with Ghost, you'll be the first to know. Scout's honour.


Sorry to disappoint you. Guess I cant please everyone...

Tim

 

[MCI2424]

Hey Guys,
I have a 1" Ampex 406, MRL calibration tape, made in June 1989. . . and I was wondering how long these tapes last, . .do you think its still good anymore, .or is that the era of the sticky tape syndrome. . . Thanks guys

I never would trust a stickey tape shed tape to set my decks, baked or not. ..............neither does MRL.

You can get a discount for a new tape directly from MRL because of this. Contact them.

And...........
Baking tapes is only useful for transferring to a good media. Not recommended for re-baking every time you use it.

I had a TASCAM 80-8 that had to have the heads re-lapped because of this. The tape shed ground its way into the heads, They could not be cleaned as proven by JRF (the KINGS of head work).

Stickey shed when baked become unsticky for now, but they still shed.....everywhere.

 

[Tim Gillett]

Agree.
I've seen heads where someone played a SSS tape once, totally gunked up the tape path and thought the machine was at fault. Then they left the machine like that for a year before bringing it to the repairer. By that time the gunk on the head had eaten into the head face. The head had to be replaced. Relapping couldnt fix it.
Just cleaning old SSS gunk off the tape path can be very difficult, especially if it's been there for some time. Earlier the better.
If a machine's play head is worn or obviously damaged to the extent the play response is likely to be affected there's no point in running a cal tape. The cal tape is the last thing done after all other obvious problems are fixed.

SSS is one issue with a cal tape. The other is how do you know if it's still trustworthy unless you know its history?

Tim.

 

[Beck]

One can be really cautious when buying a calibration tape… nothing wrong with that. But that will also preclude buying a used MRL tape of any date, including 2007. The only way to really know any tape’s history is to buy it from someone that knows its history that you can trust, or to buy it yourself new. Ideally we should buy everything new, but in the real world of guerilla recording we work with what we have.

If you have owned a tape for years and just pulled it off the shelf to find it has sticky shed (or you’re worried it might) baking does truly restore a tape at the molecular level. The problem is it usually will get sticky again. The time it takes depends on the relative humidity of your environment. The good news is that you can bake a tape as many times as you need.

In a home/project studio you might check alignment once a year, and even then not have to adjust anything.

If you already have a tape then go ahead and bake it using the prescribed method in the following link. (not every word on this site is accurate, but the baking method is sound)

http://www.tangible-technology.com/tape/baking1.html

A properly maintained machine will tell you if the tape is any good, because when you run it you’ll see it’s already on. That’s how I tested the old 1978 MRL tape after I baked it. My machine was already in perfect alignment with a newer MRL tape (had been for 2 years).

If a tape has been damaged by a magnetic field it will be markedly down in dB from 0 VU by the same amount on every track @ 16 kHz and above. First you run the 1 kHz tone to check that it is at 0 VU. It will take a lot more than a typical magnetized tape path to impact 1 kHz. After you’ve established that 1 kHz is ok, you run 16 kHz or 20 kHz (whatever your instructions require). It should be within the machine’s specifications. At 16 kHz it might be 0 VU or be up or down a dB or two… depending on the machine’s tolerances.

I strongly recommend against buying blank or used tape from the sticky shed years to record with, but if you already have a calibration tape this is one area where baking can be useful. Dehydrating within the recommended temperatures has no adverse effect on tape or the recorded material on it.

-New 1” MRL calibration tape; $260.00 to $470.00 (depending on which one you need)
-Snackmaster dehydrator at Wal-mart: $39.96 – $44.88 (or similar model)

Sticky shed is indeed a mess if untreated. I won’t even play a backcoated tape made before 1995 before baking it. Each person has to consider their calibration tape on a case-by-case basis.

 

[evm1024]

1990

My MRL was made in Aug 1990. No shed (at this time!).

I tend to keep it in a freezer bag with a few desicant packs when not in use.