Chris Shaeffer
Peavey ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is my trial by fire, I suppose.
A few things have happened.
1) My pinch roller has always seemed very dirty. I've cleaned it regularly, but not thoroughly every time I cleaned the heads. The Q-tip always came off BLACK.
2) I got some Ampex 456 off ebay- which I now realize must be pretty old to still be labeled Ampex. I got a good enough deal that it was worth it for the nice reels alone, but I wonder if these tapes are going to have sticky shed? I ran one of them for maybe 45 minutes total so far...
3) I figured I'd see how dirty it was and clean it a little more. Almost immediately I noticed that a dark brown (probably oxide) layer came off fairly easily to reveal a nice black rubber underneath. Seemed like the guy before me must have rarely cleaned it.
4) Whoa. Its really dirty- and now I'm made a clean patch. Better clean it all. Cleaned it all off- looks great!
5) Threw the Ampex tape back on a few hours later to continue working on a new tune and noticed a weird thrumming noise- turned out to be the tape getting stuck and unstuck on the pinch roller. Damn thing was sticky as hell. Now I know why the guy before me didn't clean it... the crap stuck to it was keeping the roller from sticking to the tape... or...
6) Sticky shed?! I checked the heads and they're spotless. Would the heads be gummed up too if this was sticky shed?
7) I tried cleaning it again (which made it worse) let it "dry" really well (which seemed to make it better), and sacrificed a minute of tape and played it through a few times. It stopped sticking after a few plays and now works almost as well as it did before I cleaned it- but its still a little sticky to the touch.
So I've already ordered a new pinch roller from Tascam (~$40 shipped) and the rubber cleaner that Ghost recommends... I'm confident I'll be able to get back up and running one way or another. I'm not going to use it till the new parts come in, I think. Would the (now) mildly sticky pinch roller cause damage to the tape?
Any insight or advice on what happened? Are there other ways I can identify bad tape than putting it on the machine and praying? Is there any way I can determine if this was sticky shed, a shot roller, or both?
Thanks,
Chris
A few things have happened.
1) My pinch roller has always seemed very dirty. I've cleaned it regularly, but not thoroughly every time I cleaned the heads. The Q-tip always came off BLACK.
2) I got some Ampex 456 off ebay- which I now realize must be pretty old to still be labeled Ampex. I got a good enough deal that it was worth it for the nice reels alone, but I wonder if these tapes are going to have sticky shed? I ran one of them for maybe 45 minutes total so far...
3) I figured I'd see how dirty it was and clean it a little more. Almost immediately I noticed that a dark brown (probably oxide) layer came off fairly easily to reveal a nice black rubber underneath. Seemed like the guy before me must have rarely cleaned it.
4) Whoa. Its really dirty- and now I'm made a clean patch. Better clean it all. Cleaned it all off- looks great!
5) Threw the Ampex tape back on a few hours later to continue working on a new tune and noticed a weird thrumming noise- turned out to be the tape getting stuck and unstuck on the pinch roller. Damn thing was sticky as hell. Now I know why the guy before me didn't clean it... the crap stuck to it was keeping the roller from sticking to the tape... or...
6) Sticky shed?! I checked the heads and they're spotless. Would the heads be gummed up too if this was sticky shed?
7) I tried cleaning it again (which made it worse) let it "dry" really well (which seemed to make it better), and sacrificed a minute of tape and played it through a few times. It stopped sticking after a few plays and now works almost as well as it did before I cleaned it- but its still a little sticky to the touch.
So I've already ordered a new pinch roller from Tascam (~$40 shipped) and the rubber cleaner that Ghost recommends... I'm confident I'll be able to get back up and running one way or another. I'm not going to use it till the new parts come in, I think. Would the (now) mildly sticky pinch roller cause damage to the tape?
Any insight or advice on what happened? Are there other ways I can identify bad tape than putting it on the machine and praying? Is there any way I can determine if this was sticky shed, a shot roller, or both?
Thanks,
Chris