From 1990 through 1997 I hosted and co-produced a nationally syndicated performance radio show called Rural Route 3. This was recorded live with a studio audience featuring nationally known singer songwriters, folk and roots musicians and later edited down to a 1 hr show, syndicated through the NPR satellite feed. I currently have the only master DAT tapes of the series and would like to preserve them in a more permanent form, possibly by putting them into Pro tools.
I've played segments of one tape to assess the condition and it did have multiple moments of drop out, though most of the tape seemed ok. The tapes are 20 years old and I'm concerned about deterioration (though they were stored under decent conditions). Is there a proper protocol to observe when playing vintage DAT tapes? I don't want to risk damaging these. I assume I should forward to the end then re-wind but I'd appreciate any other thoughts folks might have. I know you can bake vintage reel to reel tape to stabilize it, but a DAT? I'm not so sure...
Thanks very much for any thoughts or advice.
I've played segments of one tape to assess the condition and it did have multiple moments of drop out, though most of the tape seemed ok. The tapes are 20 years old and I'm concerned about deterioration (though they were stored under decent conditions). Is there a proper protocol to observe when playing vintage DAT tapes? I don't want to risk damaging these. I assume I should forward to the end then re-wind but I'd appreciate any other thoughts folks might have. I know you can bake vintage reel to reel tape to stabilize it, but a DAT? I'm not so sure...
Thanks very much for any thoughts or advice.