1 mil tapes...(Tascam 22 content)

leddy

Well-known member
Is LPR35 the only sticky-safe 1 mil tape right now?

I scored a like-new 22-4. I've been using LPR35 on my 22-2 and it's been fine. (It sounds a little hissy on my 22-4 compared to the 22-2. I demag'd and it got much better, but not quite as good as the 22-2. Perhaps the more narrow tracks are to blame). Manual says it's biased for Ampex 456/Scotch 250/Maxell UD. My understanding is LPR35 is more like 407 but can handle +3 above 407. I'd like something closer to 407 - but without the sticky shed.

Should I just shut up and stick with LRP35?
 
Should I just shut up and stick with LRP35?

I'm in your boat and yes. I bought up a bunch of Quantegy 457 before they quit making it, in my experience the 22-4 likes the Quantegy a bit better than the RMGI. Whatever you do don't put 456 on it or anything 1.5 mil, the transport can't take it.
 
First something happen to this thread. Posts have went missing on it.

Second all of the tascam 22 series machines are biased for 407 tape not 456 or 457. And I believe lpr35 is the same as 457.
If you are going to use lpr35 you may need to bias your machine for it to get the best results.
 
First something happen to this thread. Posts have went missing on it.

Second all of the tascam 22 series machines are biased for 407 tape not 456 or 457. And I believe lpr35 is the same as 457.
If you are going to use lpr35 you may need to bias your machine for it to get the best results.

I'm looking at the manual and it says optimum results are with TEAC YTT-8013 and the following:

Maxell UD, UDXL, LN
Scotch 250, Master
Sony DUAD, SLH
TDK AUDUA, (L), T
Ampex 456

I guess that's why I had some confusion. The mechanical specs indicate 1 mil tape. Before posts got deleted, I got kind of barked at for not using the search button, but clearly there seems to be a discrepancy somewhere.
 
Are you sure you have the 22 series manual cause I have both the 22-2 maual and the 22-4 manual and they both say 407 tape.
456 is a 1.5 mil tape and biased at 250. Both machines manuals say they do not recommend 1.5 mil tape for the 22-4 or 22-2
 

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Here is a pic of the manual I am using.
 

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I'm looking at the manual and it says optimum results are with TEAC YTT-8013 and the following:

Maxell UD, UDXL, LN
Scotch 250, Master
Sony DUAD, SLH
TDK AUDUA, (L), T
Ampex 456

I guess that's why I had some confusion. The mechanical specs indicate 1 mil tape. Before posts got deleted, I got kind of barked at for not using the search button, but clearly there seems to be a discrepancy somewhere.

TEAC YTT-8013 was the in-house designation for a playback alignment tape used at the Montebello CA facility.

If the machine was set up in the 456 ball park, using 406 or similar tape would have you over biased enough that the recordings would come back on the dull side with a noticeable lack of headroom.

Conversely, if set up for 406/407 and their ilk but using 456-ish stuff, you'd be under biased enough to come back a bit bright with a bit more headroom at your disposal.

To repeat some of what was lost from yesterday: I think that buying NOS Amnpex/Quategy is risky due to the possibility of sticky-shed, poor QC, or both. Others here disagree.
 
My manual says TEAC 22-4. I'll try to post a picture later on. I bought the manual separate from the machine which definitely says Tascam 22-4.

The Picture you posted looks like my 22-2 manual. The TEAC 22-4 manual looks slightly different.
 
I just thought of that before you posted. The 22 was a teac with the first models and that could be where the confusion comes in.
So is your recorder a teac or a tascam? I know the two machines look the same but just maybe there are some differences in the two.
 
I just bought a nos roll of Maxell ud off ebay and I going to see how it sounds on the 22-4. Maybe picking up a few rolls of if would be a better way to go.
It cant hurt and it doesnt cost that much. After all we are just home recordist trying to have a little fun.
 
Something that I've picked up over the years is that coercivity is a measure of the bias current requirement of a said tape. Quantegy 456, 406, 457, 407, BASF / EMTEC / RMGI SM911, LPR35, Maxell UD and some others, incredibly all share the same or very similar coercivity and thus bias requirement. The only major things which differ are level that the tapes can take and thickness. I do agree, however, that one should do calibration / alignment on a deck which has not been serviced in years. Levels, bias, mechanical alignment etc... all drift with age, as do we. ;)
 
Ok I did a little checking here and got the Teac/tascam manual out for the 22-4. I would have got it out sooner but I forgot I had it.
It says the ytt-8013 is a blank tape and if that tape is not available for alignment you may use a Maxell ud instead.
Now when you step up to the 34 they recomend Teac ytt-8063 .
 
Something that I've picked up over the years is that coercivity is a measure of the bias current requirement of a said tape. Quantegy 456, 406, 457, 407, BASF / EMTEC / RMGI SM911, LPR35, Maxell UD and some others, incredibly all share the same or very similar coercivity and thus bias requirement.

With respect to the bias settings of 456/457 vs. 406/407, that has not been my experience.
 
With respect to the bias settings of 456/457 vs. 406/407, that has not been my experience.

The bias requirement may differ a little, from batch to batch, even within the same class of tape, for example one 456 may not be exactly the same as another 456, due to quality control issues but generally speaking, without being anal about it, 456 / 457 / 406 / 407 share the same coercivity [+-10 Oe] and this can be looked up in a said tape's spec sheet.
 
The bias requirement may differ a little, from batch to batch, even within the same class of tape, for example one 456 may not be exactly the same as another 456, due to quality control issues but generally speaking, without being anal about it, 456 / 457 / 406 / 407 share the same coercivity [+-10 Oe] and this can be looked up in a said tape's spec sheet.

Perhaps another tape maven will chime in here at some point. I recall that when my machines were set for 406, I would need to increase the bias current when I switched to 456 to get the proper 3 db over-bias setting. I'd have to decrease the current by pretty much the same amount when switching back to 406. Although playback alignment was checked before doing any of this, operating level was not changed.
 
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456/457 and 406/407 are bias compatible. Where they differ is level and EQ.

But 456 and 406 have different sonic character. 456 is brighter (some say harsher when pushed into the red) while 406 is warmer and fuzzier… has an easier compression with hot signals. You can get any tape to sound brighter by under biasing it, but what you have is high frequency distortion.

For a machine set for 456 I don’t touch the bias if I use 406. I watch the levels and if I really want to dial in the machine for 406 I’ll go through the EQ process. But in practice I've usually just dropped it in without any tweaking needed… I like the way it sounds as it is.
 
456/457 and 406/407 are bias compatible. Where they differ is level and EQ.

But 456 and 406 have different sonic character. 456 is brighter (some say harsher when pushed into the red) while 406 is warmer and fuzzier… has an easier compression with hot signals.

For a machine set for 456 I don’t touch the bias if I use 406. I watch the levels and if I really want to dial in the machine for 406 I’ll go through the EQ process. But in practice I have usually just dropped it in without any tweaking needed… I like the way it sounds as it is.

Question: Have you compared the amount of bias current needed to dial in the "3db over" point from one to the other?
 
Question: Have you compared the amount of bias current needed to dial in the "3db over" point from one to the other?

Yes, on many machines over many years (more than I like to admit). ;) The variation is negligible... no different than between two different batches of 456 or two different batches of 3M 226, etc.

I've known so many people over the years with pet bias methods; I see bias as a small range rather than a "right on the dot" sort of thing. The amount the bias is different is so small it can change that much just by the machine warning up... I don't sweat it.

Now where bias gets more interesting to me is setting certain tracks to non-standard bias for snare drum and whatnot.

:)
 
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