45 Year Old Reel To Reel Tape - What Can I Expect?

Mickster

Mickster

Well-known member
An old pal of mine recently found a number of reel to reel tapes of our old band music from back in the 70's. They're quarter inch tapes originally recorded on a Sony sound on sound machine. We're currently looking for a cheap reel to reel to play these tapes on so we can archive whatever material survived.

My question is.......what can we expect to happen? The tape is Scotch 3M silicone lubricated .5mil tensilized polyester backing Tartan series 6.35mm X 730m. We're going to test the machine as best we can before we play the old tapes. Does anyone know how this brand of tape will be after 45 years? Is there something we should do to prepare the machine or the tapes? I assume it's worth a try.........but would like to know how you guys would go about this. I also assume we may only get one or two usable passes before we get some major failure.
 
Sorry guys....but I gotta to bump this. Any feedback I can get will be appreciated. Thanks.
 
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Again.....sorry to bump this. Sweetbeats.........you are certainly the tape expert here. Your knowledge is awesome. Do you have any thoughts on my question maybe?
 
I would suggest researching if the type of tape used is susceptible to "sticky shed syndrome", and reading about "baking tape". There are some useful threads here, and on Tapeheads.net.
 
Thanks wkrbee. I've tried looking that particular brand op tape to see if it's susceptible but haven't found much to go on. I'll check on the site you listed.
 
Mickster said:
An old pal of mine recently found a number of reel to reel tapes of our old band music from back in the 70's. They're quarter inch tapes originally recorded on a Sony sound on sound machine. We're currently looking for a cheap reel to reel to play these tapes on so we can archive whatever material survived.

My question is.......what can we expect to happen? The tape is Scotch 3M silicone lubricated .5mil tensilized polyester backing Tartan series 6.35mm X 730m. We're going to test the machine as best we can before we play the old tapes. Does anyone know how this brand of tape will be after 45 years? Is there something we should do to prepare the machine or the tapes? I assume it's worth a try.........but would like to know how you guys would go about this. I also assume we may only get one or two usable passes before we get some major failure.
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Any series from Scotch/3M that is numbered 206 or below shouldn't suffer from sticky shed syndrome. That being said, if the machine has trouble pulling your tape, stop. .5 mil will stretch to a string before you know it.
 
Thanks RRuskin. I just got a pic of the tape box cover and it's Scotch 144 tape. So......you think the main thing to look out for is to be sure the machine is working properly right?
 
Mickster said:
Thanks RRuskin. I just got a pic of the tape box cover and it's Scotch 144 tape. So......you think the main thing to look out for is to be sure the machine is working properly right?
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If the lubrication has dried up, the machine might have trouble pulling it without stretching the tape. Also, it would be wise to not assume that the tape is what the box says it is. I can't tell you how many tapes come to me for transfer where the box says one thing but the tape itself is another brand or oxide type.
 
Exactly. We're not sure if the boxes are labeled correctly. We know we have band material on some or most of them.......but have to play them to find out.
 
I have some maxell tape, 40 years old. Mine has seemed t age just fine. It has always been stored in a dry/cool environment, but I an still use it.
 
I don't consider myself a "tape expert", but part of a community the, together, form a body of expertise. Others are much more knowledgeable about older tapes and their pitfalls and what to do about it. I sent a message to a listserv I'm part of that includes people who do archiving and transfers for a living. THEY are the tape experts. I'll see what comes back but you won't have answers today...like using analog tape compared to digital, you must have a certain degree of patience. I'll post as soon as I have any useful information.

[MENTION=66576]RRuskin[/MENTION] I hate to burst your bubble, but unfortunately we are starting to see even 206 exhibiting sticky shed issues. :(
 
When I've come across old r-r tapes, I've put them on the machine without the tape going through the guides, and tricking the machine there's a valid tape, put it into gentle wind with a bit of finger tension on the supply spool to stop it jerking. I've not done it now for getting on for 6 or 7 years as my ancient Ferrograph has a pinch wheel that's disintegrating and I've not bothered to fix it, but these machines had a knob for the wind direction and speed and it took a short while to spool it one way, and if it had no sticky splices, and went through smoothly, I ran it back the other way with a bit of lint cloth gently touching both sides. You can check to see of the oxide is shedding , and if not, it's safe to lace up properly. I've been lucky and never had a sticky/sheddy one.
 
sweetbeats said:
I don't consider myself a "tape expert", but part of a community the, together, form a body of expertise. Others are much more knowledgeable about older tapes and their pitfalls and what to do about it. I sent a message to a listserv I'm part of that includes people who do archiving and transfers for a living. THEY are the tape experts. I'll see what comes back but you won't have answers today...like using analog tape compared to digital, you must have a certain degree of patience. I'll post as soon as I have any useful information.

[MENTION=66576]RRuskin[/MENTION] I hate to burst your bubble, but unfortunately we are starting to see even 206 exhibiting sticky shed issues. :(
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Thanks very much Sweetbeats. No rush. We're still looking for a used machine and we have no real time table. Much appreciated.
 
Got an initial response to my inquiry:

"It'll be OK. No sticky or other shed worries. Just handle with care....fast starts and stops like a vintage Ampex studio machine could subject it to can very easily stretch it."

I'll keep posting feedback on your inquiry as it comes.

A good way on some machines that aren't as gentle with tape handling (such as a majority of consumer machines) is when fast-winding rather than going directly to STOP or PLAY from FFWD or REW, to enter the opposite fast-wind mode and then as the reels slow and come closer to stasis to then hit PLAY or STOP. So if you were in REW and the reels were humming away you would first hit FFWD and then STOP or PLAY depending on what you want to do. This may not be as relevant with 1/4" tape on 7" reels because you don't necessarily have the mass and momentum for the method above to be of any benefit, but just keep it in mind as a method that could be relevant depending on the machine and what size reels you are using. I'm assuming they are 7"?
 
sweetbeats said:
Got an initial response to my inquiry:

"It'll be OK. No sticky or other shed worries. Just handle with care....fast starts and stops like a vintage Ampex studio machine could subject it to can very easily stretch it."

I'll keep posting feedback on your inquiry as it comes.

A good way on some machines that aren't as gentle with tape handling (such as a majority of consumer machines) is when fast-winding rather than going directly to STOP or PLAY from FFWD or REW, to enter the opposite fast-wind mode and then as the reels slow and come closer to stasis to then hit PLAY or STOP. So if you were in REW and the reels were humming away you would first hit FFWD and then STOP or PLAY depending on what you want to do. This may not be as relevant with 1/4" tape on 7" reels because you don't necessarily have the mass and momentum for the method above to be of any benefit, but just keep it in mind as a method that could be relevant depending on the machine and what size reels you are using. I'm assuming they are 7"?
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To your point, even new I wouldn't just rew/fwd and hit play. Looked pretty rough to me, plus a lot clunk/click. I would always stop, wait, play.
 
Got another response in support of what was stated in the first response...basically thumbs up to 144, not typically a problem tape but to handle with care just due to age and the 0.5mil thickness class...and some aditional tips/advice:

"...learn how to toggle FF/RW on scrap BEFORE attempting "for real" if you need to shuttle. Personally, if it's a straight transfer, however, I would stick solely to play only. Maybe the slowest speed at first as a test/to be safe. I'd probably run the whole way thru for any "surprises" (e.g., splice assessment, etc.) then again thru proper speed for the actual transfer."
 
I can't speak to your specific brand/formulation of tape, but when I bought a 60s Sony R2R recorder, it came with some Capitol, Scotch, and Maxell tape from the 60s. They all played beautifully. He'd recorded some live a capella groups on several of them. It felt as though I was there! :)
 
As has already been said, older Scotch tapes are usually fine. There maybe a few deposits on the heads/guides but not much.

I would strongly suggest looking for a machine with gentle tape handling for an 0.5mil tape. A Revox is an obvious choice but if these are too expensive I'd look for something with electronic control and sensor arms that will give you a constant tape tension. I'm not sure whether the later Philips machines made it to where you are, but the N4504/4506/4512/4515 (they all share the same transport) seem gentle and handle thin tapes well in my experience.
 
This sounds like a shiny back, double-play tape on 7" reels. Do not bake it. It's going to play just fine. Many times, certainly at least a few hundred. :-)
Just choose a tape machine that is running smoothly (check that using a less valuable reel).
 
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