Another Tape Noob

B

Blackdog.sn

New member
Hey all,

I just bought a Tascam 22-4 and i need tape. So the only thing in know is that i need 1/4" tape in a 7" reel. Other than that i have no idea what to purchase.

Also I've been reading up on the so called "tape shortage" so I know availability shouldn't be a problem, but what should a regular reel of tape go for? (minus the tape-hoarding hype)


Thanks for helpin
 
The only factory recommended tape that is still being made (hopefully) is Quantegy 407 -- about $12.00 and up each new. A lot of people use 456, with a slightly cheaper cost. Other good tapes if available are EMTEC/BASF LPR 35 and Maxell XL1 35-90B -- the most costly.

456 has become the defacto standard when in doubt. It's not ideal for the Tascam 22 series but many people use it with few complaints.

You can also get surprisingly good results with Maxell UD 35-90, and even Radio shack Supertape. Supertape does wonders to restore warmth to digital music transferred from CDs. Using some of the lower grade tapes when transferring CD to tape gives an exaggerated analog effect, which seems to balance the coldness of digital.

-Tim
:cool:
 
Other than the 407, as Tim mentioned, I truly enjoy the Maxell UD 35 line of tapes. One thing that attracted me to the Maxell, other than the sound quality of course, is that it is part of the Japanese line of quality tapes which used whale oil lubricant and were never ones to have any probs with sticky-shed. They last a very, very long time so even if you have a 20 year old Maxell UD tape, chances are that it'll play like the day it was made. :)

~Daniel
 
Is there some sortt of spec i need to look for, say, if i find an old 7" tape reel in basement. I know for a fact there are maxells down there, but i dont know if im "allowed" to use them to record on a 4 track. What makes the 407 differ from the 456?
 
You might give these people a try, It looks like they have 457 and 407 in stock now.


http://www.usrecordingmedia.com/14reeltape.html

They claim the tape was made in January 2005. I dont think you will find any that is fresher.

Also I know that tascam recommends 407 for the 22-2 but I do not have a manual for my 22-4 Does anyone know what they recommend for it?
Or should I just keep using 457.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Herm said:
Also I know that tascam recommends 407 for the 22-2 but I do not have a manual for my 22-4 Does anyone know what they recommend for it?
Or should I just keep using 457.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Herm,

22-4 brochure lists the same tapes as the 22-2. 407 is recommended, but 457 won't hurt anything and you can drive it harder if not using dbx. If you're using dbx anything more than 407 is just overkill and costs more.

-Tim
 
Blackdog.sn said:
Is there some sortt of spec i need to look for, say, if i find an old 7" tape reel in basement. I know for a fact there are maxells down there, but i dont know if im "allowed" to use them to record on a 4 track. What makes the 407 differ from the 456?
Click to expand...

456 is a 1.5 mil thickness tape, while 407 is thinner, which makes better head contact on machines set for it. Because 456 is thicker it is shorter -- 1200' on a 7" reel compared to 1800' for 407. 456 is a hotter tape, so you can record a higher signal to it before it distorts. The down side of that is you also have to record a hotter signal to get the full benefit of tape compression.

The following tapes are recommended for the 22-2/22-4 by Tascam:

Ampex/Quantegy 407 (457 probably ok)
Maxell UD 35-90 and XL 35-90B
3M/Scotch 227 & 207
Sony DUAD
TDK AUDUA L-1800
BASF/EMTEC LP/LPR-35

Tascam expressly recommends against using 1.5 mil tape on the 22 series, which includes 456.

-Tim
 
Last edited:
Wow, i was looking in my basement and my dad had a milk crate full Ampex 1mil 1/4" reels. Should i be concerned about sticky shed? Is there a way i could know if the tapes suffer from the defect? If they do, ill just get new ones, no biggy.
 
cjacek said:
They last a very, very long time so even if you have a 20 year old Maxell UD tape, chances are that it'll play like the day it was made. :)
Click to expand...

I can confirm this, based on very recent experience with some 25 year old Maxell UD tape!

Cya
Andrew
 
Blackdog.sn said:
Wow, i was looking in my basement and my dad had a milk crate full Ampex 1mil 1/4" reels. Should i be concerned about sticky shed? Is there a way i could know if the tapes suffer from the defect? If they do, ill just get new ones, no biggy.
Click to expand...

Yes, very, especially if its 80's Ampex. Beck is the expert on this, but after recently getting an old Akai machine in great working order and trying a crossection of tapes, I finally understood what sticky shed was!

After trying 80's Zonal, 90's Maxell and Ampex, 70's Teletape and Maxell and 60's Zonal, BASF and Scotch with no problems, I threw on a reel of 80's 407. Fortunately I knew that a squeaky tape was a bad sign....its amazing how much crud can come off in 20 seconds. I'm just pleased I knew what to look for. Thanks Beck!

Cya
Andrew

EDIT: Just realised I didn't answer the 'how do I tell' question. I did read somewhere that rubbing the tape with a cotton bud/q-tip and looking at how much oxide comes off can help, but can't vouch for the effectiveness of this method. Others here will know more about it than I do, but if no one answers your question I'll see if it shows those shedding Ampex tapes I found to be faulty or not...
 
Last edited:
arjoll said:
Yes, very, especially if its 80's Ampex. Beck is the expert on this, but after recently getting an old Akai machine in great working order and trying a crossection of tapes, I finally understood what sticky shed was!

After trying 80's Zonal, 90's Maxell and Ampex, 70's Teletape and Maxell and 60's Zonal, BASF and Scotch with no problems, I threw on a reel of 80's 407. Fortunately I knew that a squeaky tape was a bad sign....its amazing how much crud can come off in 20 seconds. I'm just pleased I knew what to look for. Thanks Beck!

Cya
Andrew

EDIT: Just realised I didn't answer the 'how do I tell' question. I did read somewhere that rubbing the tape with a cotton bud/q-tip and looking at how much oxide comes off can help, but can't vouch for the effectiveness of this method. Others here will know more about it than I do, but if no one answers your question I'll see if it shows those shedding Ampex tapes I found to be faulty or not...
Click to expand...

Many very old tapes, like before the 70's and also Japanese brands don't go sticky-shed. It's the "experimentation" with certain types of binder of a lot of the USA made tape (perhaps also European??) dating approx mid 70's into the 80's that is the problem.

I've read that as a result of the "non whaling" policy in the States in the 70's, companies started to experiment with different tape binders. It was later found, unfortunately, that the tapes went bad pretty fast. This continued into the 80's. The Japanese companies, on the other hand, never quit with the whale oil and consistently produced long lasting tapes. Another thing of interest is that none of the "none-backcoated" tapes went bad.

~Daniel
 
well there we no dates i could find on the tapes, but some of the tapes had stuff like Zeppelin 1 and 2, Dark Side of the Moon recorded onto them, so maybe he bought them in the early 70's as a large pack? I'm planning on buying new tape anyways but maybe just for comparison try some old tape. If i have to risk getting sticky shed on my reel, ill forget it.
 
Bake the tapes. Or have it done. A local studio has a contract with a guy who comes in and does his baking. I can't afford that kind of service. I have one in the oven now and am probably doing it a disservice since the info I have doesn't say anything about using an oven. But my food drier won't hold the tapes.
There's an article by Eddie Ciletti called, "If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a tape!" that is worth reading. I don't have the link but I'm sure a Google search will locate it. It's specifically in reference to vintage tapes and restoring the binder so that the tapes don't flake. This reply is to an old thread but still seemed like it was worth mentioning. Sorry if this was improper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top