FOSTEX R8 chewing up Tapes ???

raybbj

raybbj

Member
So I finally decided to pull my FOSTEX R8 out of the closet and transfer all my old 1/4" tapes into DAW. The machine needed a bit of servicing after sitting for so long, but otherwise is working ok. Except for ..........

After playing an entire tape through, I'm getting 2 things:
- brown tape goo/build up on the heads and capstan
- some sort of metallic dust coming off the tape guides.

I have to clean the entire tape path after each 22 min tape. It's a real pain. Not to mention am I destroying my masters in the process?

A few details:
- machine is from 1995 - used until 1999
- tapes are the same age and have been stored at room temperature in my studio on a bookshelf. I live in Vancouver, Canada with average humidity.

Is there something wrong with my machine? Or is it just 20 to 25 year old tape breaking down in the tape transport.

Any idea what this is?
See pics below.IMG_4795.JPGIMG_4797.JPG

Regards and Thanks !IMG_4804.JPG
 
I would say that the tape has passed its use by date. If you can get a pass with the tape be ready to do the transfer.

You could try baking the tape? But have a good read up on this first so you don't mess it up.

Alan
 
I agree, I think it's the tape itself. The problem was occurring with older stock tape as seen on the left. The one on the right is newer stock and plays fine.IMG_4805.JPG
 
jpmorris said:
This may be useful: Sticky-shed syndrome - Wikipedia ...the links should give you some resources on baking the tapes. A believe a food dehydrator is often useful for this, but (fortunately) I've never needed to do this myself.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the article. This is definitely my problem. Luckily I have now transferred all my old stock tapes to DAW and I'm now working on the newer stock tapes. After everything is transferred to digital, I don't ever plan on playing these old tapes again.

I still have 5 reels new - old stock of AMPEX 457 GrandMaster sealed in plastic (1998). I would like to record again on my 8 Track. I wonder if the sealed plastic would help prevent Sticky Shed Syndrome or if I should buy new tape.
 
raybbj said:
I still have 5 reels new - old stock of AMPEX 457 GrandMaster sealed in plastic (1998). I would like to record again on my 8 Track. I wonder if the sealed plastic would help prevent Sticky Shed Syndrome or if I should buy new tape.
Click to expand...

Don't even think about using those tapes. If they're not sticky now they'll be sticky in a year or two so it would be best to throw them away and buy some new tape from RTM. As far as your other tapes are concerned, please stop trying to play them without baking them. You are making a mess of your machine and potentially damaging the tapes as well as ending up with a transfer that sounds bad. Ampex tape responds very well to baking and the difference in playability is amazing - they shed almost nothing when properly baked.
 
jamesperrett said:
Don't even think about using those tapes. If they're not sticky now they'll be sticky in a year or two so it would be best to throw them away and buy some new tape from RTM.
Click to expand...

The general consensus around here is that Ampex tapes manufactured after 1995 and any Quantegy branded tapes are not prone to Sticky Shed Syndrome. This has been true in my experience as well. As such, sealed Ampex 457 tapes manufactured in 1998 shouldn't have any issues and can confidently be used without any worries, assuming they have been stored correctly over the last 20 years (as with any tape).
 
I would not use ampex at all. I have Emtec (BASF) tapes that are 20 years plus old and work perfectly.

Alan
 
Chilljam said:
The general consensus around here is that Ampex tapes manufactured after 1995 and any Quantegy branded tapes are not prone to Sticky Shed Syndrome.
Click to expand...

They said the same thing about post 1985 Ampex tapes back in the 1990's - but they still went sticky. I only have one reel of Quantegy branded tape but it now sheds more than a properly baked Ampex tape would so I expect it will go bad in the next few years.
 
I'll use the still shrink wrapped sealed reels and see how it goes. I'm sure it will work fine since the opened reels played fine. I only plan on recording a few projects with it. Once it's in the DAW, I don't care if the tape goes bad. If I end up incorporating analog into my daily process, I'll certainly buy new tape.
 
raybbj said:
I'll use the still shrink wrapped sealed reels and see how it goes. I'm sure it will work fine since the opened reels played fine. I only plan on recording a few projects with it. Once it's in the DAW, I don't care if the tape goes bad. If I end up incorporating analog into my daily process, I'll certainly buy new tape.
Click to expand...

The ones where the logo is at the bottom of the box are more likely to work than the ones with the logo in the centre.
 
jpmorris said:
The ones where the logo is at the bottom of the box are more likely to work than the ones with the logo in the centre.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree. The ones with the logo on the bottom have been working fine so far. Now that I have the older ones transferred to DAW, I don't ever plan on playing them again. I'll cut them into 12" pieces and make christmas tinsel out of them.
 
The line on "sheds or doesn't shed" is a moving target. I have handled plenty of Quantegy branded tapes that needed to be baked. Similarly, it was said for a long time that 3M tape, e.g. 206, didn't shed. I personally had a reel of 206 within the last year that had SSS, and I've heard from others who have seen it, too.
 
seankerns said:
The line on "sheds or doesn't shed" is a moving target. I have handled plenty of Quantegy branded tapes that needed to be baked. Similarly, it was said for a long time that 3M tape, e.g. 206, didn't shed. I personally had a reel of 206 within the last year that had SSS, and I've heard from others who have seen it, too.
Click to expand...

Haven't seen any 206 shedding but had some 966 (aka 986) which was fine when I used it a few years ago but was shedding when I tried playing it a few months ago. A short bake fixed the problem.
 
hautbois16 said:
Could there be a burr or something rough - even some residue from splicing tape - that is rubbing the oxide off the tapes?
Click to expand...

No - they're Ampex tapes so they're going to shed unless they are baked. There's no point in even thinking about playing Ampex tapes without baking them - a baked tape leaves hardly any residue whereas just playing an unbaked tape for a few seconds will leave a residue that takes ages to clean off - especially when you are using a Fostex machine where there are no slots in the heads so it is difficult to remove all contamination from the edge tracks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top