Question on using vintage NOS sealed Scotch #203

CharlieM

New member
I have quite a few 7" reel tapes recorded from the late 60's to 70's. My last RTR crapped out 12 years ago., and never got a chance to rip all my pre-recorded albums, and personal recordings. I moved recently and was going through my audio stuff, and decided to get another machine. It's on the way, and I should have it in several days. In the mean time I'm trying to get up to speed, so when it arrives I'll have everything I need to use it!


I found a new 60's Scotch 203 in it's original shrink wrap along with my other tapes. My question is whether to record as is out of the box, or FF, RR it first, before testing the machine. The seller is also including a Scotch 175 also new in shrink wrap.

Most of my other tapes are in pretty poor condition, but have recordings I want to try digitizing. I've been doing research on how to clean them good enough to get at least one pass. Some just look dirty in the box, and some look like they have mold.

Thanks, Charlie
 
It is always worth spooling them through initially to see if they shed anything. Scotch are usually Ok but occasionally they can suffer from loss of lubricant. I wouldn't worry about the dirty tapes (as you can't actually see the surface when it is spooled) but you might want to take precautions to stop the mould spores from spreading when you try to play the mouldy tapes.

If you have any Ampex or Realistic tape then don't even think about trying to play it without baking it first. If you try playing it without baking you'll end up clogging up the heads and guides with oxide which takes ages to remove properly.
 
Thanks James! That's what I thought about the nos tape! My main concern was running the dirty tapes, especially the ones that possibly have mold without trying to clean them first, contaminating and making a mess of the machine and my living room. I think for now, I'll hold off playing the poor condition tapes until I can verify that the deck is functioning properly using just the new tapes, for recording, and some pre-recorded albums! I would hate to ruin this deck the moment I get it!
 
Thanks James! That's what I thought about the nos tape! My main concern was running the dirty tapes, especially the ones that possibly have mold without trying to clean them first, contaminating and making a mess of the machine and my living room. I think for now, I'll hold off playing the poor condition tapes until I can verify that the deck is functioning properly using just the new tapes, for recording, and some pre-recorded albums! I would hate to ruin this deck the moment I get it!

I bought myself a low hour(verified) 16 track machine and was very excited about taking my old Ampex 456 tapes and digitizing them.
So here I am with a virtually brand new machine which also had some 'brand new' still factory sealed tape. Oh, boy. The excitement and anticipation!

In my haste and excitement, I didnt even hook up all channels. I just hooked up a stereo pair (in and out), and just recorded a cd on my 'brand new' tape and virtually brand new machine. The excitement was building :)
Record meters looked good, everything seemed perfect.

Recorded only one song then hit rewind. Hmm......rewind seemed to be a bit uneven in speed. Hmm......
Hit play and found my playback meters were all wonky, found my playback speed all wonky..It kept on getting slower and slower untill it stopped! Yikes!!! What the???? Did I get ripped off on my purchase ???

Excitement turned to being bummed out!!!

I fought my way through rewinding the tape.

It was then that i noticed my brand new low hour shiny heads were coverd in brown molasses gunk!!!!!!

Hahaha My first experience with SSS (sticky shed syndrome). Yup, even with unopened NOS tape!

Anyway, I learned all about it over the next few days. Lol :)

Moral? SSS is NO joke. It took me about an hour to clean my machine. The NOS tape? Well, I threw the tape in the trash and had some brand new NOS metal reels.

To avoid my adventure, read up on the stickie in the analog forum on SSS
:D
 
I bought myself a low hour(verified) 16 track machine and was very excited about taking my old Ampex 456 tapes and digitizing them.
So here I am with a virtually brand new machine which also had some 'brand new' still factory sealed tape. Oh, boy. The excitement and anticipation!

In my haste and excitement, I didnt even hook up all channels. I just hooked up a stereo pair (in and out), and just recorded a cd on my 'brand new' tape and virtually brand new machine. The excitement was building :)
Record meters looked good, everything seemed perfect.

Recorded only one song then hit rewind. Hmm......rewind seemed to be a bit uneven in speed. Hmm......
Hit play and found my playback meters were all wonky, found my playback speed all wonky..It kept on getting slower and slower untill it stopped! Yikes!!! What the???? Did I get ripped off on my purchase ???

Excitement turned to being bummed out!!!

I fought my way through rewinding the tape.

It was then that i noticed my brand new low hour shiny heads were coverd in brown molasses gunk!!!!!!

Hahaha My first experience with SSS (sticky shed syndrome). Yup, even with unopened NOS tape!

Anyway, I learned all about it over the next few days. Lol :)

Moral? SSS is NO joke. It took me about an hour to clean my machine. The NOS tape? Well, I threw the tape in the trash and had some brand new NOS metal reels.

To avoid my adventure, read up on the stickie in the analog forum on SSS
:D


Sometimes I tend to over think a potential situation, but not this time! Thanks
 
True, I got some Scotch from the 60s thats been recorded on many times, still good though.
But some Scotch has it's own issues. 'Flaky Shed'. I've had some where the oxide has flaked off in chunks.

Generally I was offering advice in getting educated on the subject of problems with tape. Good for anyone insane enough to go down the dark path of tape recording. :D

Edit: The statement made of being guaranteed of Ampex tape being sticky isn't always true. I've used quite a bit from the Alabama plant that was just fine. Redwood City, Ca. tape has usually gone sticky no matter how 'pristine' it looks.
 
I bought myself a low hour(verified) 16 track machine and was very excited about taking my old Ampex 456 tapes and digitizing them.
So here I am with a virtually brand new machine which also had some 'brand new' still factory sealed tape. Oh, boy. The excitement and anticipation!

In my haste and excitement, I didnt even hook up all channels. I just hooked up a stereo pair (in and out), and just recorded a cd on my 'brand new' tape and virtually brand new machine. The excitement was building :)
Record meters looked good, everything seemed perfect.

Recorded only one song then hit rewind. Hmm......rewind seemed to be a bit uneven in speed. Hmm......
Hit play and found my playback meters were all wonky, found my playback speed all wonky..It kept on getting slower and slower untill it stopped! Yikes!!! What the???? Did I get ripped off on my purchase ???

Excitement turned to being bummed out!!!

I fought my way through rewinding the tape.

It was then that i noticed my brand new low hour shiny heads were coverd in brown molasses gunk!!!!!!

Hahaha My first experience with SSS (sticky shed syndrome). Yup, even with unopened NOS tape!

Anyway, I learned all about it over the next few days. Lol :)

Moral? SSS is NO joke. It took me about an hour to clean my machine. The NOS tape? Well, I threw the tape in the trash and had some brand new NOS metal reels.

To avoid my adventure, read up on the stickie in the analog forum on SSS
:D


Scotch 203 isn't subject to sticky-shed syndrome.
 
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