4 Track Cassette Tape

Well, now that you guys are done patting yourselves on the back...
eyeslikefire said:

Morningstar,
Where did you get that info? Because as far as I've known for the past 20 years de-magnetizing is not a myth
Click to expand...
I got that information from an electrical engineer. If you think about it, a recording head is a coil of wire that becomes a magnet when you run juice through it. Why you would want to demagnitize a magnet is beyond me. But for the sake of argument let's say you demagnetize the head. Guess what happens when you hit the record button?

That's right, it's a magnet again. Like I said it's the biggest myth going. You DO NOT need to de-magnetize your recording heads and you stand to cause them a great deal of damage if you're not careful trying to. Clean them and often is the trick.

Now degaussing(de-magnetizing) a tape is another story and a very good practice.

If you want to learn about magnetism and how to care for your heads here is one link for you from a company in the business. Take a look around, e.g. try the Technical papers link, as it is very informative.
http://www.sprague-magnetics.com/
 
Heads are not de-magnetized they are degaussed.

This is performed not to erase the residual magnetism in the head but to randomly scatter the magnetic flux that is present.

As the flux starts to align itself into a pattern, high frequency response is lost. Degaussing randomizes this pattern once again restoring the HF response.

Analog 101.
 
Edge tracks lose highs so put things like bass and kick on the edges and any high freq stuff on the inner tracks
 
Sennheiser said:
Heads are not de-magnetized they are degaussed.
Click to expand...
Degauss: To neutralize the magnetic field of (a ship, for example).
To erase information from (a magnetic disk or other storage device).
v : make nonmagnetic; take away the magnetic properties (of); "demagnetize the iron shavings"

English 101

Sennheiser said:

This is performed not to erase the residual magnetism in the head but to randomly scatter the magnetic flux that is present.
Analog 101
Click to expand...
Magnetic flux is a measurement of the strength of a magnetic field over a given area or the lines of force surrounding a permanent magnet or a moving charged particle. Maybe it's time you revisit 'Analog 101'.

My only point is... forget it, you need any land in Florida?
 
I won't turn this into a pissing contest.

When a head is degaussed the residual magnetic charge on the head from the gap in the pole pieces is randomized by the degausser. It is the same as what you call erasing a tape and is the same function performed by the erase head.

The degausser saturates the magnetic head with a high level alternating signal that randomizes the residual magnetic flux.

You are not eliminating the magnetic field, only nuetralizing or randomizing it. The positive and negative charges are still present on the head.

If you are not worried about magnetic charge on a head, then you take your degausser and hold it next to the tape head on your recorder and turn it on. Let us know what the results are.

You are entitled to your engineer friend's opinion.
 
Sennheiser said:
I won't turn this into a pissing contest.
You are not eliminating the magnetic field, only nuetralizing or randomizing it.
Click to expand...

Which happens to be the same thing.


The positive and negative charges are still present on the head.
Click to expand...

Magnetic materials, like Iron, always have these magnetic little charges. You can't take them out. Hence, demagnetizing means exactly the same thing as degaussing.

Modern tape heads are supposed to not become easily magnetized, and demagnetizing/degaussing them shouldn't be necessary. But this could be a myth to, I don't know. I've never had any problems at least.
 
NYMorningstar said:
Well, now that you guys are done patting yourselves on the back...

I got that information from an electrical engineer. If you think about it, a recording head is a coil of wire that becomes a magnet when you run juice through it. Why you would want to demagnitize a magnet is beyond me. But for the sake of argument let's say you demagnetize the head. Guess what happens when you hit the record button?

That's right, it's a magnet again. Like I said it's the biggest myth going./[/url]
Click to expand...


And I still say you are incorrect.
Post some relevent info, not just some persons opinon.
http://www.dwelle.de/rtc/infotheque/
Check out this link.

And BTW,....
Whats wrong with Spinster patting me on the back? :D
 
Sennheiser said:
I won't turn this into a pissing contest.

When a head is degaussed the residual magnetic charge on the head from the gap in the pole pieces is randomized by the degausser. It is the same as what you call erasing a tape and is the same function performed by the erase head.

The degausser saturates the magnetic head with a high level alternating signal that randomizes the residual magnetic flux.

You are not eliminating the magnetic field, only nuetralizing or randomizing it. The positive and negative charges are still present on the head.

If you are not worried about magnetic charge on a head, then you take your degausser and hold it next to the tape head on your recorder and turn it on. Let us know what the results are.

You are entitled to your engineer friend's opinion.
Click to expand...

Good post Sennheiser.:cool:
 
whoo wee!

gosh, its gettin ruff in here. i had a tascam and it was really cool. i used maxell xlIIs, 60 minutes. sounded good. i cleaned the heads with alcohol and q-tips. no problems. i never degaussed, but i only had it for about a year. also, safety tip; never touch anything metal to the heads. they are fragile and scratchable. and to be technical; they are little magnet thingies, so just be careful when ya clean em. i got a muffled sound from 1 of the tracks once, and that tracker on the head was just dirty. clean before recording to make sure. old tapes sometimes got gunk on my heads. maxell xlIIs gave the least trouble. god my tascam 4-track opened up a new world to me! i could make my own music! yee ha! have fun!
 
Just stay away from those sandpaper tapes, man. They are total junk. I'm gonna pound that guy if I ever see him again!
-and that emery board cleaning kit didn't help neither!
 
Go get him tiger

:)
eyeslikefire said:
Morningstar,
Where did you get that info? Because as far as I've known for the past 20 years de-magnetizing is not a myth
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/audiofaq.htm#audthdm
http://www.dwelle.de/rtc/infotheque/magn_recording/magrec_07.html#k7p1
http://www.dwelle.de/rtc/infotheque/magn_recording/magrec_07.html#k7p4b
Click to expand...

I would always demag the heads after each 4-5 hours of use. If you don't the highQ suffers a great loss!
And clean the heads with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip. Twist the fibers real tight so you don't get cotton tangled up in the capstan, dip in alcohol and GENTLY wipe the heads side to side (like the tape passes over them) until there is no more "blackish brown stuff" on the Q-tip. Then spray with a can of compressed air to dry so you can get right back to business.
 
What is this "ca - sette ta - pe" I keep hearing about??
Is that some kind of Analog Toob Simulation plug-in for Protools?
;)
 
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