something truly terrible has happened...

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James John

James John

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last week i made my first proper analogue recording. a 5 track EP. for a first recording in the analogue domain i think i've done a pretty good job tbh!- i'll stick them up when i've finished them. today i was mixing it, rewinding the tape and it got chewed up in the recorder! a fucking tragedy - i had to cut the tape (a brand new RMGI tape btw). luckily the cut was between takes so i didn't lose any songs but still, a brand new RMGI tape!!

the point is how do i go about avoiding this almighty fuckup in the future, so i don't lose any more tapes/songs. also it can't be good for the motor of the reel to reel right? i have a teac 80-8, are they prone to this sort of thing? i am still very much a newbie and any help would be much appreciated.
 
James John said:
last week i made my first proper analogue recording. a 5 track EP. for a first recording in the analogue domain i think i've done a pretty good job tbh!- i'll stick them up when i've finished them. today i was mixing it, rewinding the tape and it got chewed up in the recorder! a fucking tragedy - i had to cut the tape (a brand new RMGI tape btw). luckily the cut was between takes so i didn't lose any songs but still, a brand new RMGI tape!!

the point is how do i go about avoiding this almighty fuckup in the future, so i don't lose any more tapes/songs. also it can't be good for the motor of the reel to reel right? i have a teac 80-8, are they prone to this sort of thing? i am still very much a newbie and any help would be much appreciated.
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Exactly what happened? Getting chewed up doesn't relate much. I doubt the tape is at fault. Could be misaligned guides or possibly tension settings out of spec.
 
yeah i know its not the tape - it has to be the machine somehow. basically i was rewinding the tape, the machine was at full rewind speed, i pressed stop, the tape tangled itself onto the spool and i had to cut it because a section of the tape was so stretched and fucked.

at what angle should i splice the tape together? also, i read somewhere that you shouldn't really splice multitrack tapes - only halftrack or quartertrack.
 
James John said:
yeah i know its not the tape - it has to be the machine somehow. basically i was rewinding the tape, the machine was at full rewind speed, i pressed stop, the tape tangled itself onto the spool and i had to cut it because a section of the tape was so stretched and fucked.

at what angle should i splice the tape together? also, i read somewhere that you shouldn't really splice multitrack tapes - only halftrack or quartertrack.
Click to expand...


1. Your deck's tension and brakes should be looked at.

2. It's never a good idea to hit "stop" or "play" when a machine is winding at or near top speed. Slow the tape down by pressing the opposite fast wind direction. When tape is slowed sufficiently, press stop or play.
 
RRuskin said:
2. It's never a good idea to hit "stop" or "play" when a machine is winding at or near top speed. Slow the tape down by pressing the opposite fast wind direction. When tape is slowed sufficiently, press stop or play.
Click to expand...
Ditto. Always slow the transport by hitting the opposite direction first, then hit stop. Doing this keeps the tension on the tape and avoids spills. The good thing about this is that this (speaking from experience) is something that you will only do once. ;)
 
I used to reject tapes with splices until I was running short of virgin tapes and recorded a live concert on a used tape which I didn't check prior to recording. This very tape has always sound great and I never paid any attention to its condition, until I rewound it and eventually heard a dozen splices passing through the head block. From this day I realized that tapes in great condition with good splices sound great, so I happen to use them and I never had any deception.
Since your tape was cut on a silent section, which is indeed very fortunate for your recording, I can only recommend that you make a nice and precise splice. This way, if you ever erase the tape in the future, you will still be able to use it without troubles.

As to what generated your shewing: this is often due to a worn pinch roller. In fact, the rubber wears more on the center of the tape path than on its edges, so if you put a ruler on it you'll probably see a curved section where the tape passes. You may need a magnifier to see this. If this is the case, don't search any longer.

Another possible cause is that your pinch roller dried more or less and doesn't make enough friction with the tape.


David.
 
I don't think the pinch roller is particularly worn, although it may have needed cleaning (i'm using water with a bit of washing up liquid to clean it). also it may have been because i was hitting play when it was in fast rewind, which i've since learnt isn't that good for it!
 
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