I think some of it might have to do with the slower transport speed and the fact there are no lifters. Like, that’s my experience when I happen upon open reel tape that’s gone sticky, if it’s just starting to go, it’ll happen during fast-wind…you start to hear the squeal. But then I might be able to hit PLAY but if I put my ear up to the tape path you can hear the drag against the static tape path elements. And most of my experience is at 15ips. But cassette at 1 7/8ips or 3 3/4ips doesn’t have the same degree of heat from the friction…like, this is totally unscientific…but I feel like in those situations I describe above, the transport overcomes the stiction of the sticky tape, but as it passes at high speed over static lifters and guides there is an increase in temperature and that causes the friction coefficient to head in the wrong direction…downward spiral. And then sometimes it’s in PLAY…when the tape is a little worse condition. But a cassette…no lifters, no static guides…there are rolling guides in the shell. And the slower speed maybe there isn’t that same increase in temperature. I’m not saying the cassette tape might not be sticky, but the same triggers that set things sideways with open reel tape aren’t as present with cassette tape. I’m just hypothesizing here. The bottom line is cassette tapes aren’t immune at all. I just think it is less common or evident, a higher percentage of the cassette community may be unaware of SSS at all and if they have a bad tape might just be like “well that sucks”, toss it and move on. We also know different formulas of tape are more or less prone and it’s possible cassette tape formulas may generally be less prone like certain open reel tapes. But you can do a web search of cassette sticky shed and get hits that discuss the issue generally but also include cassette tape in the mix.Do riddle me this, tape gurus.
Why are cassette tapes so stable??
it’s possible cassette tape formulas may generally be less prone like certain open reel tapes.
3M made back coated cassettes in welded shells that tended to jam up very easily. I've also had cassettes that shed but they've mostly been obscure brands like Racal (a very well known UK industrial electronics company who decided to dip their toes in the consumer market without much success).Are cassettes even back coated? I can't recall from all those times had to pull out the pencil, or fix that one mixtape . . .
Please keep us posted. The specs look OK, it looks like you need to bias for Quantegy 499/GP9, RTM 468, but don't hit it as hard. I don't know if there's something different about the formula.I received the case of tape today. It came in a Quantegy cardboard box with one of the labels dating it to 2003. The tape itself came in individual plastic cases. There are 7 total. Im ready to do some "logging" but I won't be able to test it for a few weeks, until I get my capstan motor repaired. The tape looks good though, definitely NOS. Years ago, I got a hold of some 2" 3M 966 tape, which is the same as 996 but is only 1ml thick and it worked fine. So Im not concerned about this Quantegy tape being 1ml, especially at 1/2".
So there’s nothing exceptionally thin with the logging tape. As mentioned earlier in the thread it’s a 1mil spec tape…like LPR35 or 407/457…so if it’s slipping on your transport then yes either your pinch roller pressure is off, your pinch roller is hardened and needs replaced, your takeup tension needs adjusted, or some combination of those factors. It doesn’t mean the tape is bad or impossible to use. Your MTR-12 should have no issues properly running 1mil tape…sophisticated gentle transport. I just want to put that out here for other readers to avoid folks thinking 1mil tape is bad. I still have concerns about the tape’s usability for audio production use due to the lower operating level and intended application of low-speed voice capture, but the thickness of the tape shouldn’t be on anybody’s primary list of concerns AFAIC.I finally got the capstan motor on my MTR-12 back from the shop. I put this Quantegy logging tape on it, and its far too thin for the Otari transport to handle. It just slipped right through and was not able to be grabbed by the rollers. Unusable. I could adjust the tensions on the Otari, but that is way too complicated and would mess up its current setup for Quantegy 499 or 456.
So, this Logging tape is not useable at least in my studio. I will be putting the case that I bought on Ebay tomorrow so someone else can try it, but I will make note in the ad that this tape is much thinner than traditional recording tape.
I just bought a NOS 1/2 Quantegy 456 last week and baked it in my convection oven last night so I will be using that and the 499 for more high fidelity instruments. Good luck everybody.
So there’s nothing exceptionally thin with the logging tape. As mentioned earlier in the thread it’s a 1mil spec tape…like LPR35 or 407/457…so if it’s slipping on your transport then yes either your pinch roller pressure is off, your pinch roller is hardened and needs replaced, your takeup tension needs adjusted, or some combination of those factors. It doesn’t mean the tape is bad or impossible to use. Your MTR-12 should have no issues properly running 1mil tape…sophisticated gentle transport. I just want to put that out here for other readers to avoid folks thinking 1mil tape is bad. I still have concerns about the tape’s usability for audio production use due to the lower operating level and intended application of low-speed voice capture, but the thickness of the tape shouldn’t be on anybody’s primary list of concerns AFAIC.
Fundamentally, recording tape is little more than a highly sophisticated rusty ribbon, the nature, shape and depth of the 'rust' particles bestowing the combination of properties the manufacturer is seeking.Modern machines can extract a far better frequency response from old archive tapes than was ever possible at the time of their recording.