1/2 inch VHS tape and a reel-to-reel

M

Mitchie2010

New member
Just a fleeting thought... and I know that it would be extremely fragile due to the tape thickness. However, would it work at all if one unspooled it onto an empty reel? Not as a serious recording medium, mind you. Just to see if it would work. Anyone willing to try and get back to me?
 
Interesting thought for sure. Don't know how abrasive the tape is vs. standard audio tape. Got me curious now. Hehe
 
But....even if you un-spooled it from the VHS case (not hard to do)...and even if it sounded OK...
...you ain't gonna have more than 3-4 minutes worth at 15 ips...nevermind and 30 ips!

VHS tapes move pretty slow for video.
 
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I actually did this a few years ago, stuck it on my TSR-8 and played it back to see what it would sound like. I digitized the result - if anyone's interested I'll see if I can find it again. The tape had a tendency to stretch, though.

As for abrasiveness, remember that the stuff is polished. It's designed for the scanner head to rotate at between 1500 and 1800 RPM (half that of C-format and almost a tenth of Quad IIRC) - I think wear on the tape path is a non-issue :P

Come to that, I have a bunch of C-format tapes. I think I might skip loading one on the MSR-24, though...
 
Haha... how many people who hang out in this joint actually record music anyway? :D

Yeah ok fun to experiment I know, but sometimes... :eek: :p :drunk: ;)
 
Video tape is much thinner than audio tape, can't handle the flux levels and the oxide formulas are optimized for much higher bandwidth and not as good LF. Hey...not saying don't try it, but beware that it is, at best, unorthodox.

I wouldn't do it.
 
It will work, but it won't sound good :P
I've done it and the sound is terrible.
No low frequency and disturtion at -10dB :P

C-Format (1"): same story

It's chrome tape and an audio tapedecks won't work correctly with it ;)

I think I wil use my 1"C-Format tapes on my Sony BVH-3100. The sound is great en the picture is clear ;) :P
 
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