1/4" Leader?

[bournemouth]

Hi,

New here and to the world of Tape -so I apologize if this is an ill-informed question.

Just acquired a couple 388's and am itching to get down to work.
I have brand new tapes and a take up reel. Should I put leader on the tape? And if so is there a preferrable sort to use?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[jpmorris]

Hi,
Just acquired a couple 388's and am itching to get down to work. I have brand new tapes and a take up reel. Should I put leader on the tape? And if so is there a preferrable sort to use?

It will work without leader. I didn't get any for a couple of years, but you'll want to leave a gap at the start if you don't. Being overcautious I leave about 30-60 seconds blank at the start and end.

Now, leader type. Ultimately it's a matter of personal preference. I use white at the start and red at the back, like the lights on a car. That way you can tell if the tape is wound forwards or backwards.

Left for a couple of years, the recording will seep through to the adjacent layers creating a sort of echo effect. If the tape is stored in a rewound state, this will tend to produce a pre-echo effect. If the tape is wound all the way to the end you'll get an after-echo which is less noticable. If you colour-code the leader you'll be able to tell at a glance which way the tape was stored.

Red leader has a disadvantage on the Revox in that it triggers the end-of-tape sensor and stops the machine, but Tascams don't do that.

 

[bournemouth]

Great. Thanks for that, I appreciate it.

Best,
Mike

 

[THX1136]

You also might consider using paper leader which you can write on and doesn't usually acquire a static charge like other materials.