3340 & 1.5mil tape

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Blue Jinn

Blue Jinn

Rider of the ARPocalypse
Does any one know if this is designed for 1 or 1.5 mil tape? I have a 22-4 that I like, and I know it is intended for 1mil tape,* I have a lot of UD, some 642 and 641, but I have a lot more higher quality 1.5 mil tape

*There seems to be a difference of opinion here though as to whether it is OK to use 1.5mil tape on the Teac 22-x machines. I wouldn't think of using thicker tape on a Fostex deck though...
 
1.5mil tape on a 3340 is A-OK and is in fact what it was designed for. One way to affirm this is to look in the service manual at the "Tools for Testing and Maintenance" section and the Teac 1000-series test tapes are on 1.5mil stock.
 
The word is is it's supposed to take the thinner tape because the heads wear easier, but I used 456 on my 2340sx for years without problem. Also it sounds great. I used to just buy whatever was available at the store before.
 
Blue Jinn said:
I have a lot of UD, some 642 and 641, but I have a lot more higher quality 1.5 mil tape
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oxide & backing thickness is as or even more important so tell us which exact 1.5mil tape you have more of? BTW, 1 vs 1.5mil refers only to the base on which oxide & backing are adhered to and not to the overall thickness, which can can exceed 2mils on some formulations. That's not what you want on your machine. Still, generally speaking, the 3340 will have no problem pulling 1.5mil tape. I would not use anything higher than 456 / 457 (or their equivalents) on older decks.
 
To edit my post about...Teac 1000-series test tapes were 1.5mil in 15ips variety. This would be the YTT-1004 playback alignment tape...my point is that 1.5mil was an accepted standard for the 3340.

+1 to what cjacek said about the thickness referencing only the backing.
 
cjacek said:
oxide & backing thickness is as or even more important so tell us which exact 1.5mil tape you have more of? BTW, 1 vs 1.5mil refers only to the base on which oxide & backing are adhered to and not to the overall thickness, which can can exceed 2mils on some formulations. That's not what you want on your machine. Still, generally speaking, the 3340 will have no problem pulling 1.5mil tape. I would not use anything higher than 456 / 457 (or their equivalents) on older decks.
Click to expand...

I have quite a bit of 456/031 as well as 632.
 
Thanks, I actually don't own a 3340, I have a 22-4, but I saw one recently go for a pretty low amount on clist, (I think the guy was asking $75...) which got me thinking... There is also a 34b up right now.
 
I'm pretty sure if, for some reason, I ever sought out a 1/4" 4-track, I would probably look for a 3340S. Many of you know that it was my first open reel deck but A. it sounded great and B. I think it'd be neat to have one just for personal nostalgie. The 34B is also an awesome 1/4" 4-track and well-appointed.
 
The above is all true, but there are subtle sonic differences between 1 mil and 1.5 mil tape varieties. Not just signal to noise, but actual sonic characteristics. 1 mil +3 tape may suit your needs for a given type of recording better than 1.5 mil +6 varieties.
 
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