Baking Tapes?

[Jack Russell]

I have some old tracks on analog 1/4-inch tape, which is about 20 years old. I want to copy this into my computer, but the tape sticks to itself, and sounds degraded.

I hear that the solution is to heat the tape up in the over, then transfer it over.

Anyone hear of this? If so, how hot, how long, and should baste it with sauce????

 

[LeeRosario]

Yeah, I would tell you some bullshit just to get you to fry your tape, but Im not *that* evil man.


ahaha....no no no....listen...


When you bake analog tape, it refers to studio reel to reel analog tape. You would take your reels off the metal spools and place it on a type of microwavable plastic spool.

So common sense would tell us that plastic cassette tapes PROBABLY won't do too well when you fry it in the ramen burner. Then again I haven't tried it, so if you want to be the first astronaut into space, by all means tell us what you find.

You could sprinkle some sugar to make it sound sweeter, but that's just a really bad engineering joke.



DOH: Edit:


My bad...you have 1/4in reels.....not cassette tapes...AHAHA! TOOSHAY TO YOU LEE!

 

[LeeRosario]

Some stuff that might help


Im not too proficent in this kind of thing, so have at it and try to find people that have done it more than once.

 

[Light]

Go over to ProSoundWeb and ask this question in one of the REP forums. They have a lot of guys over there with experience with this.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Beck]

I use a food dehydrator -- works perfectly. You leave the tape on the reel, metal or plastic. Ampex used convection ovens when they were restoring tapes. The food dehydrator uses the same principle. The microwave method is not recommended.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1120727

We've discussed it in detail on the analog forum.

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showpost.php?p=1606369&postcount=6

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showpost.php?p=1501082&postcount=13

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showpost.php?p=1366809&postcount=17

 

[northsiderap]

Sticky Icky

I think the official term for gluey tape is "Sticky Shed."

Let me know if your tape baking goes well, I've been tempted to try it.

 

[Jack Russell]

Wow! Good links and info. Thanks guys. I really thought the guy was pulling my leg about this.

My tape is definitely before 1994.

 

[Robert D]

A lightbulb in a cardboard box is another method.

-RD