degaussing tape

  • Thread starter Thread starter barbieparty
  • Start date Start date
B

barbieparty

New member
hi, i tried a search for this but could only find info on degaussing the actual machines.

if i buy used tape on ebay, and there is material recorded on it, how do i clear it? do i just record over it like on a cassette deck, or do i use my demagger, or....? i just need some cheap tape to "learn" with so i can use fresh reels with the least amount of passes.

also, does anyone have a tsr-8 manual? i would pay money to be emailed or faxed copies of the important pages, b/c tascam wants to charge quite a bit for a copy.

thanks!
 
This is what you need...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3081838737&category=14968

Or this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3802035532&category=21163

Or this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3081312719&category=15000

Beware of sticky tape shed on used tape. It will cause more damage and frustration than the money you save.

Stay with Quantegy, or Ampex with the Ampex logo across the bottom of the box NOT the center. You're looking for tape made 1994 and newer.


:cool:
 
thanks for the reply! well i only wanted one old reel to mess around with, but given the added cost of a bulk eraser, i might as well just buy another new reel to learn on. most of the stuff on ebay that is after 94 hasnt seemed to be a very good deal yet anyways...
 
It's always better to buy new. That way you know what you have. You may want to consider getting a tape degausser anyway though. That's the only way to fully erase a tape.

You can use it for anything - reel-to-reel, cassette, video, etc. It's a good investment and you won't find a serious analog studio without one.

:cool:
 
Of course, you can buy an old tape and just run through it once erasing everything. Sure, you might get some small stuff left over, but if it's only for learning, who cares?

But if you only plan this with one tape, then it doesn't really seem worth the effort...
 
what about when i am tracking a full band? if the drummer needs two takes, do I just record over his previous take, or do I have to degauss the tape?

If you have to degauss for every mistake and every take, this could be a long process.....say the sax player hits a wrong note, and he is on track eight and was the last to record, would all other 7 tracks have to be rerecorded? (im assuming a degausser erases the entire tape...)
 
Nonono. Degaussing is a quick way to erase the tape COMPLETELY. Of course you don't have to use that to erase a mistake!

I'm sorry, but I have to ask: Have you ever used a tape recorder before, ever?
 
ummm, yeah, i grew up with cassette tapes. ive never used r2r format. that was before my time. there is no reason for me to assume that every quality applying to a cassette tape applies to open reel. if using a simple 4 track cassette recorder is the same as r2r recording then i am wasting my time. (asking all these questions, that is:))
 
Last edited:
Well, you are in luck. It is exactly like using a cassette 4-track, except the tape isn't wound up in a cassette. Oh, and splicing cassette tape is really nothing any sane person would ever want to do. :D

Then there are some subtle differences. The tape compression is supposed to work sligthly differently. People say that it's almost non-existant on tape, but I can clearly hear it in the stuff I recorded. I don't push my r2r hard enough to get tape compression, although I'm planning to do more experimentations with stuff like that when I get all my boxed studio equipment up and running again.

Oh, and it sound much, much better, of course.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top