B
Beck
Guest
As promised: Why I prefer denatured alcohol for tape path cleaning.
Either 91%+ Isopropyl or denatured will work, and as you can see from the links below both are recommended. To be on the safe side a 97 - 99% concentration is best if using Isopropyl.
I started in TV audio/video where denatured alcohol was commonly found as the head cleaner of choice because it’s moisture free. As I migrated into music recording I found that quite a few of the pricey head cleaners contained nothing more than denatured alcohol, specifically 95% ethanol denatured with 5% methanol. I started buying 32 oz cans of denatured alcohol at the hardware store for less than the price of a 2 oz bottle packaged and sold to professionals as head cleaner. Sneaky, ain't I?
In use I’ve found denatured to be better for cleaning really gummed up heads and tape paths with sticky-shed. I’ve pretty much stayed with denatured alcohol since early 80’s unless I ran out, and all the machines I’ve used it on that I still own are in perfect condition, except my Alesis ADAT, which died the normal ADAT mystery death (Struck down by the avenging angel of analog I suppose).
If 90 something % Isopropyl is working for you, I don’t see a big reason to change to denatured unless you run into a problem deck and Isopropyl doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. Definitely avoid the cheap stuff containing 70% Isopropyl (Rubbing alchohol).
The specific type I use is Kleen-Strip S-L-X Denatured Alcohol.
And by the way, don’t drink it. Our government in its great wisdom has seen fit to protect the public from the evils of unregulated intoxicating substances by making sure this stuff will kill us or make us go blind if we drink it. I feel safer already. (Seriously though, I’ve never even had so much as a beer in my life, but I couldn’t pass up the humor).
Sources and Links
"Tape head cleaner (duh). In some cases, this is nothing but isopropyl or denatured alcohol. Most alcohol-containing head cleaners say in small print something like "safe on most plastics", which is Murphy's Law for "likely to disintegrate your 8-track multitrack front panel", so be careful with this stuff and don't spill it everywhere. Also, don't shubshitoot any other kindsh of alkohol becuz they mite have deleterererious effex on yore state of mind and they mite not bee good for your heds either...
" - Dragon
https://homerecording.com/caring.html
"Clean the heads with a cotton swab soaked in xylene or denatured alcohol"
- Sherman Keene, Practical Techniqes for the Recording Engineer
2nd Edition 1981
"To Clean the transport tape heads and guides, use denatured alcohol or an appropriate cleaning solution at least daily and always before a routine alignment."
- Huber and Runstein, Modern Recording Techniques 3rd Edition 1989
"It's very important to clean the entire tape path before every recording session. Use the cleaning fluid recommended in your recorder manual. Denatured alcohol (or a freon-based cleaner) and a dense-packed cotton swab are often used. Don't use rubbing alcohol or Isopropyl alcohol becasue they can leave a film on the head and they contain water."
- Bruce Barlett, Practical Recording Techniques 1997
"Heads can be cleaned with denatured or 91% isopropyl alchohol on a cotton swawb"
- Peter Elsea Director, Electronic Music Studios University of California, Santa Cruz
http://arts.ucsc.edu/ems/music/equipment/analog_recorders/Analog_Recorders.html
"Use 99% (anhydrous) isopropyl or denatured alcohol on a cotton swab to clean the heads. Do not use rubbing alcohol, which is 30% water."
- Eddie Ciletti, Electronic Musician Magazine
http://emusician.com/daw/emusic_joining_reel_world/index1.html
"I would suggest using 99% denatured alcohol, because it doesn't leave any residue behind."
- Ken Lanyon, Recording Engineers Quartery
http://www.recordingeq.com/EQ/req0201/homerec.htm
"Alcohol is the most common solvent, and the most universally safe on tape recorder or duplicator parts. Almost all alcohol sold has water mixed with it. Water is a poor solvent for this purpose, so you should try to get alcohol with a low percentage of water. Denatured alcohol from the hardware store is fine. Rubbing alcohol works but has more water in it. Cheap "tape head cleaner" sold in stores is usually rubbing alcohol with some color added."
- Ray Rayburn, Sound First
http://www.soundfirst.com/cleandemag.html
"In spite of some manufacturers recommending for and some against its use, we continue to recommend Denatured Alcohol for routine head cleaning. Denatured Alcohol (available in most hardware and art stores) is an inexpensive and relatively safe general purpose solvent.
- David Mann, David Mann Audio
http://www.davidmannaudio.com/faq/faq10.html
"Use a cotton swab dipped in tape head cleaning solution or denatured alcohol to gently clean the parts (avoid applying the alcohol to the rubber belts - keep it to the metal parts)."
- Musicians Friend, Tech Tips
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=88224
"You need to clean the heads of your machine with 91-percent isopropyl alcohol, or denatured alcohol. Everybody who knows better screams, "Don't use rubbing alcohol on your tape heads!" It's true. You'll get a residue at least as bad as the buildup that's on there now, probably worse. Why do people even think about using rubbing alcohol? 'Cuz it's what they usually have lying around the house, instead of denatured alcohol."
- Joe Wallace , Care And Feeding of A Cassette Multitrack Recorder
http://www.gearwire.com/analog-four-track-two.html
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