Have I used my tape too many times?

[Talldog]

Hey all.

Just got done with a scratch recording of a new tune and the volume dips in a couple of places on track one or two. I have used this tape a few times before. Could this be the reason?

 

[cjacek]

What exact tape is it? What is its history?

I think a good tape, on a good machine's tape path, can last many hundreds of passes, without a significant drop in performance.

I think we need a bit more info from you.

 

[Talldog]

Quantagy 456 1 inch. Nowhere near 100 passes. Possibly 10-15. I use an ms16 clean heads and demaged.

 

[cjacek]

I assume you bought it new? Can you check the date code? Word is that pre-bankruptcy Quantegy is fine, pre 2005, as far a quality control and anything later a bit iffy. Maybe you've got a bad one with less than a uniform coating of oxide..?

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[Talldog]

My tapes sometimes migrate from box to box so it's hard to nail down the date. I bought them new but have had some of them for a long time. I did get the last case our local distributor had a year or two ago. All have been used. I suppose I should spring for some new ones. Any suggestions on the best match for 456?

 

[RRuskin]

Record something over the sections you suspect are bad. If it happens again in the same spot(s), the tape is going south. If not, it was something else at play.

 

[cjacek]

Yeah, that's actually a good suggestion Rick has about re-recording over those same areas to verify if it's the tape or not.

RMGI SM911 is a drop in replacement for 456.

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[Talldog]

Good idea Rick. I'll try that.

 

[Slowrider]

Hey all.

Just got done with a scratch recording of a new tune and the volume dips in a couple of places on track one or two. I have used this tape a few times before. Could this be the reason?

That depends on a lot of factors. I've got some 40 year old Beatles/60s tapes that have lost some of their top end, so I run them through Reaper and add some highs, backoff the lows and they still sound great. Not perfect.