OMG! $400.00 Worth of Sticky-Shed

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Beck

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(with shipping) Actually it's even worse... I just noticed the buyer is from Japan, so shipping will be a lot more.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280150221977

Don't let this happen to you. :eek:

I wonder if the buyer will be around here eventually asking what is wrong with the machine. :( I hate to see this happen.

By the way you can tell this AMPEX 456 is from the sticky years by the style of the box. The logo is near the middle of the front of the box rather than along the bottom. It's from somewhere between mid 80's and 1993.
 
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The only smart guy on that bidder's list was the fella who bid $70, about right for a nice set of nos 1/2" Ampex empty reels. But, yeah, pretty sad overall, especially considering how many unique bidders bid on the thing.:eek:
 
By the way you can tell this AMPEX 456 is from the sticky years by the style of the box. The logo is near the middle of the front of the box rather than along the bottom. It's from somewhere between mid 80's and 1993.

Beck, I have a 1/2" tape with some material recorded in a similar box which is dated 1994. I was just wondering if all tapes made during the above period will be sticky shed?

Does it also depend on local climate, central heating / air conditioning & how the tape was stored over the years?

PS That guy must be nuts he probably saved about £7.00 per reel compared to new for 15+ year old tape!

Cheers
 
Beck, I have a 1/2" tape with some material recorded in a similar box which is dated 1994. I was just wondering if all tapes made during the above period will be sticky shed?
I have a NOS 1993 tape which I believe is still OK, so it does vary. That box design is a bad sign, though. Apparently they fixed the problem sometime in 1994 - tape with the label at the bottom instead of the middle is considered a good way to tell if the tape should be OK... label in the middle means the dodgy formulation.
 
By the way you can tell this AMPEX 456 is from the sticky years by the style of the box. The logo is near the middle of the front of the box rather than along the bottom. It's from somewhere between mid 80's and 1993.

Oh phew, I also have a reel of 456 still in the sealed plastic just like that, but I just went and checked and the logo is along the bottom of the box. That's a relief.
 
You know, thinking about it, $370 is actually a very good price. A set of 10 empty spools and boxes would set me back £220, which is just shy of $450. All you have to do is throw the tape itself away.
 
Is there a similar rule of thumb for 499? I have a reel of 499 that is not in the original box but it is also sealed and the label on the reel is the style of the 456 in the auction. Is 499 even at risk for sticky shed?
 
Is there a similar rule of thumb for 499? I have a reel of 499 that is not in the original box but it is also sealed and the label on the reel is the style of the 456 in the auction. Is 499 even at risk for sticky shed?


Nope. 499 was only made with the improved binder, so does not have sticky-shed problems.

:)
 
Beck, I have a 1/2" tape with some material recorded in a similar box which is dated 1994. I was just wondering if all tapes made during the above period will be sticky shed?

Does it also depend on local climate, central heating / air conditioning & how the tape was stored over the years?

Cheers

1994 is the year the formulation changed, so even tape made in mid 1994 can be bad. The box style changed a short time before the formulation, but I still use it as a general indicator if no date sticker is available. Rather than trying to sort out 1994, I recommend tape that has a date of 1995 or later.

Here is the original thread on the subject with pics.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=162626

Not all 456 and other AMPEX backcoated tape will show signs of sticky-shed at the moment, but nearly all will eventually. Time is one of the factors. The further we get from the manufacture date, the more likely the tape will have fallen victim.

Temp and humidity are the main factors, but only give you more or less time. The unstable urethane binder is absorbing moisture from the air at whatever rate the environment allows. Tapes kept in something like a shed or basement go bad first. But even tapes kept in climate controlled living environment for humans will pick up moisture. In 1997 my 1994 tapes were not bad yet, but they all have gone bad now. A few year ago I threw away a fortune in tape dated mid 80’s to early 1994.

Another issue… there are different levels of sticky-shed. The tape in the worst condition will slow down or stop a machine in play or fast modes. Lesser afflicted tape will appear to be fine to the uninitiated, but a test of high frequency response will show a loss of several dB from the normal curve, and this is often very audible as a muffled sound. In the worst cases a recording of a 15 kHz tone @ 0 VU will show nothing at all on the VU upon playback, even though low frequencies will be close to normal.

The “Great Sticky” masquerades as a plethora of troubles that are misinterpreted as machine issues. Misdiagnosis runs the gamut from bad motors to head alignment and electronics. A significant number of people have abandoned machines and/or analog in general because they were unknowingly working with afflicted tape.

:)
 
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The only smart guy on that bidder's list was the fella who bid $70, about right for a nice set of nos 1/2" Ampex empty reels. But, yeah, pretty sad overall, especially considering how many unique bidders bid on the thing.:eek:


Yep, these can be good opportunities for new empty reels if the price stays low enough... but I feel bad for the ones that are trying to score some tape. :(
 
Beck, I have a 1/2" tape with some material recorded in a similar box which is dated 1994. I was just wondering if all tapes made during the above period will be sticky shed?

Does it also depend on local climate, central heating / air conditioning & how the tape was stored over the years?

Cheers

Looks like I'm answering my own question anyway just to confirm that the above 94 456 tape has joined the SSS club, luckily I backed it up a few years back.

Seems that all these tapes are good for is the reels then? Throw the tape in the bin!
 
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