Splicing Practice

[kip4]

I've just got a BIB 1/4" splicer and some old gash tape and i'm trying to perfect the art of splicing
How long did it take you guys to get it right everytime ?

When i think i can get it a little better i'm going to do a mic recording of jumbled up figures from 1 to 10 and try to splice them in the right order. Neatly.
Anyone got any other good trial methods for perfecting splicing?

 

[kip4]

Sometimes when i hold the splices up to the light i see a gap. I'm guessing this is bad.
Sometimes i over trim the edges and cut a small amount off. I'm guessing i will loose some signal.

However I found that if i use the magnifier i have to hand on my desk (usually used for soldering small componants) and i trim the tape edge i get less of the tape edge problem.

I am aware that splicing maybe a bit of a redundant art these days but i would like to perfect it since the one time i will need it i'll regret not practicing since i think of it as a one time deal screw it up and the whole take is wasted.
Is this the case?

its quite difficult to get the tape ends to join perfectly especially when doing a right angle splice.
Over strech the tape and it will shrink back when you go to tape it up and leave a gap.
Don't stretch enough and it will overlap slighty.
Wat to do ?
Aggghhh

 

[miroslav]

A super sharp, demagnetized razor (if you are cutting tape with aduio on it) and a precision splice block are key if you hope to ever have perfect edges that line up without gaps...after that it's mostly practice.
I find it easier to splice 2" tape right on top of my deck where the block is...than when I had to splice 1/4" tape...I guess it's a size thing.

But you know....I hardly ever splice tape anymore. I was never doing a lot of reel tape splices anyway, as I saw no need for them....mind you, I was the only one handling my tapes, so I just kept a log file of where stuff was on the tape, and used the counter to tell me when I was there. Also...I never sent out reels for any mixing/mastering...so again, no need to provide splices and all that.
Then of course, once I started dumping tape tracks into a DAW for edits and stuff about 17-18 years ago...I didn't even need to splice tape for the sake of editing anymore.

Also...sometimes I'll reuse a reel, and I hate when there are splices. I bought a bunch of used 2" reels when I got my MX-80 back in the springtime...and of course, a bunch of them had some splice(s), but in the pro studios where tapes move from one to another studio, from song to song or even track to track...the splices are almost required for speed/ease of continuity, and of course, all the calibration tones and well marked takes....etc.

What are the reasons you anticipate in your recording that will require splices...?

The most splicing I ever did was when making tape loops for my tape delay machine.
Buying the 16 foot loops wasn't cheap...so I just rolled my own. It was 1/4" tape...and you had to nail the splice so as not to keep getting a thump/click when the loop came around. I threw away a bunch of loops in the beginning....

There's at least 2-3 guys here who could give you even better tips...as they probably did tape splicing regularly in their past.

 

[jpmorris]

I don't usually splice audio unless I'm doing some effects work, like a tape loop or splicing two dissimilar pieces together deliberately, in which case it doesn't usually matter if the splice is perfect or not.

Aside from that, if I splice it's usually to add leader tape, or occasionally to reduce gaps between sections in a master, so it's not critical that the splice is perfect and I can redo it if it goes bad.

I find 1/4" easiest and 1" hardest - it doesn't want to stay neatly in the block for some reason and the way the block itself curves inwards makes a mess of things.

 

[Tim Gillett]

The only time I splice these days is when repairing old tapes in preparation to digitise the contents.

Often if you put an old tape onto the machine the coloured leader breaks away from the tape at the join as soon as there's some tension on it. I remove the old splicing tape, then with the tape and leader in a splicing block, I remove the remnants of adhesive using solvent, then resplice them together with new splicing tape.

Often smaller diameter reels such as 5" and smaller dont have a long enough coloured leader for a large professional machine, so when you lace it up the audio can be already playing and you miss the first few seconds. Then I splice in a longer leader onto the start of the reel, and if it's needed, at the end of the reel as well, as the same thing can happen there and you miss the last few seconds of audio.

Physically cutting magnetic tape, as well as movie film was a skilled job, requiring great care especially if you were actually cutting a first generation session tape or in movie, the camera negative. No room for mistakes!
A dust free room, a good splicing block, a sharp blade, cotton gloves and a skilled operator were essential. Still are for a good job.

With magnetic tape it was easier if you used standard play or 50u tape as it was more robust and didnt curl, fold, tear or stretch as easily as the thinner base tapes.

I occasionally have to resplice a damaged cassette tape, such as a C90 or longer. Only 12u or thinner. Now that's a challlenge!

 

[kip4]

Thanks for the responses guys.
I still dont think the practice will be a waste of my time.
Would latex gloves be alright to use?
Are the mylar leader tapes the ones to use?
Tim what solvent do you use to remove remmanant adhesive please?
How do i find out if my razor is magnetized?
Can you buy non magnetic razors off the net?
As yet i have only practiced one splice on an in place tape and it had a thump on it.(using splicing tape that came with a reel)
As i have not yet got any proper splicing tape i'm practicing with sticky tape so i dont really want to run this through the machine.

 

[miroslav]

I still dont think the practice will be a waste of my time.

Nothing wrong with getting good at it.

Would latex gloves be alright to use?

They might be tacky with the tape, but try them.
I just washed my hands and made sure they were nice and dry, but I don't have sweaty/damp hands...some people do, so maybe gloves for them.

Are the mylar leader tapes the ones to use?

Often good for leader and tails, but paper works better in-between music as there is no static build up.
Never used paper on 1/4" though...only 1/2" and 2". Like I said, I don't splice between my songs.

How do i find out if my razor is magnetized?
Can you buy non magnetic razors off the net?

Just hit it with a demag.
You bring the razor close to a pin and see if there is any pull.
Not sure if they specifically sell non-magnetic razors...but they are steel, so they can become magnetic.
Most new razors wil not be magnetic...it's just that when you use them around a deck, they can become that way.
It's critical if you are cutting tape where there is audio, to do edits. On a new or empty section, as soon as you press RECORD, it will apply a magnetic field to the tape anyway.

 

[kip4]

Excellant miro
thanks it's appreciated.
I'll try some of that.
I don't generally have sweaty palms nand hand so maybe a good wash will do me too.
I took a look at an example of the deck you have and it's really cool.
one day maybe one day i'll work my way up to that.
I'm hooked on tape now and i'm already studying for the best option for my next deck and thinking about contacting house clearance companys in my area and charity shops and passing on my card so if anything comes there way they just have to call.