Tape used in the 50's, 60's and 70's

[cjacek]

Does anyone have any information on the type of tape used for typical studio sessions back then ? What was considered high output tape ? Was 1.5mil tape available back then or was it on a thinner base ? Inquiring minds want to know!

THANKS!!

 

[Tim Gillett]

Since nobody's replied yet I'll add what little I know or remember. AFAIK pro's would use 1.5mm or "standard play" tapes as it could carry the highest signal with least print through and was tougher physically than thinner tapes. Also easier to physically splice edit without damaging it.

Downside was less playing time but that's why they used big reels. Another downside was the thicker tapes might not conform to the head face contour as well as thinner stock and so generally higher tape tensions required but that was hardly a problem with non portable studio machines.

Pro's used thinner based tapes when they had to, like when logging very long programs, but I think they also recorded live with two machines running simultaneously, probably with standard play tape, so that there was always a machine running while the other was having reels changed.

As far as output goes I think the noise got lower and the output got higher as the years rolled on. I've seen comparison charts but cant remember where.

Cheers Tim

 

[cjacek]

Thanks Tim. I appreciate your comments but I was leaning more toward knowing the actual names of tape used back then and also whether 1.5mil was available ? Something which puzzled me a bit was when I spoke to a TEAC tech (about my 3440) and he said that 1.5mil was not even available when it [my recorder] was released. That would have been '79. That was the reason, he claimed, the TEAC A-3440 was setup for the 1mil Maxell UD tape and not that it could not handle the thicker 1.5mil.

 

[Tim Gillett]

Thanks Tim. I appreciate your comments but I was leaning more toward knowing the actual names of tape used back then and also whether 1.5mil was available ? Something which puzzled me a bit was when I spoke to a TEAC tech (about my 3440) and he said that 1.5mil was not even available when it [my recorder] was released. That would have been '79. That was the reason, he claimed, the TEAC A-3440 was setup for the 1mil Maxell UD tape and not that it could not handle the thicker 1.5mil.

AKAIK the thicker tape was always available and probably even before the thinner varieties came onto the market. It was called Standard play 1.5, Long play 1.0, Double play, Triple play etc. So 1.5 mil was the sort of standard thickness and in reel to reel tapes, everything was measured against it.

eg: Ampex 406/456 is 1.5mil and 407/457 1.0mil.

Yes the machines could be set up for either thickness tape. I also have had a 3440 (from new). I ended up aligning it for a 3M tape only because I had lots of it. It was also a 1.0mil tape, 177 I think. Not as high output as the Maxell.

Tim

 

[Beck]

I was leaning more toward knowing the actual names of tape used back then and also whether 1.5mil was available ? Something which puzzled me a bit was when I spoke to a TEAC tech (about my 3440) and he said that 1.5mil was not even available when it [my recorder] was released. That would have been '79. That was the reason, he claimed, the TEAC A-3440 was setup for the 1mil Maxell UD tape and not that it could not handle the thicker 1.5mil.

TEAC making their techs young these days, eh?

The North American industry standard pretty much started with Scotch 111 (1948) and it was about the same thickness as 1.5 mil tapes we have now

The tapes that were established in the pro industry that contain most hits through the 70’s were AMPEX 406/407 (1970), 3M/Scotch 206/207 (1969) and 250 (1974). AMPEX 456/457 (1975), 3M/Scotch 226/227 (1979), and AGFA 468 (1975) were the up and coming hot tapes by late 70’s, through the 80’s and beyond.

You’ll recognize all of those as 1.5-mil… some with a 1-mil long play version as well, but the 1.5-mil came first. The long play thinner versions were made possible by advances in technology that allowed a thinner tape to better resist stretching and breaking.

 

[cjacek]

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks!!