For what it's worth>>>>>>>>>>here ya go!
http://richardhess.com/notes/2006/03/09/wet-playing-of-reel-tapes-with-loss-of-lubricant-a-guest-article-by-marie-oconnell/#more-22
A few more tricks to try.
Merry xmas
Marie
On Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 4:53 AM, Steven Smolian <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I'm concerned this discussion is omitting a very important point.
>
> Unless a tape is soaked in LAST before use or is unwound with a drip of
> LAST falling into the feed reel tape-unwinding crotch, the act of unwinding
> the tape from its storage reel will allow a sticky piece of the tape to pull
> off and adhere to an adjacent layer. Isopropol alcohol has proven ok for
> this use. Check Marie's older posts. Perhaps she can supply a link.
> Though I've never tried this on reel-to-reel tapes, but I've been very
> successful with the process on some problem cassette tapes. I used an
> eyedropper, a steady hand and rehoused the cassette into a shell where I've
> Dremelled a cutout to reach this area. It needs a cassette player where the
> front door comes off to be able to get the eyedropper aimed at the right
> place.
>
> The tape must be treated in one way or another BEFORE being unwound.
> Unless very, very slow unwinding overcomes this issue. I can replay tape
> at logging speeds, down to 15/32 so if this is an anwer, I've the tool. But
> it would then have to be played at its recorded speed to get any sound
> quality.
>
> I was under the impression this thread dealt with tapes other than the
> backcoated type and that was also having sticking pronlems- not necessarily
> shedding. I've three in house at the moment that buck so much at 3-3/4 that
> they pop out of the guides and cause the auto shut off to operate. This is
> on a standing rather than lying down Technics RS-1500, the gentlest of tape
> handling transports. Perhaps I should mount them on my Otari MXR 10 which
> has a more conventional back-tension arrangement which can be adjusted
> during playing. Advice welcomed.
>
> In my experience, the sticky shed problem is almost always increasingly
> intense as one gets closer to the reel core. Successful empirical testing
> at the beginning of a reel is no guarantee of the same result as it plays
> through.
>
> Steve Smolian
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marie O'Connell" <[log in to unmask]>
>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 4:56 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Tape Squeal
>
>
>
> Hi
>
> Actually, my first concern is the analogue tape itself and then the
> equipment, simply because the machine can be fixed by the terrific
> technicians stil alive and available to do this because 'they know' what
> the
> heck they are doing. Tape problems are a different factor in the mix given
> the different brands, etc, etc, and many of us are trying to address this
> in
> our own way and on an international basis.
>
> Corey, please tell me, what are the ingredients of the Last Factory stuff
> you use? Do you know?
>
> Cheers
> Marie
>
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 10:23 PM, Corey Bailey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hi Richard,
>>
>> I would be interested in exploring our different experiences with LAST
>> lubricants. Perhaps we should compare findings off list.
>> Starting in the early 90’s, I experimented with a number of lubricants and
>> application methods until I discovered the Last Factory. Some of those
>> lubricants did work well but the resulting mess and possible harm to the
>> equipment seemed to be not worth the results. Consequently, I never
>> published
>> my findings. I would agree that the majority of squeal problems occur on
>> tapes
>> recorded at slower speeds however I have also encountered the problem on
>> music
>> masters recorded at higher speeds. Perhaps I should have noted in my post
>> that
>> the example on your website did not utilize a standard audio tape deck and
>> the
>> speed was quadrupled. I’ve always admired your work because you think
>> outside
>> the box but with a scientific approach. My concern was the possible
>> oversight
>> of the details regarding your particular procedure and some would think it
>> just
>> fine to try a 3-3/4ips tape run at (for example) 15ips and I wanted to
>> point
>> out the possible pitfalls.
>>
>> Anymore, I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion: “If it ain’t Scotch 206,
>> Bake
>> it!’ Of course, that excludes acetate but I have found that stabilizing
>> the
>> oxide solves a number of problems right off and polyester doesn’t seem to
>> be
>> bothered by the process.
>>
>> Cheers!
>>
>> Corey Bailey
>> Corey Bailey Audio Engineering
>>
>>
>> Quoting "Richard L. Hess" <[log in to unmask]>:
>>
>> > At 10:00 PM 2009-12-16, Corey Bailey wrote:
>> > >Having dealt with squealing tapes at virtually all recorded speeds and
>> > (most)
>> > >widths, the simplest and most effective solution I've found is to
>> lubricate
>> > >them. That said, the most effective lubricant I've used so far is from
>> Last
>> > >Factory.
>> >
>> > Hi, Corey,
>> >
>> > I have had pretty much the opposite results with The Last Factory
>> products.
>> >
>> > >1) Unless you have modified your play electronics, playing, for >
>> >example,
>> a
>> > >7.5ips tape at 15ips will invoke a different EQ alignment curve which
>> will
>> > >result in inaccuracies when pitching the file back down in the digital
>> > domain.
>> > >(Something I don't like to do in the first place for a number of
>> reasons)
>> >
>> > There are many ways to handle this and most of the times I record an
>> > MRL test tape to make sure it's all fine at the end.
>> >
>> > In my experience, this is a problem that is mostly limited to
>> > personal and oral history tapes as they are the ones usually recorded
>> > at slow speeds. I've had little or no issues with master tapes,
>> > especially on the single-head reproducers.
>> >
>> > >2) Having tried this and observed the signal with calibrated test
>> equipment
>> > >showed that the squeal is, more often than not, still there and
>> > >although it may
>> > >not be (as) audible, it is having an effect on the audio in other ways
>> such
>> > as
>> > >increased harmonic distortion, induced wow and flutter, etc.
>> >
>> > That certainly may be true in some instances, but in others, there is
>> > a threshold where the squeal stops. It was actually Jay McKnight of
>> > MRL who suggested the higher playing speed (I think I mention that in
>> > my blog post) and this was based in part on the analysis he did of
>> > the mechanical properties of tape for Ampex.
>> >
>> > Cheers,
>> >
>> > Richard
>> >
>> > Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask]
>> > Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
>> > Detailed contact information:
>> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
>> > Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.
>> >
>>
>>
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