Richard, Scott, and all:

I have a single 7-inch reel of Soundcraft FA-4, 1200-feet, acetate base,
plastic reel that's been in my personal collection since new.

Brown oxide.

It unwinds from the reel flawlessly.

Rhett

Rhett McMahon





On 8/20/2013 10:33 AM, Richard L. Hess wrote:
> Hi, Scott,
>
> Thank you for the update.
>
> Do you recall if the defective roll peeled off more like masking tape 
> (an exaggeration) rather than just unwinding like most tapes?
>
> I think the way the tape unwinds under the influence of just its own 
> weight and gravity is a good field test for layer-to-layer adhesion.
>
> If there was this layer-to-layer adhesion on your defective Soundcraft 
> tape, did you glean any insights into that?
>
> And you again confirmed the concept that acetate mag film, the "poster 
> child" for vinegar syndrome, is much worse than quarter-inch acetate 
> tape. The big open question on this for me is will acetate tapes 
> ultimately stink like the film. In other words, does the degradation 
> of 1/4 inch tape follow the same curve shape as mag film, only over a 
> longer time frame, or will the tape never reach the critical 
> threshold? This is another unstudied item.
>
> Two more unstudied items are:
>
> --Is Tom Fine's conjecture that the recommended storage conditions for 
> "tape" which appears fine-tuned for PET-film based tape harmful for 
> acetate tape by drying it out too much?
>
> --Is the rule in the standards to not freeze tape eliminating the 
> preservation technique which has been so good for acetate film? Or, is 
> the potential damage from freezing worse than the potential damage 
> from not freezing?
>
> Very interesting. Thanks again!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> On 2013-08-20 11:43 AM, Scott D. Smith wrote:
>> Richard:
>>
>> I ran into a similar situation with some Soundcraft tapes years ago.
>> Probably mid-fifties vintage. (Don't recall the oxide # right off hand)
>>
>> As I recall, I think we ended up having to hand wind most of them (this
>> is way before we had special transports for cleaning), and cleaned and
>> lubricated the oxide. I spoke with whoever the rep was at Soundcraft at
>> the time, and he mentioned that he had heard of some cases of acetate
>> tapes that had some issues with lubricant. He didn't come right out and
>> say they were defective from the plant, but that is what I surmised from
>> the conversation. There were other tapes from the same collectionwith
>> the same oxide, which had no problems. I also have some tapes in my
>> personal collection from the same era, and when I played a couple of
>> them last year, experienced no issuesbeyond some minimal base warping.
>>
>> On the other hand, we have done transfers of some Soundcraft 35mm mag
>> from the same period, and boy did it stink!
>>
>> --Scott
>>
>> Scott D. Smith CAS
>> ChicagoAudio Works, Inc.
>>
>>
>> On 8/19/2013 6:19 PM, Richard L. Hess wrote:
>>> Hello, all,
>>>
>>> I have been in touch with a tape conservator who was asking about a
>>> sticky ACETATE tape. She realizes that it should not be baked, but I
>>> was wondering if any of you had run across this.
>>>
>>> The tape is in a Soundcraft box, but other tapes in Soundcraft boxes
>>> in the same batch have transferred well. It is on a clear, six-window
>>> reel (with three of the windows slightly larger than the other three).
>>> It is brown oxide and not back coated.
>>>
>>> There are no visible signs (to the conservator) of water damage to
>>> either the box or the reel.
>>>
>>> The symptoms are:
>>>
>>> (1) Tape sticks to underlying layer and does not drop cleanly
>>>     off the reel
>>> (2) No oxide appears to be pulling out at the outside
>>> (3) When attempting to play the tape, it squeals
>>>
>>> The tape is half-track mono, perhaps both sides, at 3.75 in/s.
>>>
>>> Any and all thoughts/anecdotes would be appreciated. I may be getting
>>> this tape to transfer and I have some ideas--I'll publish on my blog
>>> if we have success or learn anything.
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Richard
>>>
>>> Richard L. Hess                   email: [log in to unmask]
>>> Aurora, Ontario, Canada                             647 479 2800
>>> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm Quality tape transfers --
>>> even from hard-to-play tapes.
>>>
>>
> Richard L. Hess                   email: [log in to unmask] 
> Aurora, Ontario, Canada                             647 479 2800 
> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm Quality tape transfers -- 
> even from hard-to-play tapes.
>
>
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