Didn't Maxell also make plenty of 1/2" VHS tapes? I always bought Maxell tapes, on the theory they'd
be as good as their cassettes and reels. They were, but VHS quality was bad from the time the signal
hit the tape.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Crosthwait" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2015 8:18 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Interesting sticky-shed data point
Is it possible that Maxell and Fuji were using the same chemistry (or even the same plant) to
manufacture tape? No Fuji videotape (2" Quad, 1" B /C or 3/4" U-matic) that has passed through our
facility has ever exhibited stickiness, requiring baking.
Your reports on Maxell audio tape are similar to our Fuji videotape experiences. Maxell did make 1"
and 3/4" videotape at one time.
Best Regards,
David Crosthwait
DC Video
NTSC/PAL/SECAM 2" Quad and Helical Videotape Transfers and More!
[log in to unmask]
www.dcvideo.com
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On Dec 17, 2015, at 1:04 PM, Tom Fine wrote:
> Maxell reel tapes were awesome, that's why they go for decent $$$ NOS or slightly used on eBay. I
> wish I had spent more after school job earnings on Maxell reel tape than on early 80s rock
> records! Maxell UDXL90 cassettes were equally outstanding in that era. Always reliable and stand
> up well over time. The cassette housing is among the best ever made, which is why I kept most of
> my tapes to re-shell basket cases I get from clients. I've been able to play dreaded Scotch
> black-oxide C-120 tapes when they were transplanted to Maxell shells.
>
> It's too bad Maxell never made a push for the pro market. They sold much more 1-mil reel stock to
> home recordists than 1.5-mil to pros. Their pricing for 7" reels in boxes was competitive to
> Scotch and Ampex for the home market, so I assume they could have been competitive at least with
> 10" pancakes for the pro market. I could see how shipping metal reels in boxes from Japan would
> crimp the margins, but bulk-shipping pancakes could be competitive.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard L. Hess" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2015 3:50 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Interesting sticky-shed data point
>
>
>> Back in the day, I was a real fan of Maxell tapes. All my masters at St. Thomas were done on it
>> except the last one where I couldn't get the tape in Canada and I didn't want to buy it in the
>> states as I needed it in Canada to calibrate the machines before the trip down. I used 407, I
>> think, but it might have been 456 or 457. I think I bought two boxes of 10 bulk-packed pancakes.
>> I recalibrated the machines.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Richard
>>
>>
>>
>> On 12/17/2015 7:04 AM, Tom Fine wrote:
>>> The Maxell reel also completely surrounds the tape, except for a small
>>> slit from the reel center insert point to the outside. Perhaps that, the
>>> bag and the cardboard box with a laminated outer coating all combined as
>>> a moisture barrier?
>>>
>>> Anyway, interesting. The other interesting thing was, I know it's
>>> totally un-Kosher to splice together 1-mil and 1.5 mil tapes, but there
>>> was no damage or level drop at the splice-point, and, given that I'm
>>> sure I didn't go in and re-calibrate anything when I grabbed that
>>> remnant of 456 to fill out the reel, it's interesting that the Maxell
>>> tape operated close enough to the 456 parameters to not sound different
>>> at all, to my ears. Keep in mind that this tape is a dub, so it's not an
>>> un-colored clone of a pristine source. I was also impressed that Maxell
>>> came up with a back-coat formula that is first of all stable but also
>>> resulted in very low print-through despite 30+ years of tight-wound
>>> storage.
>>>
>>> -- Tom Fine
>>>
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