This chimes with my own experience - days are required now where once hours
sufficed.

About a week is the minimum bake that has had any real effect for some time
now.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Marie O'Connell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2016 5:20 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Ampex 456 Grand Master: What To Expect?


Hello

See Ampex 456, bake Ampex 456, loathe it! We have hundreds of tapes in our
collections on this stock, and it continues to come in with the new
accessions.

I bake them now for about 7 to 14 days at 52C for more success, otherwise I
have to keep putting them back in the oven. 12 hours does nothing anymore
and our vaults are humidity/temperature controlled. The really bad ones I
do use a pellon wipe and then, if required, my isopropyl technique (last
resort). My low friction Studers have eliminated much use of iso.

Cheers
Marie

On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 11:13 AM, Richard L. Hess <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi, Steve,
>
> The Ampex patent has in its claims both 50 and 54 °C. That was where the
> higher temperature came from. It is still well below the Tg of the base
> film. (67 - 81 °C) (
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_terephthalate)
>
> Ampex patent here:
> http://www.richardhess.net/restoration_notes/USP5236790.pdf
>
>
>
>
> On 1/28/2016 4:10 PM, Steve Greene wrote:
>
>> I used to bake 15" quad reels with a high degree of success at 120F for
>> 24
>> hours, with a long ramp down time of another 24 hours before handling it.
>> Knowing what I know now, I might go as high as 125F. 54C (130F) seems
>> high
>> to me.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>> Steve Greene
>> Audiovisual Archivist
>> Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
>> National Archives and Records Administration
>> (301) 837-1772
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 27, 2016 at 8:38 PM, Corey Bailey <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi David,
>>>
>>> My experience with baking 2" tapes comes from my experiences at Warner
>>> Bros. Studios, Burbank, CA. As Richard Hess said: "456 is the poster
>>> child
>>> for SSS" so, don't ask, just bake it.! Regarding the question of how
>>> long
>>> to bake is dependent on the size and type of oven, the number of tapes
>>> to
>>> be baked at one time and (obviously) the condition of the tapes
>>> themselves.
>>> The oven at WB is commercial grade, capable of baking 34, 10.5" reels at
>>> a
>>> time. I've baked as few as two reels on up to an oven full. For two
>>> reels
>>> of 2", the average baking time is 18 - 24 hours. I would suggest that
>>> you
>>> only bake as many tapes as you can process in a day so that the
>>> stabilization process is as fresh as possible. You mentioned leader
>>> breaks.
>>> Expect any splices to have to be replaced after baking. Not always the
>>> case
>>> but, build the labor cost into your budget.
>>>
>>> Cheers!
>>>
>>> Corey
>>> Corey Bailey Audio Engineering
>>> www.baileyzone.net
>>>
>>> On 1/27/2016 8:29 AM, David Crosthwait wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello Tom and Richard,
>>>>
>>>> In my digging through a church archive yesterday with new clients, we
>>>> uncovered many reels of 24 track on 2" among other audio tapes. One
>>>> tape of
>>>> interest I have with me, destined to a comrade here in town who is as
>>>> passionate about vintage audiotape recovery as we are with videotape,
>>>> is a
>>>> 24 track on "Ampex Grand Master" 456 from 1988 in a cardboard box. It
>>>> has
>>>> track assignments within. The tape has leader breaks. In a test of
>>>> sorts,
>>>> we are going to link this up with a 1" C of the concert (same
>>>> production,
>>>> same date) to create a new stereo mixed version. I've done this before
>>>> so I
>>>> am familiar with the routine. The question to you two (and others) is:
>>>> What
>>>> should we expect from a stickiness standpoint (if any) from 1988
>>>> vintage
>>>> "Grand Master" 456?
>>>>
>>>> The client has multiple reels of this concert so this is a test of
>>>> sorts.
>>>> The 24 track will create a ProTools session for the mix down and new
>>>> stereo
>>>> imaging (5.1?), to be done at the client's facility. I'm going to be
>>>> remastering the 1" C today to file (it too is in stereo albeit with
>>>> weak
>>>> L-R imaging as viewed on the phase scope). It's a full orchestra with
>>>> choir.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thank you.
>>>>
>>>> Best Regards,
>>>>
>>>> David Crosthwait
>>>> DC Video
>>>> Transferring NTSC, PAL& SECAM Two Inch Quad and Helical Source Tapes
>>>> (and More)!
>>>>
>>>> http://www.dcvideo.com/what-we-do
>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>>
>>>> www.dcvideo.com
>>>>
>>>> Follow DC Video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dcvideo
>>>> Follow DC Video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dcvideoonline
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>> --
> 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.
>