Kia ora all

I have encountered many squealing tapes in the collections I'm working
on in the Archive. Be mindful they have been recorded in locations all
over the Pacific so the climate, humidity and temperature has played a
part.

I have great success with baking the cassettes and leave in the oven
for at least 2 days.  If really bad, I will open up the case and drip
some isopropyl over the tape.  I haven't had any yet that I can't
reproduce.  They are all different brands and lengths also.

Hope that helps.
Marie

On Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 10:23 AM Corey Bailey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I've had a few cassettes that suffered from SSS. Storage seemed to be
> the issue. IIRC, in all cases, lubricating the tape proved to be enough
> for good playback. I built an audio cassette tape lubricating machine by
> hacking a cheap cassette transport.
>
> Like Lou & others, I generally use Naks for ingest. However, Nakamichi
> brand cassette machines seem to prefer the more expensive brands of tape
> & their tape tension (Factory spec.) seems low compared to other brands.
> For this reason, I have some other cassette machines available for when
> my beloved Nak(s) won't play a tape all of the way through. I prefer
> dual capstan cassette decks for injest because they tend to have less
> azimuth issues. Naks are the only brand, that I know of, that have pad
> lifters. Fast-Forwarding & Rewinding the cassette tape before playing
> will tell you if the shell works, or not. Plus, the tape gets exercised.
> The pressure pad has to be visually inspected.
>
> Be safe,
>
> CB
>
> Corey Bailey Audio Engineering
> www.baileyzone.net
>
> On 11/12/2020 9:55 AM, Lou Judson wrote:
> > I’ve never had a cassette with sticky shed. I have seen problems with cheap shells and possibly warping. I use Nakamichis so the pads are not a problem (Naks lift the pad away from the head and use dual capstan tension for better contact).
> >
> > Have you seen evidence of shedding on the machine after playing? or squeaking as they play? I have had cheap casstes and extra long ones (such as C-100 and C-120) bind and slow down warbling in speed, and usually winding forward and back helps, as well as slapping the casstte flat on a desk to re-align the tape pack.
> >
> > Re-shelling is not a bad thing either, just have to be careful with all the tiny parts.
> >
> > Richard Hess might have some deeper wisdom on this, but I have never had a casstte need baking.
> >
> > <L>
> > Lou Judson
> > Intuitive Audio
> > 415-883-2689
> >
> >> On Nov 12, 2020, at 9:37 AM, Malcolm <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >>
> >> One of these units has been on my wants list for quite a while along with a Keith Monks record cleaner, but in both cases life has stepped in and said, "No, not yet. I'll get back to you." I have a number of cassettes that display sticky shed but before baking them I'd like to know whether there may be a problem with the shell warping, the pinch pads falling off, etc. Taking the tape pack out of the shell is certainly an option, but I'd rather not if I can help it. Suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!
> >> Stay safe,
> >> Malcolm Rockwell
> >>
> >> *******