Discussion about vintage cassette tape degradation
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Interesting video also, and it makes sense, and my CD Power tape calibrates pretty much exactly like it did on his deck. I’ve watched his videos before, I know he stopped making vids within the last year or so.
I also won’t re-record on mine as they are the 110 minute version.
Thanks for the video, and at some point I will pick up some of the 90 minute versions of them. It appears they are about as good as any other type II. I still like my BASF true chromes, but they are getting very expensive.
I also won’t re-record on mine as they are the 110 minute version.
Thanks for the video, and at some point I will pick up some of the 90 minute versions of them. It appears they are about as good as any other type II. I still like my BASF true chromes, but they are getting very expensive.
As I mentioned, the SA tape was very consistent from ~1983 onwards to the bitter end. I have a cross section of all variants (I think) and there was almost no tweaking of bias and level from tape to tape. Scary really.
I thought CD-ing were SA off cuts but I guess it could be double coated SA-X stock. I think the bias points were similar but the SA-X could take more level than SA if I recall…
I haven’t messed with tape for a couple years now so my mammary may not be so good.
I thought CD-ing were SA off cuts but I guess it could be double coated SA-X stock. I think the bias points were similar but the SA-X could take more level than SA if I recall…
I haven’t messed with tape for a couple years now so my mammary may not be so good.
I ended up purchasing a DBX Model 224 Type II Tape Noise Reduction System off of eBay for $50.
Supposedly tested and works well. I figured even if it needs to be recapped in the near future, there’s an electronics repair place by me that can probably handle this. Sounds like the guy bought it new and is the original owner.
I liked the built in DBX on the Teac Z6000 before I sold it, and by all accounts this is a lot better. Can’t wait to try it.
Supposedly tested and works well. I figured even if it needs to be recapped in the near future, there’s an electronics repair place by me that can probably handle this. Sounds like the guy bought it new and is the original owner.
I liked the built in DBX on the Teac Z6000 before I sold it, and by all accounts this is a lot better. Can’t wait to try it.
How many of you here inspect your tapes before using them for the first time and what's included in your inspection regimen?
I mean really inspect them, for mould or spores or shedding or any form of degradation.
The reason I ask is that some forms of degradation can be easily missed. e.g. I bought a bunch of my favourite NOS '89 era Sony MetalES tapes from a seller who was local to me. Fortunately, I was able to go and inspect and collect them. After a cursory visual inspection they appeared to be immaculate and everything seemed ok so I paid the seller, deal done.
It was only after I got home that I noticed the slightly musty smell and a wave of dread hit me.
'Shit, they're mouldy' I thought to myself as I ripped one open to inspect it 'properly'.
Sure enough, there were micro-spores all over the actual tape that I couldn't possibly have seen with the naked eye without unwrapping them. They were all in the same condition. It was heart-breaking.
The seller was ok fortunately and refunded me in full with an apology.
Using a magnifying glass and a strong light actually revealed some micro-spores also on the j-card, so that's become my de-facto inspection method these days, especially for tapes I'm using for the first time.
I have an LED louplamp on the workbench where my daily-driver decks live so it's easy enough to inspect each and every cassette before it gets used in any of them. I'm especially careful with the Dragon of course.
You can't be too cautious with any cassettes these days I suggest.
I mean really inspect them, for mould or spores or shedding or any form of degradation.
The reason I ask is that some forms of degradation can be easily missed. e.g. I bought a bunch of my favourite NOS '89 era Sony MetalES tapes from a seller who was local to me. Fortunately, I was able to go and inspect and collect them. After a cursory visual inspection they appeared to be immaculate and everything seemed ok so I paid the seller, deal done.
It was only after I got home that I noticed the slightly musty smell and a wave of dread hit me.
'Shit, they're mouldy' I thought to myself as I ripped one open to inspect it 'properly'.
Sure enough, there were micro-spores all over the actual tape that I couldn't possibly have seen with the naked eye without unwrapping them. They were all in the same condition. It was heart-breaking.
The seller was ok fortunately and refunded me in full with an apology.
Using a magnifying glass and a strong light actually revealed some micro-spores also on the j-card, so that's become my de-facto inspection method these days, especially for tapes I'm using for the first time.
I have an LED louplamp on the workbench where my daily-driver decks live so it's easy enough to inspect each and every cassette before it gets used in any of them. I'm especially careful with the Dragon of course.
You can't be too cautious with any cassettes these days I suggest.
All of my tapes are vintage, and I don’t really worry about that too much. I think the signs would be pretty obvious, and if I went by smell all of the J cards in these tapes have a smell to them just from being old. Kind of like vintage records and their jacket, which I think are more susceptible to mold and mildew.
This being said, I’m sure it’s quite normal to have a certain amount, but your tapes sound like they had an excessive amount of mold probably due to storage.
I’m sure it happens, but I’ve seen no indication of it in my tapes anyway.
This being said, I’m sure it’s quite normal to have a certain amount, but your tapes sound like they had an excessive amount of mold probably due to storage.
I’m sure it happens, but I’ve seen no indication of it in my tapes anyway.
Not always.
There's a world of difference between smelling old and dry and smelling old and mouldy.
It's really not acceptable to have any mould/mildew, otherwise they're totally useless/unuseable!
The amount of damage that will be effected to a tapedeck head & internals simply isn't worth the risk of using mouldy tapes to any degree.
There's a world of difference between smelling old and dry and smelling old and mouldy.
It's really not acceptable to have any mould/mildew, otherwise they're totally useless/unuseable!
The amount of damage that will be effected to a tapedeck head & internals simply isn't worth the risk of using mouldy tapes to any degree.
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I don't think it's an 'over-reaction' to simply exercise caution by deciding not to use mouldy tapes.
Maybe you have cheap decks that you don't value so much? Well go right ahead and contaminate those decks with mouldy-ass tapes....
I do think it's an over-reaction to claim that sound advice as being an over reaction.
Maybe you have cheap decks that you don't value so much? Well go right ahead and contaminate those decks with mouldy-ass tapes....
I do think it's an over-reaction to claim that sound advice as being an over reaction.
I don't think it's an 'over-reaction' to simply exercise caution by deciding not to use mouldy tapes.
Maybe you have cheap decks that you don't value so much? Well go right ahead and contaminate those decks with mouldy-ass tapes....
I do think it's an over-reaction to claim that sound advice as being an over reaction.
Maybe you have cheap decks that you don't value so much? Well go right ahead and contaminate those decks with mouldy-ass tapes....
I do think it's an over-reaction to claim that sound advice as being an over reaction.
What are you sniffing, actually? A crayon smell is typical for chrome. Maxell have not made a chrome tape since the 1972-1975 'CR' model. Since then, starting with UD-XLII, all were ferro-cobalt. As most other Japanese manufacturers did.
Barring extreme storage conditions ferro-cobalt in general ages rather well, although some heavily polished tapes (post-1986, generally) are prone to mechanical surface damage.
And what is this with 'hard biasing'? When deck and tape are healthy, and the tape lies within range from the deck's central biasing point, then it works, end of.
It has been conclusively proven in the past few years that chromium dioxide, as used in tapes, is chemically instable and decays with time, even when properly stored, resulting in signifantly aberrant recording parameters and performance: treble sensivity goes down, MOL goes down, distortion over the top 10dB range goes up, compression goes up.
HD8 is a metal-enriched ferro-cobalt. Just like the few others of this breed (TDK, That's) it is characterised by abnormally high sensitivity, high SOL, and high bias noise, pushing it far away from regular IEC type II behaviour.
Barring extreme storage conditions ferro-cobalt in general ages rather well, although some heavily polished tapes (post-1986, generally) are prone to mechanical surface damage.
And what is this with 'hard biasing'? When deck and tape are healthy, and the tape lies within range from the deck's central biasing point, then it works, end of.
It has been conclusively proven in the past few years that chromium dioxide, as used in tapes, is chemically instable and decays with time, even when properly stored, resulting in signifantly aberrant recording parameters and performance: treble sensivity goes down, MOL goes down, distortion over the top 10dB range goes up, compression goes up.
HD8 is a metal-enriched ferro-cobalt. Just like the few others of this breed (TDK, That's) it is characterised by abnormally high sensitivity, high SOL, and high bias noise, pushing it far away from regular IEC type II behaviour.