Transfering from Reel To CD

[MattBAA]

I've just had the "pleasure" of transferring 30 year old reel tape to CD...what a pain. In fact, I invested $100 to repair my old AKAI just to get some of my old tapes done, and they still didn't come out great. The biggest problem I have found with old reels is that no matter what you do, they squeal. I cleaned the heads, capstans, and rollers, but nothing helps. It could also be the plastic tape holders themselves that warped, and the tape rubs against it.

What's the point? If anyone has any suggestions on how to get get a better transfer, short of the baking method, please pass it on. I have some great old stuff on reel that I would like to transfer. Thanks! Matt<P ID="signature">______________

Co/Moderator: New York,Miami,Airchecks,Classic Radio and Where Are They Now?</P>

 

[rwells2265]

> The biggest problem I
> have found with old reels is that no matter what you do,
> they squeal. I cleaned the heads, capstans, and rollers, but
> nothing helps. It could also be the plastic tape holders
> themselves that warped, and the tape rubs against it.

My understanding: the squealing is caused by the tape stock's lubrication going bad. One thing I found out is that squealing is very common in reels newer than the mid '70s. I was told that beginning in that time period, tapes moved from a whale oil based lubricant to a synthetic type. This seemed to gibe with a batch of reels I'd dubbed several years ago ... the late '60s to early '70s batch of reels (even the ones with heavy mildew!) played flawlessly and quietly. But the 1976-77 airchecks in the bunch squealed like Ned Beatty in "Deliverance." ;-)

I don't think I've ever had a reel older than ca. 1975 develop squealing, even brittle, poorly-stored tapes. But boy, the Ampex 406 tape stock from the '90s, phew that was a nightmare. Even in a good steady environment, those reels were damn near unplayable after as little as two years of storage.

I've never tried baking the tapes, as some have suggested. Otherwise, I know of no solution.

--Russell W.

 

[fybush]

> I've just had the "pleasure" of transferring 30 year old
> reel tape to CD...what a pain. In fact, I invested $100 to
> repair my old AKAI just to get some of my old tapes done,
> and they still didn't come out great. The biggest problem I
> have found with old reels is that no matter what you do,
> they squeal. I cleaned the heads, capstans, and rollers, but
> nothing helps. It could also be the plastic tape holders
> themselves that warped, and the tape rubs against it.
>
> What's the point? If anyone has any suggestions on how to
> get get a better transfer, short of the baking method,
> please pass it on. I have some great old stuff on reel that
> I would like to transfer. Thanks! Matt

Unfortunately, the baking method seems to be the one thing that works on tapes that have started to squeal. I can put you in touch with some folks who've done it and lived to tell the tale, if you're interested...<P ID="signature">______________
Tower Site Calendar 2006 ON SALE! - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html#calendar>www.fybush.com</a></P>

 

[pwayne1]

I tried something that's fairly easy to do, with limited success. I wrapped the tape
guides on my Teac tape deck with teflon plumbers tape and then cleaned the tape heads. I was able to play the tape for a while until the squeal started over again.
I cleaned the heads again and repeated the process for another 5 minutes or so.
The audio was fed into a digital audio editor and pieced together.

Good luck.

Phil Wayne