From the ‘Yesterday’s Problems’ department: sonic ‘Print-Through’ on analog audiotape

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• Chris, this ad is 20-20 hindsight grand irony! Kodak made THE WORST magnetic tape, one of the few types GUARANTEED to become unplayable. The tape is acetate-backed and almost always gets vinegar syndrome, quickly shrinking and distorting so it no longer resembles properly packed and slit 1/4" magnetic tape.

  Adding to the irony, Kodak tape had some of the prettiest packaging of its era. And it was kewl that Kodak's name was embossed on the back (non-oxide) side of the tape. So, aside from the fact that Kodak tape is the ultimate self-destroying magnetic media, it was a neato product! ;)

  -- Tom Fine

• Hi tom. Which brands/formulations from that era are best?

  • Hi Chris:

    As far as using them to make new tape recordings today, none because they are ANCIENT. As far as those types where the original recordings have held up well over time, the old Scotch 111 and Audiotape acetate-based tapes hold up under proper storage but by this time many of them become very brittle and fragile and/or have curled edges.

    Getting to polyester-based tapes, which took hold in the late 50s and early 60s, I forgot which number Scotch was the first type (brown oxide/polyester back, maybe 121?) but it's held up OK. So has Audiotape from that era. Acetate-backed tape was used for duped-reel stock well into the 60s.

    Scotch 202 was the first black-colored oxide recording tape, I think. That seems to hold up OK. Ampex 632 and 642 types date from the 60s and were made up to the end of Quantegy. Aside from sometimes lousy slitting, these tape types hold up very well over time.

    Scotch 206 was the first back-coated tape type. I've never had any problems with 206 or 207, but there have been problems reported in other parts of the world. I think early Ampex 406/407 was OK and doesn't go sticky-shed, but I'm not sure what the earliest manufacture date for sticky-shed is, so I would say as a general rule to avoid 406/407. All Scotch 226/227 and 250 goes sticky, as does all Ampex 456/457.

    Quantegy-badged 406/407 and 456/457 was supposed to be fixed so it won't go sticky. I've heard reports of that not being true but so far all the Quantegy-badged backcoated tapes I have are holding up OK in a typical northeastern US interior environment.

    My favorite old-time (70s and 80s) tape is Maxell UD and UDXL reels. UD35-90 was one of the best 1-mil tape types ever made, in my opinion. Maxelll marketed to consumers in the US, but I think their tape could stand with pro-grade American tapes up to the last generation of American formulations (which of course all go sticky-shed except, allegedly, for late-era Quantegy-badged).

    Going back to the old tapes, you can tell if a brown-oxide tape is acetate-backed or polyester-backed by holding the reel up to the light. If you can see through the tape pack, ie it's translucent, then it's acetate (cellulose) backed. That backing can develop vinegar syndrome, and it's also susceptible to mold. It tends to dry out over time and then the edges curl. It shouldn't be stored super-dry and not at higher temperatures. Polyester tape seems to be more robust, so far.

    Time is showing that all magnetic tape deteriorates and becomes difficult to play eventually. The oldest American-made magnetic tapes date from about 1948.

    I should add, I think it's a fool's errand to mess with ancient consumer-grade tape machines, but if anyone had a lot of time for heartache, you probably can't use back-coated tape with that old belt-drive beast. If it's an old Ampex machine with felt pressure pads against the guides (to stabilize some of the ridiculously high wow and flutter), it can't deal with back-coating, it needs smoothness on the non-oxide side. But, like I said, working with any ancient belt-drive consumer deck is foolish because they are all old and worn out at this point. The late-era Japanese consumer decks like the Pioneer RT-707 or Technics 1500 are a different matter -- those are great decks and there are still many well-working machines out there.

    -- Tom Fine

    • Awesome info tom thanks! I think a lot of folks will find this helpful. C.

• With Ampex pro transports still going for reasonable sums why fool with consumer machines at all?

  The earlier ones were often dumpstered when people wanted the electronics for mic pre's. It's unfortunate that Ampex put even a rudimentary mic pre in these things, I think.

  The Ampex tube electronics weren't that super good nor were the solid state ones, better can be built today. It's within the scope of serious amateurs to do this.