Reel-to-reel tapes

Oct 5 05:06 UTC 2003

I have belatedly inherited a large quantity of reel-to-reel audio tapes
that belonged to my father.  Most of them were probably recorded in the
1960s and 1970s.  They presumably include a wide range of material of
interest to my father, including music, commentary, radio shows he
participated in, lectures, soundtracks of slide shows he made for his
courses, etc., etc.

These are the larger style tape reels about, oh, I'd say about eight
inches in diameter.  I don't have any equipment to play them, let alone
any way to transfer them to a more accessible medium.

Even with the right equipment, would a tape made forty years ago still be
playable today?  Presumably magnetic media degrades over time.

Any ideas or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

response 2 of 15:

Oct 5 06:22 UTC 2003

If the tape is mylar, it's probably in fine shape, in which case you
shouldn't have any problems (in theory).  If it's cellulose acetate, it
has very likely gotten brittle, and it might be more difficult to
recover the audio.  Given sufficient patience, it may still be possible.
You might end up cutting and splicing the physical tape, copying it to
digital form, then using software to remove the splices.

response 4 of 15:

Oct 5 13:47 UTC 2003

Send mail to goose (here on GRex) too.  He'san audio guy with a taste for old
tape equipment.

response 6 of 15:

Oct 5 21:21 UTC 2003

Having experimented some with older videotape, my advice is to be
prepared to record the oldest tapes on their first playing.  The binding
agents that hold the iron oxide to the tape base can degrade with time
and cause the oxide to shed off when the tape is played, degrading it
quickly.  This makes heads dirty, too.  This would be less of a problem
with audiotape, of course, since it isn't helically scanned.

response 8 of 15:

Oct 6 02:11 UTC 2003

Larry, I would love to talk to you about this project.  I suggest that you
do not attempt at playing any of these tapes until you have them examined by
a professional.  You certainly can destroy the information on these tapes if
they are not handled properly.  Until they can be examined keep them in a
moderate temperature, low humidity storage container. (those styrofoam coolers
with a few packets of dessicant then tapes shut are a good cheap method)

I would gladly volunteer my professional services, as I have a special
interest in analogue media as well as preservation and restoration.  

Scott, I had heard the sperm whale oil tale for several years, and believed
it too.  The tale is that starting in the early 70's the killing of sperm
whales was outlawed by international treaty, and sperm whale oil was an
integral part of the binder used by all the major tape mfgrs.  The various
mfgrs then each formulated their own replacement to varying success.  Some
30 years later the binders began breaking down (water was being absorbed by
the glue actually) resulting in "sticky shed syndrome"...anyway, I've spoken
to several friends who worked for a couple of the big tape mfgrs and they have
comepletely debunked the sperm whale oil story.  There were certainly problems
with the binders, and they are somewhat correctable if dealt with properly,
but it had nothing to do with whales.

response 10 of 15:

Oct 7 07:04 UTC 2003

.... lots of hours .. <heh-heh>

response 12 of 15:

Oct 9 07:49 UTC 2003

i'm not getting paid - labouor of love adn respect. goose gets paid,
usually, he's deeeeep int the business.

response 14 of 15:

Oct 11 04:29 UTC 2003

yo wil be rewarded ...
,
po