This article was first written in January 2015, with minor revisions in 2018. The revisions made in 2024 are highlighted, like this line. The deletions are struck through. There are many factors that affect the ability of people like us to digitize tapes for you, our clients. One of the most difficult issues to balance …
Last updated 2021-03-11 — expanded Sony PR-150 and Melody 169 comments, minor other edits. 2020-11-23 — additional comments Soft Binder Syndrome section, below This page supersedes the blog page for a listing of tapes that have degraded in some way or another. This page is a list of tapes that we will attempt to keep …
I spent days trying to get Shamrock 031 to play without much success. Since this is an Ampex factory budget brand (probably non-spec premium tape) I thought that it might be suffering from Sticky Shed Syndrome. I baked it for 12 hours and it still squealed. I then tried my usually successful cold playing technique …
For a current list of degrading analog tapes, click here. For several years, we have been discussing the differences between Sticky Shed Syndrome (SSS) and Loss of Lubricant (LoL). It appears from my latest research (presented at the 2006 Audio Engineering Society’s 121st Convention in San Francisco in October) that LoL does not really factor …
This post has been updated as: http://richardhess.com/notes/2007/03/21/soft-binder-syndrome-and-sticky-shed-syndrome/ For a current list of degrading analog tapes, click here. For several years, we have been discussing the differences between Sticky Shed Syndrome (SSS) and Loss of Lubricant (LoL). Recent work in which I’m participating seems to indicate that what we thought was happening in both instances may …
This is the first of many guest articles here. Thanks to Marie for agreeing to share her wonderful work in playing tapes that did not respond to baking. SSS=Sticky Shed Syndrome, LoL = Loss of Lubricant For a current list of degrading analog tapes, click here.–Richard There has been a lot of interest in this …
Remember, this transfer that you (or I) are about to undertake may be the last time (and hopefully the best time) that the original is transferred. Here are some suggestions:
This is a general article to provide some information on the subject. More should follow. For a current list of degrading analog tapes, click here. There are multiple modes of degradation and it depends on the type of tape. Acetate Tape Degrades through drying out (hydration has helped in some cases) Breakdown of the base …
UPDATE: March 2008…Cold playback (see this article) seems to work with the two tapes mentioned in this article, 3M 175 and Sony PR-150. We’ve had confirmation from several sources who have tried it. For a current list of degrading analog tapes, click here. Fellow restorer Doug Pomeroy sent me a photocopy of Herman Burstein’s “Tape …
For a current list of degrading analog tapes, click here. Teaching people how to identify tapes that are suffering from sticky shed syndrome is often difficult. I would like to propose that a careful inspection of how the tape comes off the pack may be a good way. Please provide comments as to how it’s …
We have just seen a modification on the Sticky Shed Syndrome (SSS) failure mode. This is a case where the back-coat of the tape is turning to powder. The oxide was brown but yet it left a black, non-sticky accumulation of powder on the reproduce head. This accumulation would drastically reduce the high frequency response …
Here’s some info that might be useful concerning which batches of Ampex 456 are good and which have sticky shed problems. I recently unearthed 26 brand new 10 1/2-inch reels of 456 from 8 different batches. I checked one reel from each batch by playing them back and forth at 15ips (I only played the …