Scotch Recording Tape last forever..

[jleon92f]

Hi Tape fans,

I found some of my old tapes that I made back in the 1960's. So I dusted off the old Revox and played them. I was amazed that they still played and the sound stage quality was still there! The tape marked in crayon , "Long Jams" had some old "Poco" and "Cream" on it.

The tape was a 1200' type 111 Scotch Brand. Still plays after all these years!

Brought back some great memories...

Enjoy the Music..

John.:music:

[pioneervato]

I have played some cassettes, TDK, Maxell, that I recorded back during my college days. Mind you these tapes had made several moves and stored in my garage where it gets pretty damn hot during the summer. Pulled them out of storage and played a few and the sound quality is as good as it was when I recorded them. Of course my ears are probably not as good as they were but I was amazed that they still sounded very good.

John, we missed you at the Phx. gathering yesterday. It was a small turnout but it was fun. I ended up with a Teac A-4010 SL RTR that DR gave up as a door prize. Nobody else seemed too interested in it and so I brought it home. hehe. Hard to pass up "free".

[Andyman]

I generally shy away from the old reddish brown tapes, especially the Ampexs which are known shedders, and the Shamrocks, Concertapes, and the plethora of Scotch formulations as I'm concerned about them shedding and dirtying up my deck. I'm a bit more forgiving on the darker brown formulations and will jump in vintage Maxells and TDKs.

Don't get me started on cassettes either; I'm a sucker for $0.10 Maxell UD XL types at church and garage sales :yes: Good tapes that usually sound great and occasionally have some sweet music on them to boot!!

[jleon92f]

I have played some cassettes, TDK, Maxell, that I recorded back during my college days. Mind you these tapes had made several moves and stored in my garage where it gets pretty damn hot during the summer. Pulled them out of storage and played a few and the sound quality is as good as it was when I recorded them. Of course my ears are probably not as good as they were but I was amazed that they still sounded very good.

John, we missed you at the Phx. gathering yesterday. It was a small turnout but it was fun. I ended up with a Teac A-4010 SL RTR that DR gave up as a door prize. Nobody else seemed too interested in it and so I brought it home. hehe. Hard to pass up "free".

Hi,
Glad there was a good time had by all.

Time is short, enjoy what we have.

Later,
Breakfast smells good...

John.:music:

[KentTeffeteller]

The most trouble free tape through recorded history has been Scotch 111. 3M made it from 1949-1969. The standard tape for most recording studios and broadcasters all those years. Masters recorded on this tape usually transfer without issue after splices are redone. No squeal or sticky shed issues ever.

[Andyman]

The most trouble free tape through recorded history has been Scotch 111. 3M made it from 1949-1969. The standard tape for most recording studios and broadcasters all those years. Masters recorded on this tape usually transfer without issue after splices are redone. No squeal or sticky shed issues ever.

Thanks for the tip; that's good info to know!!

[jleon92f]

The most trouble free tape through recorded history has been Scotch 111. 3M made it from 1949-1969. The standard tape for most recording studios and broadcasters all those years. Masters recorded on this tape usually transfer without issue after splices are redone. No squeal or sticky shed issues ever.

Hi,

Thank you for the information on the Scotch 111 Tape. That is very interesting History.

That was the time span for a lot of my recordings, RTR and cassette.

Thanks,
John.:music:

[Garrard201]

I'm with Kent- never had a bad experience with Scotch 111.

Could it have been made after 1969? I ask because my Dad didn't start buying tape till 1973, and I doubt it would have been NOS since he probably bought it at Korvette's in Baltimore.

[no1maestro]

I think I still have a dozen or so 111s down in the studio somewhere. I'll have to find them. I have a lot of my college recordings on them and I have not had any problems except for the splices, as noted!!

[Mmike]

If you do get tapes that have breakdown you will have to have them Baked in a controlled oven for 8 hours for 1/4 tape for them to play without damage to the tape or your equipment. And the baking does not permanently fix them but rather allows you to make a copy of the master. Your fortunate not to have that dreaded backing that many tapes had during the mid 70's to mid 80's. It really was a shame that so many great recordings were made during this time that had the sticky backing issues.

_Mike

[Ozric]

I don't think you can bake Scotch 111, if I am not mistaken it's acetate, not polyester. I have some old stuff on 111 from the mid 60's, it still plays, but watch out, some tapes based on acetate get vey brittle and break.

[KentTeffeteller]

Scotch 111 is acetate backed, 1 1/5 mil thickness. It may have been made later than 1969 but the studios began using higher output tape like Scotch 203 more by then. (Scotch 206's predecessor). No trouble with 203 and 206 here with sticky-shed issues or reliability.

[sssmokin99]

Scotch 150 was the first tape I used on my purchased used Roberts 770X. This was in the mid 70's, I think. That tape is still just fine, and i have some more that is still in wrap and great condition. I Also have a stash of 206 and 207 that I use regularly and have never had any sticky shed issues with it. I purchased it from a man who sells used vinyl normally, but had some tape to sell one time. I think I picked up 15 reels or so of shrink wrapped 207! The smell brings back memories in and of itself!!

When we got a new A-2300S, I became a snob and started using Maxell :D

[Strawman]

How about the ones that are labeled "misc mix"? You never what what treasures you're going to find on those. :D
Or it might be more of a "What the hell was I thinking"?

[pioneernut]

All my vintage 60's Scotch Tapes have held up very good over the years. None of them shed. I've got 150, 111's, 217, 213, and 175's all but the 150 are nearly black tape. No issues with any of them, even rerecorded tapes sound good. Can't say the same for Ampex 341's from then. Most of those suck with drop outs and poor freq response.

[vincei]

I've been using a late 60's early 70's tape, that I think is scotch, it's black in color and works amazingly well. I've had it all these years and just now started to rerecord on it. No dropouts, noise, shed, nothing. Perfect tape. I wish I knew what model it is so I could buy more!