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How to: Reel to Reel - Digital File

nitrous

nitrous

pfm Member
Hello Collective,

I wonder if you can help with this please?

A colleague in work has some old reel to reel tapes and wants to get the recordings into a form that can be played on a CD player. This is probably a one off, so purchasing equipment is out.

Can anyone suggest where/who to go to?

Or is there anyone out there who for small sum would like to do this for him?

Cheers:D
 
There's only one person I would trust with this kind of work:


Gene%2BHackman%2Bi%2BAvlytningen%2B(The%2BConversation)
 
How old are the tapes? If they’re vintage, then you’ll need to bake them first. With time is the glue that binds the ferric oxide onto the tape absorbs water. When it does this, the ferric oxide is no longer bound stably to the tape, and you get the ferric oxide shed over the tape heads and guides when you play it. Once I happens, your tape-recording is literally finished.

http://www.tangible-technology.com/tape/baking1.html

I baked some early 70s vintage tapes in my sister’s Gaggenau steam oven, which has precise temperature and humidity control. I would not use a conventional oven as the temperature control is not precise enough. I then transferred my grandfather’s old tapes using my Revox A77 and G36 onto my Mac Pro and cleaned up the signal using Audacity. Alternatively, one could transfer directly from Reel to Reel to CD using a CD recorder. If the recording needs cleaning up, you would still need to transfer the tracks onto a computer to clean it up.

Best wishes

Charlie
 
If you have the right R2R player and a computer this is easy - you can download any one of a number of apps and a cheap lead and record it.

The right R2R is the key. Most tapes are 1/4" but you'll need to know if 2 or 4 track and the speed it was recorded. Also handy to know if it uses IEC or NAB EQ - although I'd imagine that just play it back both ways and see which sounds better is probably all you can do.

I can do 1/4" 2 track and 3.75, 7.5 and 15 ips (inches per second) IEC or NAB. Or if you don't know what it is - bung me the tape(s) and I'll see if I can play it and record it if I can. Unless someone here with a better range of playback options (a 4 track machine as well) can help?

Jonathan

(I'm in East Yorks)
 
Hi folks, thanks for reply.

Jonathan, I'll get a bit more info re age and size of tapes and get back to you, thanks for offer.

@ sondek, do you have Gene's number please? ;)
 
nitrous said:
@ sondek, do you have Gene's number please? ;)
Click to expand...

Amateur. Gene's not on the phone for christsakes. I have a channel, but I can't let you use it I'm afraid. I'll let him know about your assignment. If you're lucky you might hear from him, but don't expect anything. And no police.
 
nitrous said:
Hi folks, thanks for reply.

Jonathan, I'll get a bit more info re age and size of tapes and get back to you, thanks for offer.

@ sondek, do you have Gene's number please? ;)
Click to expand...

nil problemo dude

I've never had to bake a tape before. So we might need some more guidance from Charlie if any of them are shedding.

(You don't want to end up owing Gene a favour)
 
I once bought a batch of NOS Ampex 10" tapes and they shed oxide and gunk all over the heads, so heed the warnings.

If by some remote chance the tapes don't work on Jonathan's machine I have a half track B77 here and will gladly help.

Jonathan Ribee said:
I've never had to bake a tape before. So we might need some more guidance from Charlie if any of them are shedding.
Click to expand...

Definitely. When I tried this once it got very messy and smelly!
 
If you read the article on the link, you can see that you have to bake for 2-3 hours at 130-140F (ie 55-60 C). That’s very low for a standard oven. I used a steam oven (with 0% humidity) as the temperature control is very precise. It worked a treat and I transferred some 40 year old tapes from the late 60s/early 70s; these were my late Grandfather’s audio diary tapes. I transferred them, so that my Grandmother (now sadly departed) could hear his voice again after all these years.

I had no tape shed on my Revoxes and the transfers went ok. I had one reel with some print through, but that happens after 40 years. I transferred via a small Spirit 4 channel mixing desk into an Edirol R-09. I dropped the WAV files into my Mac Pro and cleaned them up in Audacity, prior to burning to CD.

Good luck

Charlie
 
Charlie, your advice noted, and by the way I think this is a recording of possibly wedding speeches so could 30-40 years old.

I'll get the tapes and take it from there.

Thanks all for input.

Nitrous
 
Hi Folks, I have the tapes here now.

Appears to be EMI tape, 1/4 inch at a guess. 260m/850 feet spool.

Recorded in 1962, so this is 50 year old tape.

Jonathan, Are you still up to help? The tape owner is just waiting for PFM registration and then he may contact you if this ok with you?
 
Dear Brains Trust

- It is 3.75 inches per second (which I can do)
- It is not shedding iron oxide everywhere (hurrah)
- It is 4 track (which I can't do)

I can discern that it seem to have one "side" of pop music and one "side" of church type stuff - I can recognise abide with me even played backwards on one channel only.

Paul - I'll drop you and Rob (who kindly agreed to have a look if it were 4 track) PMs, emails etc and hopefully we'll move to stage 2. Or 4.

In the meantime, some pictures that sort show I did something, mostly to make me feel better about my failure and the lack of need to jack a shiny 2011 MacBook into 60s tech in the interests of audio forensics. (And it's also sort of kinky)

7955365086_265f5f18bc_n.jpg

7955362890_2c1f3f758b_n.jpg

7955367130_0fc957088c_n.jpg
 
Jonathan, thanks for help, and some good news anyway that the tape hasn't fallen apart! I'll alert Paul, as he is away from his computer at the moment, but through the wonders of modern technology may still be able to get in touch.

Cheers.
 
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