Baking Tapes (like that PXR5 "office copy")

[Doug Pearson]

On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 02:58:35 -0500, Eric Siegerman <erics at TELEPRES.COM>
wrote:
>On Fri, Mar 28, 2003 at 08:40:51PM -0000, Captain Bl at ck wrote:
>> Unfortunately the tape needs to be treated before it can be played
>> properly; it leaves a waxy deposit on the heads.

... and on the capstan, and on the guide arms, and on all the other metal
parts of the transport.  Black gummy stuff.  Yuck!

>> Fahrenheit 110 for 4 hours, apparently. Anybody got an incubator?
>
>And then transfer it!  Wendy Carlos writes, "you can supposedly
>do the bake trick again, but after 2-3 times, all bets are off!"

This shouldn't be *too* much of a problem, since baking a tape will make it
good again for several years.  And if you store it properly with a
dessicant (sp?), such as those little bags of silica, in a cool, dark, dry
place, it won't absorb the moisture that causes the shedding which requires
the baking.

>    http://www.interlog.com/~erics/baking1.html
>        An article describing the process in detail.  (This is
>        the "If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a tape!"
>        article referenced by the preceding page.)

This is a good one, since it mentions other important tape storage issues,
such as getting an even pack on the reel and storing tails-out.

>    http://www.josephson.com/bake_tape.html
>        Another detailed article

It's notable that this one contains a recommendation from George Horn of
Fantasy Studios; while I don't have much personal experience with baking
reels, a friend of mine runs a label (Anopheles) that reissues obscure
mid/late-70s recordings, so he regularly brings reels TO Fantasy in
Berkeley to get them baked.  I'm sure that many UK studios (Rockfield, for
instance) would have similar capabilities.

>Caveat: I have no experience with any of this; *everything* I
>know about it comes from the pages mentioned above.

    -Doug (Teac 80-8 1/2" 8-track owner/user)
     jasret at mindspring.com

P.S. Yes, the 'PXR5' CD version of "High Rise" is the one with the
alternate, very differently phrased, lead vocal.  Interestingly, that's the
version that Tommy Grenas sings on Nik's 'Past Or Future' live album from
1995.