Re: [ARSCLIST] Do these tapes need to be baked or not?

[Rod Stephens <savecal@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Rob,

Here's some information on to bake or not to bake!

http://www.josephson.com/bake_tape.html

This link gives some excellent info on the problem, but you won't know
until you try playing the tapes themselves.  The web site advises that
if you start getting

> squealing, jerking, and, in extreme cases, slowing down or stopping
> the tape transport
you should stop and apply the techniques of baking described.

Rod Stephens
Family Theater Productions

Rob Sevier wrote:

> Esteemed Archivists,
> I have ten or so AMPEX DBX 406 tapes, the latest of which was recorded on in
> mid-1975. I've gotten several different reports as to whether or not these
> tapes need to be baked before playing them back. Is there a reliable
> resource that can tell me whether or not this specific model has problems?
> Does anyone on the list have an answer based on experience? I've played
> phone tag with someone over at QUantegy (who I understand bought AMPEX.)
>
> One possibility, if there is any doubt, is that I have one or two tapes that
> contain no music that I need at all (everything is contained on a quarter
> inch mix.) These unnecessary tapes were stored under identical circumstances
> as the tapes that I need to dump down. Would it make sense to experiment
> first with the unnecessary tapes? How would I know if the process is
> failing?
>
> Thanks in advance for the advice.
> Rob Sevier