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Re: [ARSCLIST] Old reel to reel 'echo' problem



Meliodie,

Print through is very common and I have a lot of experience with it. It is caused when the magnetized part magnetizes the next layer of tape when wrapped around in contact with it. This is the reason studio and professional tapes were left tails out - tails out puts the print through AFTER the sound, while heads out (consumer tapes) put the echo before the sound... called pre-echo. If you listen carefully you may hear the echo several times, diminishing each time.

It happens most when the tape is freshly recorded, and does get stronger with long term or poorly climate controlled environments.

Unfortunately there is nothing you can tdo about it on playback, except perhaps to process the sound with noise reduction - if it is voice and the echo comes in the slience between words, a gate or expander can help, but it can also make it hard to listen to if over- used.

Different formulations of tape have more or less a problem with printthrough, and there were specific formulations (such as 3M 208 instead of 206) that were specifically low-print tapes. And, it affects thinner tapes more than thicker tapes.

Hope this helps a little!
<L>
Lou Judson • Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689


On Mar 31, 2009, at 12:39 PM, Steven Smolian wrote:


It's call print-through. If it's not covered suffciently on the internet, email me again.

Steve Smolian


----- Original Message ----- From: "Frances, Melodie" <mfrances@xxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 3:25 PM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Old reel to reel 'echo' problem



All,


I am not even sure 'echo' is the correct term, but with our old reel to
reel tapes (and I have had this experience with personal cassettes),
there is this thing I am calling echo - where what the person says is
repeated at a fairly low level - you can usually only really hear it
when there is silence - and it is basically a repeat of what had just
been said - so not really a echo but more like a delayed repetition. Is
this a head cleaning problem? Or a problem that can be fixed? Does
anyone even know what I'm talking about, and if so, what is it called?


Thanks


Melodie Morgan Frances


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