Magnetic tape deterioration?
 

Having just listened to a CD that was remastered 37 years after the
original recording
and which sounded quite good, I wondered how tape ages. Does it deteriorate?
If so, is it just a loss of HF which can be compensated for?
How about print-through, flaking etc?

AFAIK the multi-track masters were used so I guess that individual
instruments
were tweaked and remixed to taste.

And a quote from someone who knows:
Atomhenge label manager Mark Powell stated that "contrary to popular myth,
the master tapes of this classic album were never lost. They remained in the
United Artists vaults. The Atomhenge reissue will be the first ever CD
edition
to be taken from the original first generation master tapes. All previous
editions have been taken from vinyl transfers or inferior copy master
tapes."

--
Eiron.

Magnetic tape deterioration?
 

In article , Eiron
wrote:
Having just listened to a CD that was remastered 37 years after the
original recording and which sounded quite good,

Some sound pretty good after about 50 years! I've recently been listening
to new 24/96k transfers of the Britten War Requiem, Jimmy Smith's The Cat,
etc. Sound good to me.

I wondered how tape ages. Does it deteriorate? If so, is it just a loss
of HF which can be compensated for? How about print-through, flaking etc?

I suspect various mechanisms 'can' degrate magnetic analogue tape
recordings. So really a question of what happens in practice in a given
example.

The binder can cease holding the magnetic materal together and to the tape
backing. The magnetic 'grains' can have they magnetisation lost or altered.
The backing materal may also degrade.

Depends on the materials used, how the tape has been stored, played, etc.
Heat, cold, damp, dry, external H fields, rubbing against heads, etc, being
banged about. All might have an effect if severe enough.

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

Magnetic tape deterioration?
 

On Sun, 03 Nov 2013 16:57:52 +0000, Eiron
wrote:

Having just listened to a CD that was remastered 37 years after the
original recording
and which sounded quite good, I wondered how tape ages. Does it deteriorate?
If so, is it just a loss of HF which can be compensated for?
How about print-through, flaking etc?

AFAIK the multi-track masters were used so I guess that individual
instruments
were tweaked and remixed to taste.

And a quote from someone who knows:
Atomhenge label manager Mark Powell stated that "contrary to popular myth,
the master tapes of this classic album were never lost. They remained in the
United Artists vaults. The Atomhenge reissue will be the first ever CD
edition
to be taken from the original first generation master tapes. All previous
editions have been taken from vinyl transfers or inferior copy master
tapes."

37 years? I'm guessing your ears have deteriorated as fast as the
tape. Seriously though, slow speed tape deteriorates at a staggering
rate. I could hear the start of it on cassette a day after recording.
The peaks and troughs of the magnetic domains are so close that they
start wiping each other. High speed tape spaces them much further
apart, and they hold up much better. Tape only knows about wavelength,
not frequency.

Another aspect of tape aging is noise increase. Digital de-noising is
probably and important aspect of re-mastering. Done on individual
tracks before a remix, it doesn't sound at all bad.

DSP can also tackle print-through. It is systematic and predictable

So yes, in general I'm not surprised that a re-master can sound pretty
good.

d

Magnetic tape deterioration?
 

Atomhenge label manager Mark Powell stated that "contrary to popular
myth, the master tapes of this classic album were never lost. They
remained in the United Artists vaults. The Atomhenge reissue will be
the first ever CD edition


The remastered Hawkwind 5 Album set?

:)

Magnetic tape deterioration?
 

In article ,
Eiron wrote:
Having just listened to a CD that was remastered 37 years after the
original recording and which sounded quite good, I wondered how tape
ages. Does it deteriorate? If so, is it just a loss of HF which can be
compensated for? How about print-through, flaking etc?


Depends on lots of things. The make of the tape and how it was stored. I
have some dating from the '60s that still sound not bad at all.
The worst that can happen is the oxide separating from the backing.

--
*A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Magnetic tape deterioration?
 

"Eiron"

Having just listened to a CD that was remastered 37 years after the
original recording and which sounded quite good, I wondered how
tape ages. Does it deteriorate?
If so, is it just a loss of HF which can be compensated for?
How about print-through, flaking etc?

AFAIK the multi-track masters were used so I guess that individual
instruments were tweaked and remixed to taste.

** You bet they were and plenty more done as well.


And a quote from someone who knows:

Atomhenge label manager Mark Powell stated that "contrary to popular
myth,
the master tapes of this classic album were never lost. They remained in
the
United Artists vaults. The Atomhenge reissue will be the first ever CD
edition to be taken from the original first generation master tapes. All
previous editions have been taken from vinyl transfers or inferior copy
master tapes."

** Unusual to hear someone from the record industry admitting to that. CDs
made from old analogue sources rarely say on them exactly what that source
was and I have not seen any that say it was from a vinyl pressing.

The myth that CDs are inferior to vinyl largely arose when classic pop music
albums were released on CD. People justifiably expected the CD version to
sound better than the LP they owned and then found, a few pops and crackles
aside, that it regularly did not.

The reason was simply that the CDs had been dubbed from copy master tapes
that were generations later than the one used to make the particular LP
and/or the master tapes had deteriorated badly as they were not kept in cold
storage.


..... Phil

Magnetic tape deterioration?
 

On 03/11/2013 17:47, TonyL wrote:
Atomhenge label manager Mark Powell stated that "contrary to popular
myth, the master tapes of this classic album were never lost. They
remained in the United Artists vaults. The Atomhenge reissue will be
the first ever CD edition


The remastered Hawkwind 5 Album set?

Nearly. I said it was an album, not five.
Nothing special, just Warrior On The Edge Of Time.
I presume there was some legal dispute between Brock and Turner over
copyright
which meant that the only CDs available previously were bootlegs.

--
Eiron.

Magnetic tape deterioration?
 

Eiron wrote:
Nothing special, just Warrior On The Edge Of Time.


I think it is special although Mike Moorcocks contribution isn't to my
taste. 5.1 mix?

I presume there was some legal dispute between Brock and Turner over
copyright


Nothing new there.

Saw them live about a year ago....they sounded sort of tired. Or perhaps it
was my old ears...