Just to complicate matters, assuming the tapes are 1/4 inch wide domestic: 1) are they 2 track or 4 track recordings? 2 track recordings will play back on a 4 track player but a 2 track player will play track 1 forward and track 2 backwards simultaneously on a 2 track player. There are additional hassles with stereo as opposed to mono recordings. It's just possible to see whether they are 2 or 4 by looking at the recorded side, inside of the spooled tape, and seeing if there are 2 stripes or 4. 2) what diameter are the tape spools - 3", 4", 5", 5.75", 7", 8.25", or 10.5" ? A tape recorder which can take say a 7" spool will also take smaller spools. A ruler or tape measure will give an accurate result. 3) what tape speed were the recordings made at 1.875", 3.75", 7.5" or 15" per second? A 7.5" recorded tape will replay at half speed on a 3.75 only machine. Short of actually playing the tapes there is no easy way to find this out unless the recordist labelled the tape with the speed. Microscopic examination of the tape is a possibility. Although if one can find out the tape recorder model used... 4) The tape thickness (yes, there is standard, long play, and double play, SP, LP, DP) is irrelevant unless the tape has gone brittle and so might snap. 5) There are added problems: if the tapes have not been played for 50 years, quite possible, (that's only 1959!), then the tape may well stick to the next piece of tape adjacent. This means carefully re-spooling the tape to avoid mechanical damage. Another problem is "print-through" where the tape recording is transferred from one winding to the next so one gets a faint 1-2 second echo. Both problems are more likely with LP and DP tape.

Entire Thread

Topic	Date Posted	Posted By
Reel to reel tape players	03/06/09 16:36:00	Anne Rowe
Re:Reel to reel tape players	03/06/09 23:28:00	Keith Welham
Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	04/06/09 00:41:00	David Archer
Re:Reel to reel tape players	04/06/09 00:43:00	David Archer
Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	04/06/09 02:16:00	Alan Brainsby
Re:Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	04/06/09 18:27:00	Tony Wood
Re:Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	05/06/09 11:41:00	Anne Rowe
Re:Reel to reel tape players	04/06/09 20:53:00	David Archer
Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	05/06/09 19:46:00	Piero Vitelli
Re:Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	06/06/09 00:18:00	Anne Rowe
Re:Re:Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	06/06/09 09:23:00	Piero Vitelli
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	06/06/09 13:58:00	Tony Wood
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reel to reel tape players	07/06/09 14:53:00	Anne Rowe

Forum Home