Squeaky tapes - miracle cure?

Subject: RE: Squeaky tapes - miracle cure?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Jun 09 - 12:32 PM

Thanks a million both of you.
I discovered this morning that if the squeak isn't too bad on the recording, its effects can be removed with the 'dark and dull' facility on the graphic equaliser of Adobe Audition, but I haven't checked if this alters the rest of the sound.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Squeaky tapes - miracle cure?
From: bankley
Date: 29 Jun 09 - 08:09 AM

Baking temporarily restores the glue that holds the oxide to the plastic on the tape... when the old oxide comes off on the recorder heads it gums things up and produces sounds that aren't supposed to be there... 130 F for a few hours in a dry heat... a food dehydrator works well.... good luck...

Subject: RE: Squeaky tapes - miracle cure?
From: Deckman
Date: 29 Jun 09 - 07:45 AM

Jim ... I also have run into this. So far the squeeking has NOT been bad enough to require more work. There is a process referred to as "baking" that can repair this. Check it out with most any tape archiving website. I don't have one at my fingertips for you. CHEERS, Bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: Squeaky tapes - miracle cure?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Jun 09 - 03:58 AM

I am in he process of digitising a few thousand reel-to-reel tapes, some of them 40 years old.
So far (early days yet) I have had no great problems, but occasionally I have encountered the awkward one which squeaks when played, which shows up on the recordings as 'shiny reproduction'.
I have managed to cure most of these (usually by stopping the recorder and cleaning the heads), but there are a few that won't play, usually the 'bargain' tapes.
Does anybody know of a 'miracle cure'?
Thanks in anticipation.
Jim Carroll