This month a new out-of-state client was able to work out his schedule and came by to restore some old band archives. He had been in a rock band for a number of years and they had made various recordings – some of which had been transferred onto digital media and others were still just on reel-to-reel tapes. There’s always the mystery of what condition a reel has transitioned into as the years have passed. Interestingly, consumer grade tape generally survives the passing of time better than many pro-formulated spools. Over time it’s not uncommon for certain brands of studio quality magnetic tape to become sticky. This is caused when the glue which adheres the plastic backing to the oxide layer (which actually holds the audio information) leaches through the oxide. When it becomes bad enough the wraps of tape become “glued” to each other making it almost (or actually) impossible to play, and at a minimum the glue builds up on the tape path resulting in slow play or the tape just stopping.
After delving into the various flash drives of previously transferred material and identifying what he had/didn’t have it was determined 3 songs were missing. He had been informed they didn’t exist anymore, but “let’s try this reel and see what’s on there.” Fortunately, the client’s tape we loaded (yes, I still remember how to thread a tape machine) did not suffer from any of those symptoms. As my 40-year-old Otari reel machine spun the reels and the VU meters bounced to the music he was delighted to hear those songs. I asked him how long it had been since he heard them, to which he replied “40 years.” He was pretty ecstatic they were there and in good shape. So, having now copied the tunes over to computer I looked for software versions of processors that would have been popular in music production at the time. I found a couple (we both knew/and or used the hardware versions) and we put some polish on those old recordings and set up a master CD with the other songs from that original album.
It was a lot of fun actually. I had been forced to get my reel machine back into working order. Old lubricants used in the play mechanisms had dried out and needed to be cleaned and replaced with new. It had also been some time since I cleaned and demagnetized a tape path. I honestly don’t miss all the mechanical maintenance and electrical alignment/calibration of tape machines, but I also have to say I miss seeing spinning reels and active mechanical meters. Somehow, it just seems like you’re doing something more “tangible”. And in addition, I had a musician in the studio who was delighted to have an old project updated into a current usable form as we reminisced about old recording methods and tools. Somehow, it just felt real comfortable. Would I want to go back to the old recording methods? No, but there was a simplicity in that afternoon session and a warmth in the sounds and friendship that ensued.