It is 30c in the UK at the moment. I was sitting outside listening to one of my favourite pre recorded cassettes (various artists The Perfect Beat Compilation). Halfway through the first Afrika Bambata track the sound went muffled. A quick look at the head revealed a white oxide. One quick clean and the sound was back to normal. Less than 1 minute later the same problem. Is this the heat? Is this old age and tape deterioration? Or is this a combination of heat and age? I am pretty bummed as this tape is rare. I don't want to track down another if it is age as it will have the same problem. Unfortunately there is no other source for some of the music on it as the tape has an exclusive mix? What is the forums view on the white oxide?
When did you last play the tape ? In storage hot weather shouldn't affect the tape itself. In fact a standard technique when restoring master tapes etc is to bake them. http://audio-restoration.com/baking.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticky-shed_syndrome Of course they aren't playing them hot though Edit. I just read the first article and spotted "Lubricant breakdown, which is fairly rare, leaves a white residue when the tape is run over the heads. Fixing lubricant breakdown requires careful cleaning of the tape and possibly applying fresh lubricant. Baking will not solve the lubricant breakdown problem and may make it worse." So maybe it is the hot weather.
Thanks Longman for finding that. The article you posted led me to a google search and a similar issue on tapeheads.com. I am going to have a go at cleaning it. It seems to indicate age rather than weather.
IMG_1125 by David O posted Jul 8, 2018 at 6:12 PM Where the residue is coming off you can see that the tape appears to scarred.
Extreme hot and cold are bad environments for tapes, in the old days there were common rules to never play a good tape immediately when it was a snow day or after leaving the beach. Tapes would stretch, scratch, or wrap around the decks rollers, I've never seen the lubricants liquefy but I'll have to look for it now.
It has cooled down now but it is still depositing white oxide. I am going to have to stop playing it. Even though it was warm both the tape and the player were not in the sun. I am going to put it down to age deterioration.
I've had this happen on a few tapes and I think it is due to age rather than weather. If this tape is precious to you I would suggest that you digitise it sooner rather than later.
I have managed to source one that is made in Germany so I am hoping that the tape formula will be different and therefore it will not breakdown.
This topic is of such irony... Back in the midst of CD/cassette days, there was a manufacturer that offered a formulation that could withstand use & storage in extreme temperatures. Sadly, I can't recall the the manufacturer, or the formulation name, but the magazine ad is fairly memorable: A young-turk w/short hair sitting at the front corner of a car, holding the product forward--towards the camera--with one hand, while his other hand rests on his knee.
Transferred and recorded to a TDK SA to act as a donor. Transfered over to the original cassette. Fresh as new.
I think thats the Fuji gt-1 (and gt-2) you talking about. Fuji also advertise this tape as being for car stereos because of heat resistance. Heres a link to a site with some pictures of the gt-1 (and gt-2) tape.
