Posted by Mike Rivers on 04/21/06 17:28

Chel van Gennip wrote:

> 4) (pre)echo's

OK, fair enough, but that starts from the very first time you record on
tape and doesn't change very much with age if the tape is properly
wound and stored.

> 5) increased hiss

I think I covered this - It doesn't happen naturally, but exposure to
magnetic fields can partially erase the tape, causing a lower output
which, once you correct it, lowers the signal-to-noise ratio, hence the
apparent increas in hiss.

> 6) tape deformation, resulting in very variable high frequency response
> 7) total loss because of physical damage e.g. fluids
> 8) total loss because of magnetic fields during transport

Hey, you can break a CD in half, too. At some point you have to look at
the things you can deal with. Probably the greatest problem with the
kind of analog tapes that people like to raise these arguments about
are just plain poorly recorded to begin with - improperly biased,
improperly aligned, sloppy tension and guiding. Garbage in, garbage
out. Digital tape and video tape, because only the recording medium is
analog, tend to be less prone to those problems, which is probably a
good thing.





>
> etc.
>
> --
> Chel van Gennip
> Visit Serg van Gennip's site http://www.serg.vangennip.com

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