Sticky Tape Syndrome
Sticky Shed Syndrome – £10 per tape
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Sticky Tape Syndrome or ‘Sticky Shed Syndrome’ as it is known in the industry is a phenomenon that occurs in professional quality recording tape manufactured during the 1970′s & 80′s. Tapes manufactured after 1981 are not normally subject to this problem, but old stock can sometimes hide it’s original dating!
Audio recording tape is made of a polyester backing with a polyurethane binder on top which holds the oxides onto the tape. During the 70′s & 80′s a specific molecular weight was chosen for the binder that the engineers felt would yield the best product. However, after a few years a problem began to emerge. Tapes that had been archived in places that had any level of humidity showed a propensity to stick to the recording heads and tracks when played, distorting the sound by slowing the tape up – basically rendering them unplayable.
The good news is that there is a temporary solution to the problem which will allow us to transfer your tapes. Using our specially designed environmental chamber we can temporarily remove any moisture from the tapes in order to successfully transfer them. This is a totally non-destructive solution with no detrimental affect on the tape.
