Audio Cassette Tape Pressure Pad Deterioration

We are currently working with one of our NDA heritage archive clients on a large catalogue of audio cassettes.

This particular order has the unfortunate issue in that the pressure pad on most of the tapes has dropped or dislodged.

PRESSURE PAD DETERIORATION

On the cassette, just behind the tape at the point where it will touch the deck’s heads, there’s a small pressure pad that should keep the tape/head contact firm. Especially on old tapes, this pressure pad can “drop” – meaning the metal spring loses its push and the pad relaxes back a little.

The “drop” of the pad can also be uneven, so the contact is, say, still firm in the middle of the tape, but less so at the edge. This can cause all sorts of sonic problems, including muddiness. It’s sometimes possible to reassert the pad so its contact is once again strong , but normally our engineers will move the reels into a completely new casing when the pad drops.

CONSIDERING YOUR AUDIO ARCHIVES

It is important to consider your audio cassette tape storage archiving, ensuring the preservation of audio content. Magnetic tape such as cassette tapes, reel to reel tapes, 8-track reels and video tapes are prone to deterioration. It is becoming imperitive that audio magnetic tape should be digitised sooner rather than later to avoid the bindings deteriorating further.

MAGNETIC TAPE DETERIORATION

Magnetic tape is bound using a geletin like glue. This geletin holds two layers, the taping and the magnetic strip enabling the magnetic signals to be recorded. When the geletin binding coating starts to deteriorate, it starts to breakdown causing a 'sticky' like substance which can eventually glue the tape together. We would suggest baking to remove the moisture, but in some cases, deterioration has gone too far and extracting the audio is near impossible.

STORAGE OF ARCHIVES

Ideally, cassette tapes should last around 30 years if stored correctly, away from heat, humidity and UV rays. We would always suggest a temperature controlled room, rather than any fluctuating storage facilities. This will help preserve the content until you are able to have these converted.

If we can support you with your archival projects, please do contact cheryl@oxfordduplicationcentre.com or call 01865 457000.

Kind regards

Cheryl

www.oxfordduplicationcentre.com

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