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In Reply to: RE: Can a spliced cassette tape ruin a deck? posted by vinyltapecd on June 23, 2009 at 14:09:37
Gently, pull the tape from the cassette shell at the area of the splice. Inspect the spliced area carefully to check for any "oozing" adhesive. The BEST method is to clean your fingertips with alcohol to remove any oils, then gently "feel" the spliced area. You will know if the Scotch Tape is "oozing" or "sticky." If everything "feels" ok, retract the tape back into the cassette shell and load it into your deck. Make SURE your sound recorder program is running on your computer. Play the tape in your cassette machine and record the result. You may only get one chance to make the copy of the material.
When you get to the area of the splice, observe how it goes through the tape path. The WORST thing that can often happen is that some residue will cause the tape to "stick" to the capstan or pinch roller. If this happens, the tape will quickly begin spooling onto the capstan or pinch roller until the diameter increases to the point where tape travel stops and your source tape is mangled beyond salvation. If you see ANY signs that this is happening, stop the transport IMMEDIATELY and kill the Power to stop the motors from turning.
I have never had much success using any sort of "solvent" to remove sticky residue without causing damage to the oxide layer itself. If you are EXTREMELY careful, you can use a Q-tip *slightly* dampened with iso-propyl alcohol to *try* to clean the non-oxide side of the tape, but this is not a foolproof (or even a desirable) idea. Instead of solving a problem, you can actually make the problem MUCH worse because the iso-propyl can cause the adhesive to "bleed" further at the edges of the tape.
In the past, I have had to deal with open-reel tapes that are more than 40 years old. Even properly made splices often fail when these old tapes are played. The key to success with your transfer is to observe (CAREFULLY) what happens when the splice passes through the tape path and be prepared to stop the transfer and kill the power INSTANTLY if a problem develops.
Of course, if you DO feel a sticky mess at the area of the splice, don't attempt to play the tape in your deck since it will almost CERTAINLY wrap around either the capstan or the pinch roller.
I would (generally) attempt to play the tape in its current condition, rather than try to "remake the splice" using proper splicing tape.
Hope this helps.
Bill
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