It's the reel thing!

May 20, 2008 8:21 PM

Coming home with my reel-to-reel.

(Forgive some of the neccessary vagueness in the following question). I work in a used bookstore assisting the buyers. Along with dealing with people walking in off the street, we also get larger loads from estates of business/institutions selling off their libraries. Sometimes, non-book stuff like magazines, records (and in one notable case a crack pipe) find their way in to the boxes. Today in the process of sorting one such load, I found several boxes containing some old reel-to-reel tapes. One of them bore the name of a somewhat famous cult rock band from the 1960's. My bosses said I was free to take them as long as I made him a copy if it turned out to be anything worthwhile. I think there's a fair chance that these tapes may contain bootleg live recordings of the band in question. I don't want to make any kind of profit off these. I just want to 1)find someone with a reel to reel player to hear them and research the provenance of the recordings and 2) make a CD copy for myself. Also, one of my bosses is a casual friend of a member of the band in question and says that the guy is actually fairly ill and may not be long for this world. If they did turn out to be valuable, maybe I can auction it off and give him the money for medical expenses or something. I'm wondering what the best way to go about the 1) and 2) mentioned above and where to go from there. Any help is appreciated.

posted by jonmc to media & arts (14 comments total)

I will not say the name of the band, but they are about as famous as the MC5 or Spirit, but they are emphatically not them.
posted by jonmc at 8:45 PM on May 20, 2008

Damn, I wish I was in NYC. I'd do it for you tomorrow.

Were I you, I'd call WYNC, and ask for the engineering department. They'll either be able to do it for you (at a fairly reasonable price), or possibly, one of their engineers will be interested in doing it on the side.

One thing to watch out for - make sure the tape isn't separating. It's possible that the emulsion is separating from the backing. If this is the case, you're going to have to dig for someone better to deal with the tapes, like a high-quality analog studio. There's got to be at least one of them left in NYC, right? If the tape is falling apart, you basically bake it until it sticks, and you get one pass in the tape machine before the tape is trash.

(and seriously, if you can't find anyone to do it for you, I'd do it for free. Send 'em my way - I've got access to good, well-calibrated tape machines.)
posted by god hates math at 9:31 PM on May 20, 2008

If the recording is from the 1960s - I would seriously advise getting a professional to do the transfer, since "sticky shed syndrome" can hit magnetic tapes in as little as ten years, sometimes less under sub-optimal storage conditions. This causes the magnetic particles of the tape to gunk up in the machine - rendering the tape (and sometimes machine) totally useless.

There are plenty of places in NYC for this - check out Standby. And if they can't do it, I'm sure they would have suggestions about where to go. And you would definitely need to get permission from the rights-holder before doing any copying - good thing you've got a connection to the band. Good luck!
posted by ethel at 9:40 PM on May 20, 2008

It's gotta be the 13th Floor Elevators or Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Anyway, you don't mention whether it's 1/4" or 1/2" or 1" or 2" reel to reel and the answer is kind of important. Then there's the format -- 1/4" could be stereo or 4-track. 1/2" could be 8 or (I think) 16 track and so on. The only really hard bit is tracking down someone who has the appropriate machine -- most likely they'll be happy to help. What you're looking for is an analog studio who still use tape machines, of which there are many, often run by nice amateurs. I'd suggest posting in Craigslist.

And dittoing making sure you record whatever you get on the first pass, even if you have to go back to adjust the tracking etc. The tape may not be worth a damn second time round.
posted by unSane at 9:45 PM on May 20, 2008

It's neither of them, UnSane. Wrong part of the country. And according to the box it's 1/4".
posted by jonmc at 9:49 PM on May 20, 2008

Talk to to Tim or Bob at at Sundazed Records in Coxsackie, NY. They're the premiere label for 60's re-releases, and they specialize in rescuing ancient tapes.

Both are super nice guys and I'm sure they'd have some good advice for you.

http://www.sundazed.com/contact.htm
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup at 4:47 AM on May 21, 2008

If your boss is a casual friend of said musician, would having your boss ask the musician what his wishes are for the tape of his music clash with your designs?
posted by not_on_display at 4:52 AM on May 21, 2008

(Sorry; that wasn't an answer and seemed preachy; but I was thinking the band members or management--if there is still management of the band--may have music industry connections that would be able to transfer and archive the tape contents safely and professionally. Maybe you'd still get a copy of the contents. Also, if I were the musician, I'd probably love it if some knowledgeable musichead such as yourself came up to me and said, "Hey, checkitout, I found this tape of you at Joe's Fart Salon on April 31 196F! What do you want me to do with it? You gonna eat that jello?" etc. Good luck whatever you do with the tapes.)
posted by not_on_display at 5:17 AM on May 21, 2008

1/4" is good news. There are lots of those machines around. I'd still have mine if I hadn't had to move country. The recording could be stereo or 4-track. I don't know if this is universally true but the stereo machines I used actually recorded 4 tracks, like on cassette, two on one half of the tape running one way, and two on the other half running the other way. The 4-tracks just recorded all 4 tracks in the same direction.
posted by unSane at 5:19 AM on May 21, 2008

Also, I'm gonna say hold off on telling the band about this stuff until you know what's there. The last thing you need to do is provoke a bandfight, which is what it will most assuredly do.
posted by unSane at 5:20 AM on May 21, 2008

[A couple "I bet it's this band!" comments nixed. The question is about the tapes, not the band, and jonmc's made it clear he's not naming them.]
posted by cortex at 8:25 AM on May 21, 2008

jon, I can hook you up with someone in NYC who can almost definitely help you. I've sent you MeFiMail about it.
posted by dersins at 9:45 AM on May 21, 2008

Also, if I were the musician, I'd probably love it if some knowledgeable musichead such as yourself came up to me and said, "Hey, checkitout, I found this tape of you at Joe's Fart Salon on April 31 196F! What do you want me to do with it? You gonna eat that jello?" etc. Good luck whatever you do with the tapes.)

That would be about the size of it, not_on_display (except of course, I'd say 'can I have a copy of my own?'). dersins, I'll be making inquiries about that soon, after I resolve a personal situation (long story). be waiting and thanks.
posted by jonmc at 6:16 PM on May 21, 2008

So, what's the story? We're on the edges of our seats over here!
posted by exogenous at 7:20 PM on December 11, 2008