EXTRA INFO (UPDATED!!): If you get the 3M lubricant get the 08877 WET version (not the dry version). Considering the fact that, reasonably, a lot of people have doubts about this process, here is some evidence in support of the existence of this issue, the fact that all tapes have lubricant, and of the possibility to use a re-lubricant process for magnetic tape (just remember to use a dry cotton swab to absorb the lubricant that may have not been absorbed after a while). Here you will find a selection of scientific papers explaining the issue and how it is a standard procedure to relube tape (even NASA does this!). I have underlined a few crucial passages in the papers: Heritage: www.dropbox.com/s/f8254yfeqrrw9vp/heritage-02-00097-v2.pdf?dl=0 Nasa: www.dropbox.com/s/xxdw1qh8mlbppdu/Nasa.pdf?dl=0 HESS: www.dropbox.com/s/ydrvxg6zipjkrvw/HESS_Tape_Degradation_ARSC_Journal_39-2.pdf?dl=0 Preservation Commission: www.dropbox.com/s/3s3ejmho2jexhgt/pub54.pdf?dl=0 - (here is the official article: www.dropbox.com/s/rtvqt1n537w9vpa/Bogart.pdf?dl=0) Kondo: www.dropbox.com/s/zi4vv42ggi9vh8u/tribochemistry-of-ionic-liquid-lubricant-on-magnetic-media.pdf?dl=0 Here is an article of a lab that is relubing its cassettes: tasso.cat/re-lubrication-of-compact-cassette-tapes-with-sbs/ This is a page of a famous audio engineer: www.baileyzone.net/analog%20tape%20diy.htm This is a page of a company that sells its high quality tape lubricant: thelastfactory.com/tape-care-preservation/
Does the Q-tip go in the front or the back of the tape I could not tell from the video. Very good video very informative. I have several cassettes that have squeeling issues.Cheers
Your scientific article specifically says the lube is part of the binder process at the nano level. It does not sit on top of the tape itself. The same article says that IF any lube should be reapplied, it should be done a pro who knows what they are doing - and your method is entirely incorrect. Your basically bathing your tape in oil. The oil has nowhere to go but on the tape path of the deck. From a professional broadcast/recording engineer and tech - I implore you to stop giving this erroneous information. You are promoting the death of people’s tape decks that will cost hundreds of dollars to fix!!!!!!
@@jonahmcgarva The lube is slowly absorbed by the binder. I also clearly said to clean the tape with more dry cuetips in order to remove all residue. Obviously no one is going to put a dripping tape in their deck. Again, the tape after a while absorbs the lube and it is lubricated just enought to help the trasport. In any case you are wrong also for normal new tape. The lube must also be present on the surface of the tape, of course in minimum amounts, otherwise what is the point to add lube? Do you really think lube is buried below the binder and sits there? No, it has to lubricate the trasport. Try and experiment before blindly criticize people.
Yes, Tried the process, and it works, 😀 I went for the cheapest winder possible, a Bic Crystal Biro, pen, yeah a bit of effort but worth it, some cassettes need more than one treatment but patience, and persistence pay off, the reward, many previously unplayable tapes now play back great. Thanks, great video.
I tried this method for some 1980s/1990s 8-bit computer cassettes whose games weren't loading (they were for an Amstrad CPC464). I'd been given some cassettes and also purchased some recently that simply wouldn't play ball - first one I tried (after binning it!) work first time! Highly recommended.
Perfect! I have some original commodore 64 tapes that are stuck. I didn't trash them because I had read somewhere about the idea of possibly "unsticking" tapes. I was thinking it was a temporary solution, to unstick and then copy them. I didn't realize you could actually restore them back to usable condition! Fantastic!
Ya, thinking it over, I have seen vegetable oil after a period of several years. It turns into a jelly. I definitely won't be trying it on my precious collectible computer tapes. Better just to buy some decent silicone oil and have it around. The one you used in the video is silicone based. I keep seeing it spelled and pronounced silicon, and for several years I thought it was an elusive chemical you could only get from specialty places. I also wondered how a crystaline semiconductor could possibly be used as grease...I also always thought of silicone as the stuff in liquid nails and ...well tubes of silicone for sealing bathtubs. So, watching this video I could clearly see you had silicone oil but were calling it silicon, and spelling it silicon. So I just went and looked it up to see what this stuff actually is. It is a silicon based compound attached to an organic structure like a benzene or whatever. Hence the similar name, but they couldn't be more different. At least I finally cleared up that confusion! Thanks for the video!
I had cassettes from the late 70s', early 80s' that just didn't sound right, picked up a cheap onn. cassette recorder at Walmart, got a can of 3M (08877) wet type silicone and some art swabs (wood q-tips) lubed every cassette tape in my collection and I must say, what a difference...
I'd like to add my thanks to the many already here. I have been trying for years to get a working copy of a BBC TV soundtrack on cassette because... nostalgia... but every copy I got was stuck solid and unplayable. What I didn't realise is that the BBC used EMI for some of their cassettes. The tone at the start which you mentioned was the link that got me looking closely at the inlay where sure enough it said "Distributed by EMI". It took three applications of WD40 Silicone Lubricant (now called WD-40 Specialist Silicone Lubricant) with around a week between applications to get it playable. It's not 100% yet, but progress is being made and I am confident I can keep repeating the process to get it right. Thank you for the method and motivation 😀
I ordered a bunch of preloaded cassettes from the manufacturer. Some of the cassettes had lubrication issues. They literally told me this process, but to use sewing machine oil and nothing else. I've had pretty good luck with that and have only ever waited 48 hours, as that was recommended.
I just wish to thank you for your kind reply . We seem to both love music and all the sorts of equipment we have to care for to keep it running . But in the end ,it's the enjoyment of the music , that is the goal .........DGR
Thank you to introduce me to this method. I will apply it to my squeaky Pink Floyd- The Wall and wowing and fluttering Judas Priest - Live tapes that made me very sad.
Wow I was just reading comments on results with my Pink Floyd The Wall tape stopping in the middle. I did the alcohol Q-tip method to remove mold from the outer sides of it and looks good but need to lube it. I saw WD40 makes a silicone lube so I might go that route. Got a Bob Segar Night Moves that is doing it too.
@@thaddeusmcgrath I also used WD40 since I couldn't get the recommended lubricant in my country. However it worked for 1 or 2 times playback but the tape will go back to squeaky after that. It lasts longer if it applied on 2000's pressing as I tried on my Entombed squeaky tapes and it still sounds good even after more than 4 times playback.
Similar Sqeaking issues can also be caused by the Cassette "Pressure Pad" which can get covered with 'Tape Oxide' from the Back of the Cassette Tape. That part is difficult to clean off as the 'Pad' needs to be smooth for the Tape to run across the Heads. Not sure if you can buy new "Pressure Pads" as they would then have to be Glued into place on the metal spring?. Had lot's of problems with this from old cassette tapes (mostly Blanks) that i was Archiving on to "CD-R" for a friend. Not sure on the Long term issue that this 'Fix' might have on the Tape Heads. Not one for my Nakamichi!.
That’s what I’m thinking - does it not sound intuitively dangerous to spray random lube onto a tape and then run that tape through your high end deck’s transport….what could go wrong ? 🤔🤔
When you dispose of old and / or unwanted tapes ALWAYS keep the pressure pads cos they are very handy for replacements..... Years of fiddling about with cassettes has taught me things like this tho !
I am about to embark on archiving a vintage computer data cassette tape to digital. It was made in 1976, so quite old. Do you recommend this process before I even attempt to play the tape?
Hey @ANA[DIA]LOG,i want to say a huge thank you for the information you give in this video.It helped me so much with my bon jovi tape which i got from my mother,and she had it for about 35 years.One day,i was playing the tape and it started sticking and stopping all the time.After i saw your video i immediatly tried the silicone lube method,not with the 3M one,but it worked just as good and now it plays perfectly.So again thank you for the information it helped so much!
I checked the links in the pinned post. Couldn't see anyone recommending any silicone or kontakt 61. Did some of my own research. One of my concerns with this is that both silicone oil and Kontakt 61 contain petroleum based mineral oils. The problem with a pure silicone (cyclomethicone) is that it would become ineffective after a month or two. Mineral oils can interfere with the binders that are also Polyester or polyurethane based (mostly). I am not referring to the tape base which is mainly polyester. But the compounds used to bind the magnetic oxide compounds. There are products that are actually used in cosmetics. They will provide temporary solutions (silicone based). Another mentioned possible is Jojoba oil. Akai actually sold a product with felt pads for this very issue. Mainly to reduce tape squeal. It was described as a silicone based oil. I bought silicone based oil spray from Griffon (Europe). It contains NAFTA (petroleum based) 5-10%. But no alcohol such as Kontakt 61 (alcohol seems likely to mess with the binder). The Griffon product is being sold as a moisture repellent protective layer. It can be used on plastics and paints apparently (automotive). They say it can be used on car bumpers and grills (so must be plastic safe) and paint safe) @anadialog could you tell us if 5 years on, are the tapes that you treated (Pink floyd, Beatles) with both silicone and Kontakt 61, have they experienced any ill effects. Are they still lubricated, do they suffer from stick/shred/loss? Thanks.
@@anadialog Thanks for the reply. That product (3M) contains the same solvent as the Silicone spray I have. A form of petroleum distillate. NAFTA (naphtha). The griffon product is cheap at Euro 7.70 for a 300 ml aerosol can. Manufactured in Belgium.
Interesting but I have never needed to do this. Most of my 100s of cassettes are 30+ years old and never needed any maintenance...the only ones I have had to ditch are BASF ones from early 80s (particularly the chrome ones) which left my heads covered in brown goo. I just threw them away.
The problem is not the tape itself. The inner sleeves especially on pre recorded tapes are what allow the reels smooth transport . Lubricating the tape itself will lubricate the sleeves. Gently prying the cassette apart and lubricating the sleeves themselves will solve the issue and not need to be contacted on the playback side of the tape. All this does is lubricate the inner sleeve without having to halve the cassette . Tapping on all 4 edges helps without lubing anything.
All types of tape have lube in the binder. Sometimes this goes dry and it is a standard procedure to relubricate old tape as yoiu can read in the articles I uploaded in the video description.
100% GUARANTEED TO WORK !! NAPA ELECTRICAL SPRAY DOES NOT DAMAGE THE TAPE IN ANY WAY WHAT SO EVER 🙂 Just found a way to to sort Commodore 64 tape games that the tape is grinding tight sprayed with NAPA electrical cleaner then spray a cotton bud end wet take the datta cassette front off so you get access to the tape stick the cotton bud in the first hole behind the tape and fast forward and rewind over and over it lubricates the tape also spraying the cog wheels AND most important see the wee bit in the middle of the tape where the head is soak it with spray for the cassette on both sides lightly dry the the tape might have to be done a few times but loosens the tape off Whee Hawww working as good as new :V . . . TOOK THE CHANCE ON KNOWING THAT SPRAY PROTECTS ALL ELECTRICAL DATA IN CHIPS EVEN IF THEY GET WET INSIDE WITH THE SPRAY AS LONG AS IT IS LEFT TO DRY BEFORE SWITCHING BACK ON THE CHIPS ARE GOOD TO GO ZERO DAMMAGE SO IMA THOUGHT FCK IT WTF DO IMA HAVE TO LOOSE A DATASOFT ARCADE CLASSICS POLE POSITION PAC MAN MR DO! AND DIG DUG TAPE IMA DID THIS TO THAT WAS DRIED AND GRINDING IT IS SILKY SMOOTH WORKING AS GOOD AS NEW NOW
Thanks so much for this. I used ELECTROLUBE Contact Cleaner Lubricant on a squeaky BASF LH super SM C90 cassette. I'd put the tape into another shell. No luck. Tried your suggestion: INSTANT success!! Thanks again :-)
I also wonder if the reels sometimes cause this type of problem? If the teeth of the cassette reel have worn or are not quite the correct size they don't grab to the cassette player pulley's properly leading to incorrect playback.
I can't recall hearing anything about where there is too much friction, without the lubrication process. Will the tape stick to another layer of the tape, where it is wound up?
@@anadialog Thank you for reminding me about the video description. I have somehow "lost contact" with the video description since the TH-cam interface did change. I can see there is a lot of information behind those links! 👍🙂
Please do not ever do this. Lubricant can contaminate the pinch rollers and heads of your machine. Some chemicals can dissolve the glues used in tape heads, and can cause rubber compounds to fall apart. Slippery capstans and pinch rollers will cause speed instability. Slippery tape can coggle and cinch, which is not good. The tape needs to bind for consistent back tension. Chemicals could cause the tape to delaminate, leaving oxide on everything. Maxell oxide shedding caused much damage in the '90's to video machinery, and cross contaminated other tapes. The squeaking and jamming is caused by uneven winding, and by oxide shedding. Yes you can use a q-tip (carefully) in the manner shown, but do it dry. Best is to take the shell apart and clean the oxide out. Also clean out guide rollers within the shell. Also clean the sheet film in the shell. Please do not use any lube though or you may find you cause irreparable damage to your machine.
As explained in the video this is not an idea I just came out with. I trust lucky of tapeheads and I can assure you that tape does have and need sone lube. Especially the XDR tapes. Using the method I described gives a very low amount of lube and, as stated, you need to give time to the tape to absorb the lube. After that you can use a dry tip for absorbing the exeeding amount. Lube can actually help the life of other rubber parts. Apart from this, the compounds suggested in the video are safe because completely inert. They do not corrod or melt anything.
25 years in the broadcasting industry, I've seen it all with tape problems. The manufacturers of the fluids obviously claim no harm can come, but we are talking, in some cases of tapes and machines of 70's and 80's manufacture, where these lubes did not exist. Everybody claimed it wasnt their fault when video heads came unglued in the 80's, and Maxell denied all liability, in the 90's when we discovered it was their oxide that was destroying D3 heads and contaminating other D3 tapes that then all had to be recovered and cloned. In some cases entire programmes were lost. It cost just the BBC about a £1M fixing the problem. I stand by my comment to use the other method. I have hundreds of cassettes and have come across some "sticky" tapes. Taking them out of their shell, cleaning all the oxide away and reinstating the tape is the best method, and the only one I would ever recommend to anyone else. It is fine to try other solutions on your own equipment, at the very least add a disclaimer that people do this at their own risk and that you are not willing to take responsibility for any resulting damage to either tapes, by cinching or coggling, or machinery.
Thanks for your advice. I tried the method of anadialog, it took some time and then ....nothing happened or harmed the tape. Chet Baker still sounds amazing. I tried this on several tapes.... no harm, no soundloss or even damage of the tape. May you have your experience in 25 year of broadcasting. I got tapes since 69, the still work, coz my father used to clean them with fluids that were sold in the 70 to clean heads. Still amazing, no glue, no briddle nothing. Everyone shall make his experience;-)
Cheers, Bryan!!! This is what I was trying to convey in my own comments, but you addressed things with more succinct specificity! Thanks for conveying what I failed to say, lol.
►"no harm, no soundloss or even damage of the tape. " You won't notice problems right away. Give it time. LOTS of time. Let the science do its thing, your tapes (and possibly any decks it transfers these solvents and lubes to) will begin to wane. ;-) I don't have any formal industry experience, just 20 years of my own trial and error and pretty much having tried, seen, and done it all when it comes to tapes and their care/maintenance. I've used tapes to excess levels that have put new meaning to the term "torture tests". I've also done tape splicing, so taking tapes apart and transferring tape into new shells and replacing hubs and the various little parts for various reasons is old hat for me. And handling tapes just with bare fingers - despite all my delicate efforts in handling - still compromised the tape, so I can only imagine what chemical solvents and lubes (whatever their potency) will do.
I found also a treatment for this problem but you need to open thé cassette. Inside you have two plastic films for each side. Remove them from thé cassette and spray their interior with wax spray. Wipe them off and replace in thé cassette. Thé results are amazing...
I had two cassette tapes one squeaked the entire time and the other slowed down and stopped in the middle of playing I used home depot silicone spray wet the Q-tip several times in the process you could actually see the tape get wet with silicone , LOL I wet it way to much and started to see bubbles forming inside the cassette case so to dry it I used dry Q-tips it . the process took 30 minutes. I played the tapes back wow they played perfect and the Tape Deck was not harmed with the silicone but cleaned the head and pinch roller to be on the safe side . I highly recommend this process to save your tapes
@@anadialog I am not a rich guy. You and I and other members of our community want to get the best out of our gear, regardless of how much it cost. I don't like "audioholics" who say if you don't have that turntable or those speakers you are not in the game. I could say an [expletive deleted], but I won't. Keep up the good work!
No, I wouldn't "do this at home". If a tape gets "sticky", I first check, if there is any brown dust on the tape heads and tape guidance. If there is, it's a binder problem. If the recordings can be replaced (buy a CD!), the tape goes right to the trash. If it's Elvis singing in the bathtub (or something non replacable), I take an old tapedeck, digitize track by track and clean everything all 3 minutes. Afterwards the tape goes to the bin. If there is no brown dust, just make a shell transplantation. Take a new ferric tape with screws, throw the tape inside away and put the tape of the patient in it. Worked everytime for me. I don't want lubricant on the heads of my Revox.
8 tracks are lubricated, but CCs? I can't tell if your method works and I won't try it either. But a shell exchange always worked for me. Those pre-recorded tapes often had cheapo shells without the graphite coated plastic foil in it. So try a better shell before "lubricating your tape heads". ;)
Magnetic tape (after 1960) usually consists of a base polyester layer, a non-magnetic lower-layer for stability and the magnetic layer for recording. So called back-coated tape contains some integrated lubricants on the back of the tape. Back-coated tape must be used on 8-tracks (overwise they would'nt work). For reel to reel it was an option. 3M Scotch often made back-coated tapes and they tend to get sticky when aging. My reel to reel recorder has a mechanical switch to turn off the pressure pad when using back-coated tape. Trade name for back-coated tape was often "Black watch". There were some Scotch CCs called "Black watch", they are most likely back-coated. Back-coating is still used on Imation DLT and LTO computer tapes, but today they work well. I have never heard that a normal CC is lubricated. There is some graphite in the foil and the surface may be polished, but I wouldn't call that lubrication.
Again, all types of tape have lubricant and we are not talking about the back. This is just the first site I found on the web: www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub54/2what_wrong/
4 years later, and it’s still hilarious to hear LUB-ricate pronounced wrong (it’s LOOB-bricate, to all those where English is clearly not your first language).
I think that is time to stop agitating people to lubricate cassettes and make a big mess with their decks and killing the cassettes this way. I want to see you and mr Lucki from Germany how you both lubricate cassettes with your favorite lubricants, spatially you with a silicon lubricant and after that to play this cassettes on your Nakamichi Dragon -s ! This technology concerning just certain types of tapes which is playing on open reel to reel but not a modern cassettes. I try already and make a mess with 3 of my high end decks and destroy permanent good cassette and a record on it. Also here I am posting my question and answer of professionals that dealing with a transfer of records of old sticky tapes and they know about lubricants and also other technologies concerning sticky shed syndrome . John Adams 1 week ago Question to mr. Hales Should be the cassette tape lubricated against sticking and if yes- what kind of lubrication to use and how this will affected the frequency range and the quality of the sound likes dynamic, noise and wow and flutter. Thank you for your consideration in advance! Highlighted reply Electrical Audio 1 week ago Hi, tape has lubricant in the composition of the coatings. Generally, you don't want to lubricate the tape for playback or transfer, as it can create a mess that could damage tape and machine. However, if you dig into Richard Hess' site, you'll find an article about "wet playing" tapes, and some other examples of people using very specific lubricants when baking couldn't restore a tape for transfer. I should caution that these should only be done by a professional who is setup for wet playing. In most cases where the tape is degrading because of sticky-shed syndrome, baking is the solution. But not in all cases... Good luck!
As clearly explained, you must clean the tape repeatedly with a few cuetips in order to remove all lube in excess l. The tape will get what it needs. If you are anybody not comfortable, don't do it. No problem at all.
@@anadialog The problem is that once the tape is lubricated on the front side by rolling in a cassette is on the lubricated on the back side and even to clean the front by rolling the grease on the back side is still lube on the front side. And you super stubbornly refuse to admit the fact that in decks with two capstans the tape is stretched by the friction of the axes of the capstans contacting to the back of the tape which is made of polymer and is more slippery than the front side which has a magnetic layer and also can not absorb any kind of lub. And when this back side of slippery polymer is also lubricated ,then the tension force of the tape is insufficient to ensure good contact with the head, especially by Nakamichi with NAAC, and then the result is great - wow and flutter and emergency shutdown of the transport mechanism because the sensors detect excessive slippage . So your whole article about lubricating audio cassettes is an incredible nonsense based on the joke of a German master of decks, a great joker really, and some articles about lubricating tapes on tape recorders but not on cassette players. And on top of that, you don't acknowledge what I'm writing to you, but you make me realize that I didn't understand the sacred technology of lubricating cassette tapes. I want to tell you that it is not an honor for you to deceive older people than you, with things that you have not checked yourself and you rely on a theory for something else and someone who wants to see how many naive people from the site will go to lubricate cassette tapes with various lubricants and laugh at them in German forums. I understand that you do this for more clicks and readings, but still should know that there are people with technical education and experience who will not belive to such absurd things. And this, of course, destroys the credibility of your performances and I stop being interested in them because they are becoming more and more non sense and I do not want to waste my time with unproven things that will waste my time and harm my decks and cassettes . This for lubrication re lubrication, this for the thick wooden plate under the turntable, this for the thick power cord for 220 volts that will make more power, this for music over 20,000 Hz ... so far this is enough for me to stop wasting my time. People want to learn something real and not someone to deceive them and make money by wasting their time
@@johnadams9041 I have no idea why but you keep coming back and you are clarly driven by prejudice besides triying once on a healthy tape that obviously has lubricant. At this time you are the only one complaining besides making a lot of mistakes here. FIRST MISTAKE: you said lube ends up on the back, yes true, but the back is always in contact with the top, so if you clean thoroughly the tape as I have clearly stated, ALL lube will be absorbed from the tape first, and then by the cue tips secondly. If you do not understand the process you cannot blame others. SECOND MISTAKE: you said no articles talk about cassettes. First of all, I added several articles that back up and substantiate this process for tape in general, magnetic tape is magnetic tape, in any case it is clear that you did not even read these scientific papers because two of them, by Bogart and by Hess, discuss this process also on cassettes (FACT) and even more ridiculous, one discusses how the Nakamichi Dragon after some initial esitations worked perfectly. So all you conclusions on this aspect are completely wrong and strongly biased. This is a fact. I and several subscribers tested this process for years and had always positive results. This is another fact. THIRD MISTAKE: Without any reason and out of the blue you kick in also other videos of mine criticizing the effectiveness. Turntables are greatly effected by vibrations. Fact. A solid, high-mass plinth of wood or other material will always help reducing these. Fact, again. I have no idea of which thick power cord you are taking about. Sound beyond 20Khz? Yes, I again presented scientific documents that PROVE that instruments go beyond 20Khz, that people hear and perceve that physially and at a brain level, that those frequecies deliver a more faithful reproduction and that OBVIOUSLY create harmonics and influence the audible spectrum. This is science and yours is prejudice.
@@anadialog I do NOT agree that I did something wrong, almost like a fool, and if I followed your advice, which is based on "scientists" and not on your experience or experiment, it would be exactly what you read. First - what is the difference between the good tape and the bad one that needs to be lubricated? That they are both 40 years old. Or do you want to tell me that one is like absorbent already and absorbs lubricants and the other is not? Or is it just that one of them is bad at first and when we lubricate it will becomes good? After all, lubrication supposedly improved and preserved and preserved and rejuvenated the strips, and they lasted longer. Where is my mistake here lubricating a 40-year-old tape that you think has already missed the oil change several times? Second - because "scientists" say that Nakamichi Dragon played better with lubricated tape. Who are the scientists and who are the ignorant? Am I a scientist or an ignoramus? I have a master's degree in mechanical and electrical engineering, I have 3 inventions and 5 rationalizations and I am currently doing my own research about changing the direction of the magnetic induction vector applied to a magnetic medium, depending on the speed of the magnetic medium and the recording parameters. This is Nakamichi's secret about the azimuth of discrete heads, not what everyone explains about the coincidence of the runways of the heads. Accordingly, I am very aware of the magnetic permeability of the layer of different tapes, with the depth of the magnetic flux recording with the magnetic hysteresis with the coercive forces and the aging of the recording in the first microseconds after recording. And accordingly, I define lubrication with random lubricants as incredible nonsense that just makes a mess with the record. How are those scientists more scientists than me?. So scientists as much as you want everywhere and of any kind and everyone writes what he wants to make money mainly .. I do not believe everything that scientists tell me. So when a virologist came out on Fox News and said that masks were harmful, I immediately went to buy N95 masks and barely found them - apparently there were many others who suffered from the scientists. They wanted to deceive us with high price and you are telling me here that I have to trust them for some tapes? This is the difference between me and you. You believe in scientists, you quote them and I am an experimenter and I do not believe them until I am convinced by experiments. In this case, my experiments do not confirm what your scientists have written, but you have not experimented with Nakamichi dragon, which in no way will work with a slippery tape, nor did my decks. The wood foundation for the turntable - yes it is good but if it is gold and weighs 400 kg it will dampen the vibrations even better - here is how much valuable advice. Well if I tell you that a concrete slab will do the same job it will not be as valuable advice. As for ultrasound music, I won't bother here with young people who hear super cool, if you hear it with your brain or something else - listen to it with pleasure when you can and when there is a place to play for you. Success!
What really frosts my fur is that the cheapo Certron tapes (the ones everybody said to stay away from) work much better now than the expensive TDK tapes I bought in the 1980s. The TDK tapes tend to wind too tightly. I try to play them, and they squeak and squeal, and like you said, the tape player shuts off.
Strange ! Actually the 2 black (sometimes transparent films) inside the tape, act as minimum friction for the wheels spin. Putting lubricant on the band itself, will end up on the reading heads and creating dirt on them ! Not speaking about the adverse effect of lubricant on chromium/magnetic coating of the band.
All tapes have lube in the binder. Check the info and articles in the video description. Just pay attention and collect the excessive amount of lube with cue tips.
I looked up that particular item, and it's not available. There are 3MLubrifiant silicone sprays, but there are different ones. There is a dry silicone spray and a wet silicone spray. Which type of spray did you use, and does it matter on the number on the spray?
I just received a Walkman that I have just purchased, but it only has fast forward. Will this work? Also, I wasn't clear on the 2 Q-tips to use two for each side. I'm guessing that one is for the silicone and one to dry. Is that correct? And I figure when you say just a bit, it means as little on the side of the swab as possible. Let me know. Thanks.
Hi, I watched your video and it makes me wonder if there could be a way to fix the tape reel after your child yanked it out and left a portion of it stretched and twisted. Can we somehow 'iron' it -- so to speak -- back out, or bring it closer to its former state. I am afraid whatever is done would never get me back the same reproduction as I got before the tape was attacked. Still, if I can try something, I'd be happy to know. Thanks
Great idea but how does the silicon not block the audio from the tape since you lubricate the playing side of the tape instead of the back of the tape..I would assume the Silicone would Shield the tape oxide particles from making contact with the heads ..
I have a few cassettes that do this, one in specific is XDR and the other is not. The XDR one is Tina Turner "Simply The Best" and the other one is a compilation set. My Michael Jackson History and History in the mix cassettes also have this issue with them playing fine then when the take up real gets a bit "heavier" it starts to tighten up. I was told a good fast-forwarding and rewinding back and forth a few times would help it, and while it has for a short while, I am still plagued with this issue. I have so many cassettes that I have collected. Another common issue I found with these cassettes (XDR included) as well as those ones that have the white reels, is the guide rollers tend to not move properly if at all in some cases. When these guide rollers aren't rotating when the cassette is playing, fast-forwarding or rewinding I think that also causes several issues. Would these guide rollers need lubricated in a way as well?
@@anadialog thank you, I’m late on this. Would it be a good idea to replace the guide rollers in the corner possibly (especially if the cassette case has screws)
My tapes seem to stop in the same place each time, and the surface of the tape appears different. Can I lubricate the offending spot and see if that cures it?
This is exactly why consumers are turned off by cassettes during its time. You’re already spending a lot of money and you still have to do do all of this for “maintenance”
Thank you so much for this video. With this process I saved a 40 year old BASF HF 120 cassette containing a unique recording. Is seized frequently. And the parts that did play squealed very badly. After transplanting the tape to a Maxell XLII housing, treating it twice with silicone and letting it rest for 48 hours, it now plays well enough to secure a digital copy from it!
I found that you don’t actually need a compact cassette player to do this process. I used the casing of an old pen and attached it to an electric drill - worked just as well.
It depends on what you have. A better idea is using a pen to do manually. I have a very dirty tape which need to be cleaned and need to be relubricated. After Cleaning a bit, sounds little better and There are lots of things to do.
This has worked really well. I managed to revive a few old cassettes of mine. Your right though, it may take a few attempts to get the tape back to nearly new. I was very happy with my results. WD-40 specialist silicone seemed to work well with tapes.
@@xcvbxcvb2179 Silicon based lubricants are everywhere in the cassete deck's mechanism. It's the only lube available for plastic/pvc parts and plastic-metal joints.
Some years ago, I've discovered that one of my tapes sounded really worn out. But instead of throwing it in the trash, I've "retired" the tape and only kept it as a collectible item (because the tape is rare). After seeing this video, I gave this method a try with the 3M lubricant. And it works! Not perfect, but still a vast improvement. Thanks for the advise.
Just tried this with several cassettes that kept on slowing, stopping and some that wouldnt play at all. I used non staining silicone lubricant and now all the cassettes play flawlessly. I almost sold my entire collection before I saw this so thanks for the video 👍
First of all....cassette tapes need from time to time full rewinding few times to tape aligns properly in housing....second....you need to use quality deck or tapes....third...lubrication is poor trick after you may had problem with deck tape path or heads
I opened up a brand new cassette tape from 2001 and played it and well the sound on the tape at first sounded good after about a min or so it started playing in slow motion and then it went back to normal but it did that a couple of times... i dont know if its the tape player thats causing it to do that or the tape , i checked what kind of tape it is and its a type 2 cdt cassette, would lubing the cassette fix it?... , i even tried rewinding it a couple of times to loosen it up.
@@cristianthashoota5841 Lubricant dies, silicone doesn't last forever. Also tapes gather moist throughout the years and start to stick to the heads while playing. Both effects give the same symptoms. Both are treatable, lube can be added, moist removed through "tape baking".
Worked amazingly. I used an old Panasonic portable boombox from the thrift shop and removed the door. This video saved so many cassettes from being discarded. Thanks
I used a high alcohol hand sanitiser and rather than holding the cotton budds in place I cut them down to size and placed them under where the tape is brought by the pinch roller. Worked a treat on my Jamiroquai emergency on planet Earth cassette
This fixed a new old stock , pre-recorded chrome tape from 1987 I got. It was shedding old lube all over the tapehead (white debri) and as a cause would have massive dropouts suddenly whenever the head got clogged. The tape also squeeked at the end of the sides. I went over the tape with a dry q-tip first and then applied new silicone using your method. (though instead of a deck/personal stereo, I used a cordless screwdriver on slow speed and an old felt pen stuck into it that perfectly fit in the cassettes' hubs. True McGiver technique, lol) Now the issues are completely gone and the tape sounds as good as new!
You can cut the ear stick with scissors for it to sit flush with the tape, and then, you can pretty much rewind it from any player without needing the access to the tape. Btw, this actually works. Right after I lubricated my Pink Floyd Animals tape, it now actually plays pretty decently, there is still some "lag", but like the guy said - it takes a couple of weeks for tape to fully lubricate.
I have a couple Megadeth cassettes (peace sells and So far so good so what) that sound awesome when they work but in some of my decks they have the really bad wow and flutter, even though other cassettes worked great. Good to know WHY it is a problem.
I've always wanted to own the dark side of the moon on cassette! but now I can finally save all my warpy cassettes most especially my xdr duran duran cassette...thank you so much for this my dude!:))
Thanks so much for the advice! When I first started lubing my cassettes, I did it your way, with a Q-Tip brand cotton swab and a can of Liquid Wrench silicone spray. At some point in your video, I think you asked for other ways to do this, so here's the process I finally "graduated" to: I rewound each tape to the stop, then used a butter knife to gently pry/pull the tape out and away from the little follower pad, ending up with a loop just big enough to put my index finger through (if I'd wanted to). Then I sprayed the silicone lube through the little red applicator straw as gently as I could, trying to get a decent size drop to dangle from the tip. Next, I carefully dropped that drip onto the follower pad, tightened the tape with my finger, and rewound it like you did. Then I repeated the entire process. Some cassettes I lubed this way 4 times, some only twice. Now I'll leave 'em sit a day or two and give 'em a play! As I typed this, I wonder how one of those electronic lubes would've worked? Something like CRC's 2-26?
Here's the follow-up: The last tape I did with the Q-Tip before switching techniques just seized up and broke. I think I over-lubed it and essentially glued it together. Oops! It would rewind and fast forward alright, but it wouldn't play to save my life. When I tried to pull it out of the shell, it broke. I'd recommend if you use my technique, you only do two drops of lube - one drop, rewind, one drop, rewind. Done.
I didn’t have any silicone lubricant laying around and didn’t feel like going to the store, so stubborn me just shaved some fine graphite off a pencil with a razor and rolled my cotton swab around in it until it was well coated. Worked like a charm, and no issues to speak of yet regarding the graphite. A plus to this method in my case is the results were instant. I played that sucker immediately, no waiting. Thanks for the inspiration, love your content.
I recently got a sealed old stock Beatles Breadbox, and was extremely happy until finding out that the XDR tapes were sticking. I watched this video and was prepared to try it, but I freed them up with multiple FFWD/REW cycles. One tape had to be wound manually with a BIC pen at first, and another was squealing horribly, but they all work now without anything as extreme as adding lubricant. One cassette took about ten FFWD/REW cycles to loosen it enough to play well, but it works great now. I would only resort to lubrication after exhausting all other options.
A couple of my cassettes do the same thing,I have tried it on one cassette,in the video you said that it could take up to a week for the process to work,how long should I wait before playing it again,good Video by the way!
hi thank for taking time to teach...the link for the 3M lubricant brings you to a page 3m no longer is using (it is a bad link) thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
The 3M is very hard to obtain in the US they say and it is also rare elsewhere. Just search for a silicon based live with no thinners/diluents/alcohol and you should be good!
Thank you for this, it worked for me. I found a Beatles tape that I had been looking for since I was about 7 or 8 years old in a music shop, but it had this problem. I've been wanting a copy of this tape for something like 34 years. I found your video and after multiple tries to lubricate the tape, I let it sit for a while I think over a week or more and voila it worked. My inner child Thanks you❤
I have a bunch of Ampex prerecorded cassette tapes and they're having this problem. I'll be listening to one and it will drag or stop. Will definitely give this a try. Wouldn't this coat your tapehead with lubricant? I would think that you would need to clean your heads everytime you would play a tape that you lubricated. Is this so?
I thought the issue with cassette tape binding was always with friction against the cassette shell 'sides'? Many cassettes even have special film sleeves between the tape and cassette covers to combat this.
EXACTLY, Tim Kerins! Although, older cassettes may lack these special sleeves, or have paper-like ones that are not much better than sans-sleeves. I always saved any prerecorded/blank tapes that got damaged or ruined beyond any salvageable playback, for the parts to "cannibalize" later for repairing other tapes with any dodgy/missing parts.
This video caught my eye a few days ago. Today I popped in a well-loved copy of Boz Scaggs Greatest Hits and the tape Stopped! Thank you for the video!
This is an absolute lifesaver! I hope you know that! I've ordered some cassettes off of amazon and have bought some at concerts. When I got my second cassette I thought there was an issue with my cassette player. However, some of my other cassettes play just fine, one even plays perfectly. Thanks for the video!
I own some WEA cassettes they are Metallica cassettes and they work the best compared to my XDR cassettes my Death Spiritual Healing XDR cassette doesn't want to play without fluttering. Most combat records cassettes are XDR and suck WEA cassettes like Ride The Lightning are the best.
@@anadialog Another quick question: if i use contact cleaner, do i need to buy a specific one or does any good quality one work fine? Aksing because it’s not easy to get a hold of the 3M lubricant where i live and contact cleaner is easier and cheaper to find
I tried the one in the video, can't say for the rest. What I suggest is to get a silicone based lubricant with NO solvents. And make sure to dry everything up after application. Start from a cassette not to important for you.
@@ttheone3518 You definitely don't wanna use contact cleaner! I used some Liquid Wrench silicone spray, which you should be able to get at Walmart or your local auto parts store. You might also try something like CSC 2-26, which I got at Home Depot. Good luck!
Many thanks for the detailed analysis of the issue and the solution. I've got loads of cassettes, the oldest one is from 1968. I've had the issue with 3 cassettes so far, one 80s Fame reissue by EMI, and two cassettes from CBS (1973 and 1984). The first time I used your solution, I think I might have overdone it a little, I saw that I could play the side A for the first time which was a good sign, but the sound on side B was still bad. Can you say how much lubricant I should use each time. On the video, I can't really see it, I just want to be on a safe side and not damage my precious cassettes. So to sum up: I will do it twice rew/fast forward x2 per side and repeat it the next day and than will wait about a month or two? Sorry If I got it wrong, best regards Grzegorz
Add the lube and every once in a while relube the cuetip. Let it seep in for a while. And then just make sure to abaorb all the exceeding lube with a few dry cuetips. After that just wait a few days and it may work. Sometimes, for me at least, it took a month!
That lubricant stretches the tape. The only thing that requires lubrication are the reels. This lubricant will also compromise the pinch roller adhesion properties. DON'T PERFORM THIS !!!!!!
Check the documents I added in the video description before shouting your preconceptions. Its a standard procedure, also done on cassettes decks. Also, as I have explained and written all over the place, you must obviously absorbe all the exceeding lube with clean cue tips after the treatment. So non of what you are claiming will happen.
@@anadialog 3 words for a proper working cassette drive line: CLEAN - CLEAN - CLEAN. Nothing should be put onto magnetic tape surface. This is per the US Library of Congress magnetic tape maintenance best practices, where the biggest stockpile of magnetic tape exists. Your method will adversely react with the polyurethane binder. The processes outlined in your links describe lubrication phenomenon during the manufacturing process. you are accumulating the particulates on the q-tip and dragging it over the rest of the tape. If you want to do it right, confirm if there's binder hydrolysis. If not, then you clean the tape, and then you lubricate it without a course q-tip. Your technique is INCORRECT - YOU'RE A HACK ! STOP PROMOTING THIS DESTRUCTIVE METHOD !
Again, Re-lubing is a standard procedure, leave aside the manufacturing phase, we are talking after the original lube has evaneshed. Lubricant is present ON the tape. Check the documents in depth and all your doubts will be removed. BTW, I did invent anything I am just reporting an existing technique.
If the tape has screws you can open the cassette carefully and spray the lube on the sides of the reels, then take a q tip and soak up the excess. Put the tape back together and set on the shelf for a week. The lube will seep into the film over time and the tape will play nicely. I have done this for many years. If the tape does not have screws then you take a flat razor blade and tap into the side seems of the tape to break the bond and open it it carefully. After lubing it you then put small drops of super glue on the edge seems of the tape and close it back up.
True that's why I miss the old cassettes you can take them apart I hated when they started sealing up the blank cassettes I used trim mine down sometimes to customize my tapes to fit the length of the album that I copied it on
Thanks for the tip- I'm just curious, after a week or so, does lube absorb into the tape enough so that it actually doesn't coat the pinch roller in the lube? That's my main concern when doing any tape lube method really...
@Lindsay James the pinch roller always gets oil on it after playing tapes that have been lubed. I always maintain my tape decks by taking a q tip soaked in 91 percent rubbing alcohol and clean the pinch roller. Once the pinch roller has been degreased, I take 400 grit sand paper and rip a small piece about the size of your thumb. Then I rub the sand paper horizontally across the rubber pinch roller. This removes the stale film off the rubber and makes it grip better even if it gets oily.
I got a tape in the mail that I had ordered from eBay. It’s specifically an album from the Motown record label, but it has a similar problem to that Beatles tape. The first song, which is roughly around four and a half minutes long, and the last song play perfectly fine. However, about a minute or so into the second track, things start getting wonky. The second side is even worse because there’s parts where it’s barely moving. My dad and I found out that one of the reels is apparently tighter than the other, which would explain why one side works better than the other. So that’s how I ended up here. Another thing I found interesting is that these were the issues it was having in deck 1 of my Technics RS-TR373 cassette player. In a Sony voice recorder that I own, the tape doesn’t even move. However, in deck 2 of the Technics player, it actually sounded significantly better. It still has its issues, but I found it interesting how the recording deck was able to play it.
Hey im having an exact problem at the moment what do you mean by reels? Like the spools in the tape or the machine itself. A response would be greatly appreciated!
It’s called sticky tape syndrome. Try removing the tape and putting into a newer, modern shell. Rewind and fast forward a few times to loosen it up. That should work. Do not oil your tapes for goodness sake.
Not necessarily John, he did not describe the typical symptoms. If it isn't shedding in a paste on the trasport parts it is not. Lubricating reel to reel tape is a common practice.
ANA[DIA]LOG it’s sticky tape. It doesn’t need to shed in your heads to have this problem. Fucksakes. Sticky tape is caused by the breakdown of the binder, which yes contains a microscopic amount of specialized lubrication. When the binder breaks down (very typical on XDR cassettes and a few others) it creates a problem where the tape sticks to itself. This is because the glue/binder that holds the magnetic layers and lube together starts to deteriorate and fast. The only solution for this is to remove the tape from its crappy shell, put into an oven at no more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit for a few hours and then reassemble in a new shell. This is called baking tapes and it will restore the binder and lube particles for a few more plays. Otherwise your tape is hooped. If you put any OIL/LUBE on the tape you will destroy your deck very quickly and will end up with costly repairs. This comes directly me, a professional broadcast/recording and mixing engineer as well as a repair guy. If you read the comments here you will see many folks just like me saying that this is NOT the correct way to repair tapes and you will see the Anadialog fighting us every step of the way instead of listening to common sense and professional experience. DONT OIL YOUR TAPES FOLKS!
I recently purchased a pre-recorded cassette on ebay, and based off what you said in this video, it seems as though it does need lubricating (i tried playing it on my twin deck, in deck 2 the auto stop kept activating towards the beginning of the tape (athough it was fine once i got past that part), and in deck 1, in that same spot it slowed to a crawl a few times) and thinking about it, i have a feeling there may be a few tapes downstairs that need lubricating (i remember i once tried to play one of those, and the auto stop activated before it had got anywhere near the end, that was before i got my twin deck, and the machine i had tried to play that tape on is now completly broken, well, the cassette part of it is broken, it makes a mechanical noise whenever i turn it on, the noise is coming from the cassette mechanism, for whatever reason the tape heads in that machine are now permently in the raised position, the machine broke when i was trying to record to a blank cassette, it breaking had nothing to do with the pre-recorded cassette) So i will now have to try and get hold of the things required to lubricate a cassette tape (i already have a cassette player which i think is suitable, i can definatly put a tape in place with the door open, athough i am not sure if the door will be in the way, athough as the door is already a little bit broken on it, and i have another one which is identical, i am not too fussed about breaking the door off of it if needed) and it seems i may have to experement with different lubricants, as neither of the ones you showed seem to be avalable in the country where i live
Oh...another thing is...this technique also helps to regain back the fidelity of the old cassette tape! Silicon lube not just lubricate, but it helps to clean the tape by wiping out the ferrite debris, moulds and etc from the reel. Note that if you're putting too much lube, you're likely ended up soaking the tape with the lube. You can clean the excess lube by rewinding back and forth with clean and dry cotton swab/buds. Also, you will need to clean the cassette housing inside as well. After cleaning the cassette housing, rewinding back and forth again and let it dry for few days and try to play the cassette and observe if the cassette plays well without being stuck. If cassette stuck again, try to lubricate the tape head and it should be played without much issues.
Indeed! Yes, it's very important to absorb the excess of lube. Otherwise you may have a slippery transport and have wow and flutter issues. Just add it, let it absorb and then clean it up!
Came here looking for such a comment.... Because, IIRC, I've had scenarios where opening up the cassette shell and cleaning off the inside walls and applying a lubricant to the sides of the two ribbon spindles that rub against the interior of the shell made a massive difference in my particular cases without applying any lubricant to the ribbon itself.
Wow. what you are saying actually makes sense. i have a lot of old cassettes from 70s and 80s and this method might actually work. the key though is patience
So glad I found this, I had an old 8-bit game tape that was making a horrible squeaky noise and wouldn't load. I'd already tried changing the felt but no joy. This method worked perfectly and it was working straight after applying the silicone. Thank you!
I have used the cassette format on and off since around 1973. The only tapes that ever have given me trouble are the prerecorded ones. I still have old C-60 Concert tape [ old dudes like me know what that is ] that are 50 years old and play almost as good as they did when new, which wasn't very good to start with.
![ANA[DIA]LOG](http://yt3.ggpht.com/50CpmGNilS8aoMlarZVhI_GxRDoZdbj4ZgwCMZXg-Rq2PrEvCytlE6RVyLUrNY-rwE_sAlZ1Zw=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
EXTRA INFO (UPDATED!!):
If you get the 3M lubricant get the 08877 WET version (not the dry version).
Considering the fact that, reasonably, a lot of people have doubts about this process, here is some evidence in support of the existence of this issue, the fact that all tapes have lubricant, and of the possibility to use a re-lubricant process for magnetic tape (just remember to use a dry cotton swab to absorb the lubricant that may have not been absorbed after a while).
Here you will find a selection of scientific papers explaining the issue and how it is a standard procedure to relube tape (even NASA does this!). I have underlined a few crucial passages in the papers:
Heritage: www.dropbox.com/s/f8254yfeqrrw9vp/heritage-02-00097-v2.pdf?dl=0
Nasa: www.dropbox.com/s/xxdw1qh8mlbppdu/Nasa.pdf?dl=0
HESS: www.dropbox.com/s/ydrvxg6zipjkrvw/HESS_Tape_Degradation_ARSC_Journal_39-2.pdf?dl=0
Preservation Commission: www.dropbox.com/s/3s3ejmho2jexhgt/pub54.pdf?dl=0
- (here is the official article: www.dropbox.com/s/rtvqt1n537w9vpa/Bogart.pdf?dl=0)
Kondo: www.dropbox.com/s/zi4vv42ggi9vh8u/tribochemistry-of-ionic-liquid-lubricant-on-magnetic-media.pdf?dl=0
Here is an article of a lab that is relubing its cassettes: tasso.cat/re-lubrication-of-compact-cassette-tapes-with-sbs/
This is a page of a famous audio engineer: www.baileyzone.net/analog%20tape%20diy.htm
This is a page of a company that sells its high quality tape lubricant: thelastfactory.com/tape-care-preservation/
Does the Q-tip go in the front or the back of the tape I could not tell from the video. Very good video very informative. I have several cassettes that have squeeling issues.Cheers
Front! Thanks. Make sure to absorb all the exceeding lube.
@@anadialog Got it. Thank you for replying to my question
Your scientific article specifically says the lube is part of the binder process at the nano level. It does not sit on top of the tape itself.
The same article says that IF any lube should be reapplied, it should be done a pro who knows what they are doing - and your method is entirely incorrect. Your basically bathing your tape in oil. The oil has nowhere to go but on the tape path of the deck.
From a professional broadcast/recording engineer and tech - I implore you to stop giving this erroneous information. You are promoting the death of people’s tape decks that will cost hundreds of dollars to fix!!!!!!
@@jonahmcgarva The lube is slowly absorbed by the binder. I also clearly said to clean the tape with more dry cuetips in order to remove all residue. Obviously no one is going to put a dripping tape in their deck. Again, the tape after a while absorbs the lube and it is lubricated just enought to help the trasport. In any case you are wrong also for normal new tape. The lube must also be present on the surface of the tape, of course in minimum amounts, otherwise what is the point to add lube? Do you really think lube is buried below the binder and sits there? No, it has to lubricate the trasport. Try and experiment before blindly criticize people.
Yes, Tried the process, and it works, 😀 I went for the cheapest winder possible, a Bic Crystal Biro, pen, yeah a bit of effort but worth it, some cassettes need more than one treatment but patience, and persistence pay off, the reward, many previously unplayable tapes now play back great. Thanks, great video.
IF you want to skip the extensive explanation skip to 5:35 -- Actually 8:58 ---
Holy shit, hey Pete! Didn't expect to see you here! Hope all is well in MOAB
Thankyou so much. He's so talkative!!
Thanks the talks too much and way too slow for me
I tried this method for some 1980s/1990s 8-bit computer cassettes whose games weren't loading (they were for an Amstrad CPC464). I'd been given some cassettes and also purchased some recently that simply wouldn't play ball - first one I tried (after binning it!) work first time! Highly recommended.
Perfect! I have some original commodore 64 tapes that are stuck. I didn't trash them because I had read somewhere about the idea of possibly "unsticking" tapes. I was thinking it was a temporary solution, to unstick and then copy them. I didn't realize you could actually restore them back to usable condition! Fantastic!
I wonder if any old oil will work... After all, the coating on type I is FeO2, so if it is an oxidizing oil, who cares...the iron is already oxidized.
I would stick with silicon based dry oil!
Ya, thinking it over, I have seen vegetable oil after a period of several years. It turns into a jelly. I definitely won't be trying it on my precious collectible computer tapes. Better just to buy some decent silicone oil and have it around.
The one you used in the video is silicone based. I keep seeing it spelled and pronounced silicon, and for several years I thought it was an elusive chemical you could only get from specialty places. I also wondered how a crystaline semiconductor could possibly be used as grease...I also always thought of silicone as the stuff in liquid nails and ...well tubes of silicone for sealing bathtubs. So, watching this video I could clearly see you had silicone oil but were calling it silicon, and spelling it silicon. So I just went and looked it up to see what this stuff actually is. It is a silicon based compound attached to an organic structure like a benzene or whatever. Hence the similar name, but they couldn't be more different. At least I finally cleared up that confusion! Thanks for the video!
Probably my pronunciation is wrong. As you probably know I am mainly Italian sonI make some mistakes, sorry about that.
10:00 is where you wanna watch if you don’t want to hear a whole bunch of yapping. Awesome video and it did work with a cassette I bought! 😊
I tried your method on several stuck tapes and waited a couple of months. They all work now. Thank you for the information.
Thank you Domenic for your testimony!!
I had cassettes from the late 70s', early 80s' that just didn't sound right, picked up a cheap onn. cassette recorder at Walmart, got a can of 3M (08877) wet type silicone and some art swabs (wood q-tips) lubed every cassette tape in my collection and I must say, what a difference...
Thanks for your feedback!
I'd like to add my thanks to the many already here. I have been trying for years to get a working copy of a BBC TV soundtrack on cassette because... nostalgia... but every copy I got was stuck solid and unplayable. What I didn't realise is that the BBC used EMI for some of their cassettes. The tone at the start which you mentioned was the link that got me looking closely at the inlay where sure enough it said "Distributed by EMI".
It took three applications of WD40 Silicone Lubricant (now called WD-40 Specialist Silicone Lubricant) with around a week between applications to get it playable. It's not 100% yet, but progress is being made and I am confident I can keep repeating the process to get it right. Thank you for the method and motivation 😀
I ordered a bunch of preloaded cassettes from the manufacturer. Some of the cassettes had lubrication issues. They literally told me this process, but to use sewing machine oil and nothing else. I've had pretty good luck with that and have only ever waited 48 hours, as that was recommended.
I just wish to thank you for your kind reply . We seem to both love music and all the sorts of equipment we have to care for to keep it running . But in the end ,it's the enjoyment of the music , that is the goal .........DGR
I've got one of them old dual cassette recorders with Dolby stereo and it's in perfect condition
Thank you for interested video I wonder if this process of lubrication should be done on side that touch head or opposite side thx
It all gets in contact when rewinding. The important is to absorb the exceeding lube.
Thank you to introduce me to this method. I will apply it to my squeaky Pink Floyd- The Wall and wowing and fluttering Judas Priest - Live tapes that made me very sad.
Give us some feedback if you want!
@@anadialog I'll let you know once I play the tapes next month:)
👍
Wow I was just reading comments on results with my Pink Floyd The Wall tape stopping in the middle. I did the alcohol Q-tip method to remove mold from the outer sides of it and looks good but need to lube it. I saw WD40 makes a silicone lube so I might go that route. Got a Bob Segar Night Moves that is doing it too.
@@thaddeusmcgrath I also used WD40 since I couldn't get the recommended lubricant in my country. However it worked for 1 or 2 times playback but the tape will go back to squeaky after that. It lasts longer if it applied on 2000's pressing as I tried on my Entombed squeaky tapes and it still sounds good even after more than 4 times playback.
Similar Sqeaking issues can also be caused by the Cassette "Pressure Pad" which can get covered with 'Tape Oxide' from the Back of the Cassette Tape. That part is difficult to clean off as the 'Pad' needs to be smooth for the Tape to run across the Heads. Not sure if you can buy new "Pressure Pads" as they would then have to be Glued into place on the metal spring?. Had lot's of problems with this from old cassette tapes (mostly Blanks) that i was Archiving on to "CD-R" for a friend. Not sure on the Long term issue that this 'Fix' might have on the Tape Heads. Not one for my Nakamichi!.
You can indeed buy new pads, but I don't know how you'd remove the old ones without wrecking the little metal platform they're attached to.
That’s what I’m thinking - does it not sound intuitively dangerous to spray random lube onto a tape and then run that tape through your high end deck’s transport….what could go wrong ? 🤔🤔
When you dispose of old and / or unwanted tapes ALWAYS keep the pressure pads cos they are very handy for replacements.....
Years of fiddling about with cassettes has taught me things like this tho !
Have you tried baking the tape after lubricating to speed the absorption??
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yes. Bought one years ago and not long after the tape just went bad. Exactly like you said. Think I paid 21.00 back in late 70s.
I am about to embark on archiving a vintage computer data cassette tape to digital. It was made in 1976, so quite old. Do you recommend this process before I even attempt to play the tape?
If it plays smoothly, no, no need to
@@anadialog thanks for the advice. great video!
Hey @ANA[DIA]LOG,i want to say a huge thank you for the information you give in this video.It helped me so much with my bon jovi tape which i got from my mother,and she had it for about 35 years.One day,i was playing the tape and it started sticking and stopping all the time.After i saw your video i immediatly tried the silicone lube method,not with the 3M one,but it worked just as good and now it plays perfectly.So again thank you for the information it helped so much!
I checked the links in the pinned post. Couldn't see anyone recommending any silicone or kontakt 61. Did some of my own research. One of my concerns with this is that both silicone oil and Kontakt 61 contain petroleum based mineral oils. The problem with a pure silicone (cyclomethicone) is that it would become ineffective after a month or two. Mineral oils can interfere with the binders that are also Polyester or polyurethane based (mostly). I am not referring to the tape base which is mainly polyester. But the compounds used to bind the magnetic oxide compounds.
There are products that are actually used in cosmetics. They will provide temporary solutions (silicone based). Another mentioned possible is Jojoba oil.
Akai actually sold a product with felt pads for this very issue. Mainly to reduce tape squeal. It was described as a silicone based oil.
I bought silicone based oil spray from Griffon (Europe). It contains NAFTA (petroleum based) 5-10%. But no alcohol such as Kontakt 61 (alcohol seems likely to mess with the binder). The Griffon product is being sold as a moisture repellent protective layer. It can be used on plastics and paints apparently (automotive). They say it can be used on car bumpers and grills (so must be plastic safe) and paint safe)
@anadialog could you tell us if 5 years on, are the tapes that you treated (Pink floyd, Beatles) with both silicone and Kontakt 61, have they experienced any ill effects. Are they still lubricated, do they suffer from stick/shred/loss?
Thanks.
I have used mainly the 3M lube and did not experience any problems after all this time.
@@anadialog Thanks for the reply. That product (3M) contains the same solvent as the Silicone spray I have. A form of petroleum distillate. NAFTA (naphtha). The griffon product is cheap at Euro 7.70 for a 300 ml aerosol can. Manufactured in Belgium.
Interesting but I have never needed to do this. Most of my 100s of cassettes are 30+ years old and never needed any maintenance...the only ones I have had to ditch are BASF ones from early 80s (particularly the chrome ones) which left my heads covered in brown goo. I just threw them away.
Lucky you!
The problem is not the tape itself. The inner sleeves especially on pre recorded tapes are what allow the reels smooth transport . Lubricating the tape itself will lubricate the sleeves. Gently prying the cassette apart and lubricating the sleeves themselves will solve the issue and not need to be contacted on the playback side of the tape. All this does is lubricate the inner sleeve without having to halve the cassette . Tapping on all 4 edges helps without lubing anything.
All types of tape have lube in the binder. Sometimes this goes dry and it is a standard procedure to relubricate old tape as yoiu can read in the articles I uploaded in the video description.
I would imagine this treatment also applies to standard vhs movie tapes as well?
Never tried it but VHS tape has a different composition from audio tape so I wouldn’t risk it
I have a question? How long should you rewind and or fast forward? Should you go the length of the whole tape?
Yes, at least one time back and forth.
100% GUARANTEED TO WORK !!
NAPA ELECTRICAL SPRAY DOES NOT DAMAGE THE TAPE IN ANY WAY WHAT SO EVER 🙂
Just found a way to to sort Commodore 64 tape games that the tape is grinding tight sprayed with NAPA electrical cleaner then spray a cotton bud end wet take the datta cassette front off so you get access to the tape stick the cotton bud in the first hole behind the tape and fast forward and rewind over and over it lubricates the tape also spraying the cog wheels AND most important see the wee bit in the middle of the tape where the head is soak it with spray for the cassette on both sides lightly dry the the tape might have to be done a few times but loosens the tape off Whee Hawww working as good as new :V . . .
TOOK THE CHANCE ON KNOWING THAT SPRAY PROTECTS ALL ELECTRICAL DATA IN CHIPS EVEN IF THEY GET WET INSIDE WITH THE SPRAY AS LONG AS IT IS LEFT TO DRY BEFORE SWITCHING BACK ON THE CHIPS ARE GOOD TO GO ZERO DAMMAGE SO IMA THOUGHT FCK IT WTF DO IMA HAVE TO LOOSE A DATASOFT ARCADE CLASSICS POLE POSITION PAC MAN MR DO! AND DIG DUG TAPE IMA DID THIS TO THAT WAS DRIED AND GRINDING IT IS SILKY SMOOTH WORKING AS GOOD AS NEW NOW
Thanks so much for this. I used ELECTROLUBE Contact Cleaner Lubricant on a squeaky BASF LH super SM C90 cassette. I'd put the tape into another shell. No luck. Tried your suggestion: INSTANT success!! Thanks again :-)
Thank you Martin for bringing your experience! Glad it worked! Sometimes it takes weeks!
I also wonder if the reels sometimes cause this type of problem? If the teeth of the cassette reel have worn or are not quite the correct size they don't grab to the cassette player pulley's properly leading to incorrect playback.
I can't recall hearing anything about where there is too much friction, without the lubrication process. Will the tape stick to another layer of the tape, where it is wound up?
Could be...check the video description for several articles and info
@@anadialog Thank you for reminding me about the video description. I have somehow "lost contact" with the video description since the TH-cam interface did change.
I can see there is a lot of information behind those links! 👍🙂
Please do not ever do this. Lubricant can contaminate the pinch rollers and heads of your machine. Some chemicals can dissolve the glues used in tape heads, and can cause rubber compounds to fall apart. Slippery capstans and pinch rollers will cause speed instability. Slippery tape can coggle and cinch, which is not good. The tape needs to bind for consistent back tension. Chemicals could cause the tape to delaminate, leaving oxide on everything. Maxell oxide shedding caused much damage in the '90's to video machinery, and cross contaminated other tapes.
The squeaking and jamming is caused by uneven winding, and by oxide shedding. Yes you can use a q-tip (carefully) in the manner shown, but do it dry. Best is to take the shell apart and clean the oxide out. Also clean out guide rollers within the shell. Also clean the sheet film in the shell.
Please do not use any lube though or you may find you cause irreparable damage to your machine.
As explained in the video this is not an idea I just came out with. I trust lucky of tapeheads and I can assure you that tape does have and need sone lube. Especially the XDR tapes. Using the method I described gives a very low amount of lube and, as stated, you need to give time to the tape to absorb the lube. After that you can use a dry tip for absorbing the exeeding amount. Lube can actually help the life of other rubber parts.
Apart from this, the compounds suggested in the video are safe because completely inert. They do not corrod or melt anything.
25 years in the broadcasting industry, I've seen it all with tape problems. The manufacturers of the fluids obviously claim no harm can come, but we are talking, in some cases of tapes and machines of 70's and 80's manufacture, where these lubes did not exist. Everybody claimed it wasnt their fault when video heads came unglued in the 80's, and Maxell denied all liability, in the 90's when we discovered it was their oxide that was destroying D3 heads and contaminating other D3 tapes that then all had to be recovered and cloned. In some cases entire programmes were lost. It cost just the BBC about a £1M fixing the problem.
I stand by my comment to use the other method. I have hundreds of cassettes and have come across some "sticky" tapes. Taking them out of their shell, cleaning all the oxide away and reinstating the tape is the best method, and the only one I would ever recommend to anyone else.
It is fine to try other solutions on your own equipment, at the very least add a disclaimer that people do this at their own risk and that you are not willing to take responsibility for any resulting damage to either tapes, by cinching or coggling, or machinery.
Thanks for your advice. I tried the method of anadialog, it took some time and then ....nothing happened or harmed the tape. Chet Baker still sounds amazing. I tried this on several tapes.... no harm, no soundloss or even damage of the tape. May you have your experience in 25 year of broadcasting. I got tapes since 69, the still work, coz my father used to clean them with fluids that were sold in the 70 to clean heads. Still amazing, no glue, no briddle nothing. Everyone shall make his experience;-)
Cheers, Bryan!!! This is what I was trying to convey in my own comments, but you addressed things with more succinct specificity! Thanks for conveying what I failed to say, lol.
►"no harm, no soundloss or even damage of the tape. "
You won't notice problems right away. Give it time. LOTS of time. Let the science do its thing, your tapes (and possibly any decks it transfers these solvents and lubes to) will begin to wane. ;-)
I don't have any formal industry experience, just 20 years of my own trial and error and pretty much having tried, seen, and done it all when it comes to tapes and their care/maintenance. I've used tapes to excess levels that have put new meaning to the term "torture tests". I've also done tape splicing, so taking tapes apart and transferring tape into new shells and replacing hubs and the various little parts for various reasons is old hat for me. And handling tapes just with bare fingers - despite all my delicate efforts in handling - still compromised the tape, so I can only imagine what chemical solvents and lubes (whatever their potency) will do.
I’m having a hard time find that lubricant. Granted this video is 5 years old. Anyone have a link on where to buy some? Trying to salvage two tapes
If you can’t find it, just try a silicon based lubricant WITHOUT solvents/thinner etc.
I found also a treatment for this problem but you need to open thé cassette. Inside you have two plastic films for each side. Remove them from thé cassette and spray their interior with wax spray. Wipe them off and replace in thé cassette. Thé results are amazing...
Ah, but what do you do with a cassette with a welded shell? 😉
I just open the cassette and lubricate both sides of the reels... side A and B using a little quantity with a cottom swab
XDR = Xtra DRy
🤣
@@anadialog nearly most of my XDR cassette manufactured by EMI UK and US has this dry problem, so looks like I am not the only one with issue right？
@@ayusyz sadly it is a common problem...
deaddddXD
I had two cassette tapes one squeaked the entire time and the other slowed down and stopped in the middle of playing I used home depot silicone spray wet the Q-tip several times in the process you could actually see the tape get wet with silicone , LOL I wet it way to much and started to see bubbles forming inside the cassette case so to dry it I used dry Q-tips it . the process took 30 minutes. I played the tapes back wow they played perfect and the Tape Deck was not harmed with the silicone but cleaned the head and pinch roller to be on the safe side . I highly recommend this process to save your tapes
Thanks for your feedback Jose!
Thanks. I'll try this. I've subbed your channel.
Great! Give us some feedback!
@@anadialog I am not a rich guy. You and I and other members of our community want to get the best out of our gear, regardless of how much it cost. I don't like "audioholics" who say if you don't have that turntable or those speakers you are not in the game. I could say an [expletive deleted], but I won't. Keep up the good work!
Nice :-) Lutz is all over the place. Cheers
No, I wouldn't "do this at home". If a tape gets "sticky", I first check, if there is any brown dust on the tape heads and tape guidance. If there is, it's a binder problem. If the recordings can be replaced (buy a CD!), the tape goes right to the trash. If it's Elvis singing in the bathtub (or something non replacable), I take an old tapedeck, digitize track by track and clean everything all 3 minutes. Afterwards the tape goes to the bin. If there is no brown dust, just make a shell transplantation. Take a new ferric tape with screws, throw the tape inside away and put the tape of the patient in it. Worked everytime for me. I don't want lubricant on the heads of my Revox.
A small amount of lube, which is the amount I am suggesting to reintroduce, is always present on any type of tape. Nothing new!
8 tracks are lubricated, but CCs? I can't tell if your method works and I won't try it either. But a shell exchange always worked for me. Those pre-recorded tapes often had cheapo shells without the graphite coated plastic foil in it. So try a better shell before "lubricating your tape heads". ;)
Guys, the lube is absorbed by the tape. Again, ALL types of tape have and need a small amount of lubricant to work...
Magnetic tape (after 1960) usually consists of a base polyester layer, a non-magnetic lower-layer for stability and the magnetic layer for recording. So called back-coated tape contains some integrated lubricants on the back of the tape. Back-coated tape must be used on 8-tracks (overwise they would'nt work). For reel to reel it was an option. 3M Scotch often made back-coated tapes and they tend to get sticky when aging. My reel to reel recorder has a mechanical switch to turn off the pressure pad when using back-coated tape. Trade name for back-coated tape was often "Black watch". There were some Scotch CCs called "Black watch", they are most likely back-coated. Back-coating is still used on Imation DLT and LTO computer tapes, but today they work well. I have never heard that a normal CC is lubricated. There is some graphite in the foil and the surface may be polished, but I wouldn't call that lubrication.
Again, all types of tape have lubricant and we are not talking about the back. This is just the first site I found on the web: www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub54/2what_wrong/
i got to the point i just open it and replace it with type 2 then record the album for my own personal use
So now i leanered its not a Q-tip but a cue tip, or maybe a queue tip?
😂 I am mainly Italian, sorry about that.
4 years later, and it’s still hilarious to hear LUB-ricate pronounced wrong (it’s LOOB-bricate, to all those where English is clearly not your first language).
I am Italian so I mispronounce several words. Sorry about that.
Only on XDR audio cassette, did somebody tried that on video cassette by any chance?
I have many 45 year old blue memorex tapes that I might try this on. Shells have no screws. Just need to find a proper lube.
Silicone spray dissolved my cassette case. Deoxit did not seem to.
I think that is time to stop agitating people to lubricate cassettes and make a big mess with their decks and killing the cassettes this way. I want to see you and mr Lucki from Germany how you both lubricate cassettes with your favorite lubricants, spatially you with a silicon lubricant and after that to play this cassettes on your Nakamichi Dragon -s ! This technology concerning just certain types of tapes which is playing on open reel to reel but not a modern cassettes. I try already and make a mess with 3 of my high end decks and destroy permanent good cassette and a record on it. Also here I am posting my question and answer of professionals that dealing with a transfer of records of old sticky tapes and they know about lubricants and also other technologies concerning sticky shed syndrome .
John Adams 1 week ago
Question to mr. Hales Should be the cassette tape lubricated against sticking and if yes- what kind of lubrication to use and how this will affected the frequency range and the quality of the sound likes dynamic, noise and wow and flutter. Thank you for your consideration in advance!
Highlighted reply
Electrical Audio
1 week ago
Hi, tape has lubricant in the composition of the coatings. Generally, you don't want to lubricate the tape for playback or transfer, as it can create a mess that could damage tape and machine. However, if you dig into Richard Hess' site, you'll find an article about "wet playing" tapes, and some other examples of people using very specific lubricants when baking couldn't restore a tape for transfer. I should caution that these should only be done by a professional who is setup for wet playing. In most cases where the tape is degrading because of sticky-shed syndrome, baking is the solution. But not in all cases... Good luck!
As clearly explained, you must clean the tape repeatedly with a few cuetips in order to remove all lube in excess l. The tape will get what it needs. If you are anybody not comfortable, don't do it. No problem at all.
@@anadialog The problem is that once the tape is lubricated on the front side by rolling in a cassette is on the lubricated on the back side and even to clean the front by rolling the grease on the back side is still lube on the front side. And you super stubbornly refuse to admit the fact that in decks with two capstans the tape is stretched by the friction of the axes of the capstans contacting to the back of the tape which is made of polymer and is more slippery than the front side which has a magnetic layer and also can not absorb any kind of lub. And when this back side of slippery polymer is also lubricated ,then the tension force of the tape is insufficient to ensure good contact with the head, especially by Nakamichi with NAAC, and then the result is great - wow and flutter and emergency shutdown of the transport mechanism because the sensors detect excessive slippage . So your whole article about lubricating audio cassettes is an incredible nonsense based on the joke of a German master of decks, a great joker really, and some articles about lubricating tapes on tape recorders but not on cassette players.
And on top of that, you don't acknowledge what I'm writing to you, but you make me realize that I didn't understand the sacred technology of lubricating cassette tapes. I want to tell you that it is not an honor for you to deceive older people than you, with things that you have not checked yourself and
you rely on a theory for something else and someone who wants to see how many naive people from the site will go to lubricate cassette tapes with various lubricants and laugh at them in German forums. I understand that you do this for more clicks and readings, but still should know that there are people with technical education and experience who will not belive to such absurd things.
And this, of course, destroys the credibility of your performances and I stop being interested in them because they are becoming more and more non sense and I do not want to waste my time with unproven things that will waste my time and harm my decks and cassettes . This for lubrication re lubrication, this for the thick wooden plate under the turntable, this for the thick power cord for 220 volts that will make more power, this for music over 20,000 Hz ... so far this is enough for me to stop wasting my time. People want to learn something real and not someone to deceive them and make money by wasting their time
@@johnadams9041 I have no idea why but you keep coming back and you are clarly driven by prejudice besides triying once on a healthy tape that obviously has lubricant. At this time you are the only one complaining besides making a lot of mistakes here. FIRST MISTAKE: you said lube ends up on the back, yes true, but the back is always in contact with the top, so if you clean thoroughly the tape as I have clearly stated, ALL lube will be absorbed from the tape first, and then by the cue tips secondly. If you do not understand the process you cannot blame others. SECOND MISTAKE: you said no articles talk about cassettes. First of all, I added several articles that back up and substantiate this process for tape in general, magnetic tape is magnetic tape, in any case it is clear that you did not even read these scientific papers because two of them, by Bogart and by Hess, discuss this process also on cassettes (FACT) and even more ridiculous, one discusses how the Nakamichi Dragon after some initial esitations worked perfectly. So all you conclusions on this aspect are completely wrong and strongly biased. This is a fact. I and several subscribers tested this process for years and had always positive results. This is another fact. THIRD MISTAKE: Without any reason and out of the blue you kick in also other videos of mine criticizing the effectiveness. Turntables are greatly effected by vibrations. Fact. A solid, high-mass plinth of wood or other material will always help reducing these. Fact, again. I have no idea of which thick power cord you are taking about. Sound beyond 20Khz? Yes, I again presented scientific documents that PROVE that instruments go beyond 20Khz, that people hear and perceve that physially and at a brain level, that those frequecies deliver a more faithful reproduction and that OBVIOUSLY create harmonics and influence the audible spectrum. This is science and yours is prejudice.
@@anadialog I do NOT agree that I did something wrong, almost like a fool, and if I followed your advice, which is based on "scientists" and not on your experience or experiment, it would be exactly what you read. First - what is the difference between the good tape and the bad one that needs to be lubricated? That they are both 40 years old. Or do you want to tell me that one is like absorbent already and absorbs lubricants and the other is not? Or is it just that one of them is bad at first and when we lubricate it will becomes good? After all, lubrication supposedly improved and preserved and preserved and rejuvenated the strips, and they lasted longer. Where is my mistake here lubricating a 40-year-old tape that you think has already missed the oil change several times? Second - because "scientists" say that Nakamichi Dragon played better with lubricated tape. Who are the scientists and who are the ignorant? Am I a scientist or an ignoramus? I have a master's degree in mechanical and electrical engineering, I have 3 inventions and 5 rationalizations and I am currently doing my own research about changing the direction of the magnetic induction vector applied to a magnetic medium, depending on the speed of the magnetic medium and the recording parameters.
This is Nakamichi's secret about the azimuth of discrete heads, not what everyone explains about the coincidence of the runways of the heads. Accordingly, I am very aware of the magnetic permeability of the layer of different tapes, with the depth of the magnetic flux recording with the magnetic hysteresis with the coercive forces and the aging of the recording in the first microseconds after recording. And accordingly, I define lubrication with random lubricants as incredible nonsense that just makes a mess with the record. How are those scientists more scientists than me?. So scientists as much as you want everywhere and of any kind and everyone writes what he wants to make money mainly .. I do not believe everything that scientists tell me. So when a virologist came out on Fox News and said that masks were harmful, I immediately went to buy N95 masks and barely found them - apparently there were many others who suffered from the scientists. They wanted to deceive us with high price and you are telling me here that I have to trust them for some tapes? This is the difference between me and you. You believe in scientists, you quote them and I am an experimenter and I do not believe them until I am convinced by experiments. In this case, my experiments do not confirm what your scientists have written, but you have not experimented with Nakamichi dragon, which in no way will work with a slippery tape, nor did my decks.
The wood foundation for the turntable - yes it is good but if it is gold and weighs 400 kg it will dampen the vibrations even better - here is how much valuable advice. Well if I tell you that a concrete slab will do the same job it will not be as valuable advice. As for ultrasound music, I won't bother here with young people who hear super cool, if you hear it with your brain or something else - listen to it with pleasure when you can and when there is a place to play for you. Success!
What really frosts my fur is that the cheapo Certron tapes (the ones everybody said to stay away from) work much better now than the expensive TDK tapes I bought in the 1980s. The TDK tapes tend to wind too tightly. I try to play them, and they squeak and squeal, and like you said, the tape player shuts off.
I bought a tdk tape and I tried to record songs to it but no sound is recording to the tape.
Thank you
Strange ! Actually the 2 black (sometimes transparent films) inside the tape, act as minimum friction for the wheels spin.
Putting lubricant on the band itself, will end up on the reading heads and creating dirt on them ! Not speaking about the adverse effect of lubricant on chromium/magnetic coating of the band.
All tapes have lube in the binder. Check the info and articles in the video description. Just pay attention and collect the excessive amount of lube with cue tips.
Have you ever tried this with an oil based lube? I'm wondering if bike chain lube could work...
I haven't but I wouldn't try. Silicone is more safe.
I looked up that particular item, and it's not available. There are 3MLubrifiant silicone sprays, but there are different ones. There is a dry silicone spray and a wet silicone spray. Which type of spray did you use, and does it matter on the number on the spray?
@@anadialog Thank you for the information. I'll do that.
I just received a Walkman that I have just purchased, but it only has fast forward. Will this work? Also, I wasn't clear on the 2 Q-tips to use two for each side. I'm guessing that one is for the silicone and one to dry. Is that correct? And I figure when you say just a bit, it means as little on the side of the swab as possible. Let me know. Thanks.
Exactly! You perfectly understood...
@ANA[DIA]LOG I can't buy it in the uk what can I use
Try a silicone based lubricant with NO solvent. But I can't recommend a specific product and make sure to test it first on a cassette you care less.
Five and a half minutes of babble before getting on with the video yawn
Hi. Does the whole tape have to go through or just one piece?
All of it
@@anadialog can i use this one? www.amazon.es/dp/B000YJ06OW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RsxPFb2AA5GXJ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Yes, but I recommend the 3M compound.
@@anadialog Can you link me to the 3m? I can't find it in amazon
Amazon runs out of it frequently...try here www.walmart.com/ip/3M-MM08877-Silicone-Lubricant-Plus-Wet-Type/190577609
Hi, I watched your video and it makes me wonder if there could be a way to fix the tape reel after your child yanked it out and left a portion of it stretched and twisted.
Can we somehow 'iron' it -- so to speak -- back out, or bring it closer to its former state. I am afraid whatever is done would never get me back the same reproduction as I got before the tape was attacked. Still, if I can try something, I'd be happy to know.
Thanks
I'm afraid that once it's twisted and stretched it's done...but maybe someone else has a solution
Cut out bad. Splice good part together.
Great idea but how does the silicon not block the audio from the tape since you lubricate the playing side of the tape instead of the back of the tape..I would assume the Silicone would Shield the tape oxide particles from making contact with the heads ..
That is the idea! All types of tape have lubricates on them. The important is to suck up the exeding amount with a dry cue tip.
the pathway is not serpentine in the shell, so both surfaces will be oozing with un-grip-able (by the steel peg capstan) slickness.
I would worry about lubricating the pinch rollers
I have a few cassettes that do this, one in specific is XDR and the other is not. The XDR one is Tina Turner "Simply The Best" and the other one is a compilation set. My Michael Jackson History and History in the mix cassettes also have this issue with them playing fine then when the take up real gets a bit "heavier" it starts to tighten up. I was told a good fast-forwarding and rewinding back and forth a few times would help it, and while it has for a short while, I am still plagued with this issue. I have so many cassettes that I have collected. Another common issue I found with these cassettes (XDR included) as well as those ones that have the white reels, is the guide rollers tend to not move properly if at all in some cases. When these guide rollers aren't rotating when the cassette is playing, fast-forwarding or rewinding I think that also causes several issues. Would these guide rollers need lubricated in a way as well?
You mean the ones in the corners? No, I
I wouldn't touch those.
@@anadialog thank you, I’m late on this. Would it be a good idea to replace the guide rollers in the corner possibly (especially if the cassette case has screws)
Why the cassette on side A lose the treble sound? specially TDK tapes.
I never heard of this issue...I think you need to check your deck!
it's really hard to find the lubricants you suggested here in our country, is it okay to use WD40 silicone lubricant?
I suggest to use a silicone based lubricant with NO solvents
@@anadialog any brand on amazon that you recomend ?
Can't recommend anything, I can only suggest a silicone based lubricant without any solvents
My tapes seem to stop in the same place each time, and the surface of the tape appears different. Can I lubricate the offending spot and see if that cures it?
Try, but if it is a lube issue you are probably going to need to lubricate all the tape.
This is exactly why consumers are turned off by cassettes during its time. You’re already spending a lot of money and you still have to do do all of this for “maintenance”
Thank you so much for this video. With this process I saved a 40 year old BASF HF 120 cassette containing a unique recording. Is seized frequently. And the parts that did play squealed very badly. After transplanting the tape to a Maxell XLII housing, treating it twice with silicone and letting it rest for 48 hours, it now plays well enough to secure a digital copy from it!
Great news! Thanks for sharing you experience Richard!
Did you do it the same was as in the video, and with the same products?
I used a cotton swap soaked with silicone spray. And ran the tape along it, winding it with a BIC ballpoint
@@RichardPflug Which spray did you use?
I think I had a can of the brand Griffon on hand. But I think you can use any brand of regular silicone spray.
I found that you don’t actually need a compact cassette player to do this process. I used the casing of an old pen and attached it to an electric drill - worked just as well.
Smart idea
A pencil will work too. Use the eraser head of the pencil to turn the spoke wheels while the other end is in a drill.
It depends on what you have. A better idea is using a pen to do manually. I have a very dirty tape which need to be cleaned and need to be relubricated. After Cleaning a bit, sounds little better and There are lots of things to do.
I was just thinking that- no auto stop though lol
Here's a man who knows how to use his noggin
This has worked really well. I managed to revive a few old cassettes of mine. Your right though, it may take a few attempts to get the tape back to nearly new. I was very happy with my results. WD-40 specialist silicone seemed to work well with tapes.
Silicone is a very good electricity insulator and can run havoc in anything using electricity. Be careful when using it.
@@xcvbxcvb2179 Silicon based lubricants are everywhere in the cassete deck's mechanism. It's the only lube available for plastic/pvc parts and plastic-metal joints.
@@corwin.macleod there's teflon spray though.
Are you sure wd40 lube will work? Thanks.
@@corwin.macleod Teflon grease is used a lot with plastic or metal/plastic mechanics. The priority is that it is mineral oil free.
Some years ago, I've discovered that one of my tapes sounded really worn out. But instead of throwing it in the trash, I've "retired" the tape and only kept it as a collectible item (because the tape is rare). After seeing this video, I gave this method a try with the 3M lubricant. And it works! Not perfect, but still a vast improvement. Thanks for the advise.
Cool! Try to play it in 3 weeks and you will see that it will probably play even better. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Do some research on tape baking as well while you are at it.
Just tried this with several cassettes that kept on slowing, stopping and some that wouldnt play at all. I used non staining silicone lubricant and now all the cassettes play flawlessly. I almost sold my entire collection before I saw this so thanks for the video 👍
Thank you for your feedback!
Can't recommend that because I haven't tested it.
First of all....cassette tapes need from time to time full rewinding few times to tape aligns properly in housing....second....you need to use quality deck or tapes....third...lubrication is poor trick after you may had problem with deck tape path or heads
I opened up a brand new cassette tape from 2001 and played it and well the sound on the tape at first sounded good after about a min or so it started playing in slow motion and then it went back to normal but it did that a couple of times... i dont know if its the tape player thats causing it to do that or the tape , i checked what kind of tape it is and its a type 2 cdt cassette, would lubing the cassette fix it?... , i even tried rewinding it a couple of times to loosen it up.
@@cristianthashoota5841 Lubricant dies, silicone doesn't last forever. Also tapes gather moist throughout the years and start to stick to the heads while playing. Both effects give the same symptoms. Both are treatable, lube can be added, moist removed through "tape baking".
Worked amazingly. I used an old Panasonic portable boombox from the thrift shop and removed the door. This video saved so many cassettes from being discarded. Thanks
Thanks for your feedback!
I used a high alcohol hand sanitiser and rather than holding the cotton budds in place I cut them down to size and placed them under where the tape is brought by the pinch roller. Worked a treat on my Jamiroquai emergency on planet Earth cassette
Just came across this video help my wasp cassette back to life after 30 plus years. Thanks 👍
This fixed a new old stock , pre-recorded chrome tape from 1987 I got. It was shedding old lube all over the tapehead (white debri) and as a cause would have massive dropouts suddenly whenever the head got clogged. The tape also squeeked at the end of the sides. I went over the tape with a dry q-tip first and then applied new silicone using your method. (though instead of a deck/personal stereo, I used a cordless screwdriver on slow speed and an old felt pen stuck into it that perfectly fit in the cassettes' hubs. True McGiver technique, lol) Now the issues are completely gone and the tape sounds as good as new!
You can cut the ear stick with scissors for it to sit flush with the tape, and then, you can pretty much rewind it from any player without needing the access to the tape. Btw, this actually works. Right after I lubricated my Pink Floyd Animals tape, it now actually plays pretty decently, there is still some "lag", but like the guy said - it takes a couple of weeks for tape to fully lubricate.
I would be very careful with silicone as it is an insulator and can cause head problems if you get too messy. Cool video
If you aren't confident to use chemicals, you probably shouldn't be playing with electronics either..
I have a couple Megadeth cassettes (peace sells and So far so good so what) that sound awesome when they work but in some of my decks they have the really bad wow and flutter, even though other cassettes worked great. Good to know WHY it is a problem.
I'm looking to remaster my old cassette recordings and this tip will come in very handy.
I've always wanted to own the dark side of the moon on cassette! but now I can finally save all my warpy cassettes most especially my xdr duran duran cassette...thank you so much for this my dude!:))
Thanks so much for the advice! When I first started lubing my cassettes, I did it your way, with a Q-Tip brand cotton swab and a can of Liquid Wrench silicone spray. At some point in your video, I think you asked for other ways to do this, so here's the process I finally "graduated" to: I rewound each tape to the stop, then used a butter knife to gently pry/pull the tape out and away from the little follower pad, ending up with a loop just big enough to put my index finger through (if I'd wanted to). Then I sprayed the silicone lube through the little red applicator straw as gently as I could, trying to get a decent size drop to dangle from the tip. Next, I carefully dropped that drip onto the follower pad, tightened the tape with my finger, and rewound it like you did. Then I repeated the entire process. Some cassettes I lubed this way 4 times, some only twice. Now I'll leave 'em sit a day or two and give 'em a play! As I typed this, I wonder how one of those electronic lubes would've worked? Something like CRC's 2-26?
Thanks for sharing!
Here's the follow-up: The last tape I did with the Q-Tip before switching techniques just seized up and broke. I think I over-lubed it and essentially glued it together. Oops! It would rewind and fast forward alright, but it wouldn't play to save my life. When I tried to pull it out of the shell, it broke. I'd recommend if you use my technique, you only do two drops of lube - one drop, rewind, one drop, rewind. Done.
@@maximusmax4557 Video Please :)
I knew you would be a Police fan ;)
Yes!!!!
I didn’t have any silicone lubricant laying around and didn’t feel like going to the store, so stubborn me just shaved some fine graphite off a pencil with a razor and rolled my cotton swab around in it until it was well coated. Worked like a charm, and no issues to speak of yet regarding the graphite. A plus to this method in my case is the results were instant. I played that sucker immediately, no waiting.
Thanks for the inspiration, love your content.
Great, I just hope it doesn't stick and change the characteristics of the trasport
Can you provide proof of this method?
I recently got a sealed old stock Beatles Breadbox, and was extremely happy until finding out that the XDR tapes were sticking. I watched this video and was prepared to try it, but I freed them up with multiple FFWD/REW cycles. One tape had to be wound manually with a BIC pen at first, and another was squealing horribly, but they all work now without anything as extreme as adding lubricant. One cassette took about ten FFWD/REW cycles to loosen it enough to play well, but it works great now. I would only resort to lubrication after exhausting all other options.
I agree!!
That's what I do. FF & RW. And, if it's possible, I carefully open the tape shell and replace the sheets. Some seem "inflammed".
My Death Spiritual Healing cassette is an XDR its sticking I need lubrication.
A couple of my cassettes do the same thing,I have tried it on one cassette,in the video you said that it could take up to a week for the process to work,how long should I wait before playing it again,good Video by the way!
Someone tries immediately but some lube may still be around, at least a couple of days…
hi thank for taking time to teach...the link for the 3M lubricant brings you to a page 3m no longer is using (it is a bad link) thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
The 3M is very hard to obtain in the US they say and it is also rare elsewhere. Just search for a silicon based live with no thinners/diluents/alcohol and you should be good!
I tried it with my dad's old Pink Floyd casette, and now it sounds really good. Thanks.
What kind of lubricant did you try?
@@ManicksChannel Mink Oil
@@willyb7353oh come on haha
@@ManicksChannel Yeah, it's ridiculous.
@@willyb7353 😑
Thank you for this, it worked for me.
I found a Beatles tape that I had been looking for since I was about 7 or 8 years old in a music shop, but it had this problem. I've been wanting a copy of this tape for something like 34 years.
I found your video and after multiple tries to lubricate the tape, I let it sit for a while I think over a week or more and voila it worked.
My inner child Thanks you❤
Thanks for your feedback!
I have a bunch of Ampex prerecorded cassette tapes and they're having this problem. I'll be listening to one and it will drag or stop. Will definitely give this a try. Wouldn't this coat your tapehead with lubricant? I would think that you would need to clean your heads everytime you would play a tape that you lubricated. Is this so?
I thought the issue with cassette tape binding was always with friction against the cassette shell 'sides'? Many cassettes even have special film sleeves between the tape and cassette covers to combat this.
In some cases it is probably part if the equation, especially when they are winded irregurarly
EXACTLY, Tim Kerins!
Although, older cassettes may lack these special sleeves, or have paper-like ones that are not much better than sans-sleeves.
I always saved any prerecorded/blank tapes that got damaged or ruined beyond any salvageable playback, for the parts to "cannibalize" later for repairing other tapes with any dodgy/missing parts.
This video caught my eye a few days ago. Today I popped in a well-loved copy of Boz Scaggs Greatest Hits and the tape Stopped! Thank you for the video!
Do not lubricate cassette mechanism....it is stupid idea from someone who think that he is know what is doing
In fact nobody is saying to lubricate mechanisms! ;-)
Plus you are judging me withoutknowinganythingabout me. You are clearly moved by prejudice.
This is an absolute lifesaver! I hope you know that! I've ordered some cassettes off of amazon and have bought some at concerts. When I got my second cassette I thought there was an issue with my cassette player. However, some of my other cassettes play just fine, one even plays perfectly. Thanks for the video!
I've found Warner Bros. (WEA) made the best sounding tapes that have lasted the longest over time with good sound.
margaretsville I will go one further: anything made by A&M on Basf Chrome sounds amazing - despite the squeeky hubs. Lol.
I have a bunch of Warner Brothers oldies cassettes from Korea, and the sound is of near CD quality.
Yeah, I've noticed warner bros sound pretty good. But Sony/Columbia sound way better.
I own some WEA cassettes they are Metallica cassettes and they work the best compared to my XDR cassettes my Death Spiritual Healing XDR cassette doesn't want to play without fluttering. Most combat records cassettes are XDR and suck WEA cassettes like Ride The Lightning are the best.
I found this lubrication problem on most EMI tapes from the 80s, made in the netherlands, thanks for the advice!
You are very welcome!
@@anadialog
Another quick question: if i use contact cleaner, do i need to buy a specific one or does any good quality one work fine? Aksing because it’s not easy to get a hold of the 3M lubricant where i live and contact cleaner is easier and cheaper to find
I tried the one in the video, can't say for the rest. What I suggest is to get a silicone based lubricant with NO solvents. And make sure to dry everything up after application. Start from a cassette not to important for you.
@@ttheone3518 You definitely don't wanna use contact cleaner! I used some Liquid Wrench silicone spray, which you should be able to get at Walmart or your local auto parts store. You might also try something like CSC 2-26, which I got at Home Depot. Good luck!
Hi, love your channel. Hope the hi-end tape deck vid is coming! Does lubricant on the tape stop the grip between capstan and pinch roller?
It may. Just make sure to absorb the exceeding lube. Then you won't have any problems. Sure, the vid is on the to do list!
Many thanks for the detailed analysis of the issue and the solution. I've got loads of cassettes, the oldest one is from 1968. I've had the issue with 3 cassettes so far, one 80s Fame reissue by EMI, and two cassettes from CBS (1973 and 1984).
The first time I used your solution, I think I might have overdone it a little, I saw that I could play the side A for the first time which was a good sign, but the sound on side B was still bad.
Can you say how much lubricant I should use each time. On the video, I can't really see it, I just want to be on a safe side and not damage my precious cassettes.
So to sum up: I will do it twice rew/fast forward x2 per side and repeat it the next day and than will wait about a month or two?
Sorry If I got it wrong, best regards Grzegorz
Add the lube and every once in a while relube the cuetip. Let it seep in for a while. And then just make sure to abaorb all the exceeding lube with a few dry cuetips. After that just wait a few days and it may work. Sometimes, for me at least, it took a month!
That lubricant stretches the tape. The only thing that requires lubrication are the reels. This lubricant will also compromise the pinch roller adhesion properties. DON'T PERFORM THIS !!!!!!
Check the documents I added in the video description before shouting your preconceptions. Its a standard procedure, also done on cassettes decks. Also, as I have explained and written all over the place, you must obviously absorbe all the exceeding lube with clean cue tips after the treatment. So non of what you are claiming will happen.
@@anadialog 3 words for a proper working cassette drive line: CLEAN - CLEAN - CLEAN. Nothing should be put onto magnetic tape surface. This is per the US Library of Congress magnetic tape maintenance best practices, where the biggest stockpile of magnetic tape exists. Your method will adversely react with the polyurethane binder. The processes outlined in your links describe lubrication phenomenon during the manufacturing process.
you are accumulating the particulates on the q-tip and dragging it over the rest of the tape. If you want to do it right, confirm if there's binder hydrolysis. If not, then you clean the tape, and then you lubricate it without a course q-tip.
Your technique is INCORRECT - YOU'RE A HACK ! STOP PROMOTING THIS DESTRUCTIVE METHOD !
Again, Re-lubing is a standard procedure, leave aside the manufacturing phase, we are talking after the original lube has evaneshed. Lubricant is present ON the tape. Check the documents in depth and all your doubts will be removed. BTW, I did invent anything I am just reporting an existing technique.
If the tape has screws you can open the cassette carefully and spray the lube on the sides of the reels, then take a q tip and soak up the excess. Put the tape back together and set on the shelf for a week. The lube will seep into the film over time and the tape will play nicely. I have done this for many years. If the tape does not have screws then you take a flat razor blade and tap into the side seems of the tape to break the bond and open it it carefully. After lubing it you then put small drops of super glue on the edge seems of the tape and close it back up.
True that's why I miss the old cassettes you can take them apart I hated when they started sealing up the blank cassettes I used trim mine down sometimes to customize my tapes to fit the length of the album that I copied it on
@@jimmiesmith5811 i sure do miss those days.
Thanks for the tip- I'm just curious, after a week or so, does lube absorb into the tape enough so that it actually doesn't coat the pinch roller in the lube? That's my main concern when doing any tape lube method really...
@Lindsay James the pinch roller always gets oil on it after playing tapes that have been lubed. I always maintain my tape decks by taking a q tip soaked in 91 percent rubbing alcohol and clean the pinch roller. Once the pinch roller has been degreased, I take 400 grit sand paper and rip a small piece about the size of your thumb. Then I rub the sand paper horizontally across the rubber pinch roller. This removes the stale film off the rubber and makes it grip better even if it gets oily.
I got a tape in the mail that I had ordered from eBay. It’s specifically an album from the Motown record label, but it has a similar problem to that Beatles tape. The first song, which is roughly around four and a half minutes long, and the last song play perfectly fine. However, about a minute or so into the second track, things start getting wonky. The second side is even worse because there’s parts where it’s barely moving. My dad and I found out that one of the reels is apparently tighter than the other, which would explain why one side works better than the other. So that’s how I ended up here.
Another thing I found interesting is that these were the issues it was having in deck 1 of my Technics RS-TR373 cassette player. In a Sony voice recorder that I own, the tape doesn’t even move. However, in deck 2 of the Technics player, it actually sounded significantly better. It still has its issues, but I found it interesting how the recording deck was able to play it.
Hey im having an exact problem at the moment what do you mean by reels? Like the spools in the tape or the machine itself. A response would be greatly appreciated!
He means the reels/spools of tape...its always the game problem, just lubricate as indicated in the video!
It’s called sticky tape syndrome. Try removing the tape and putting into a newer, modern shell. Rewind and fast forward a few times to loosen it up.
That should work. Do not oil your tapes for goodness sake.
Not necessarily John, he did not describe the typical symptoms. If it isn't shedding in a paste on the trasport parts it is not. Lubricating reel to reel tape is a common practice.
ANA[DIA]LOG it’s sticky tape. It doesn’t need to shed in your heads to have this problem. Fucksakes.
Sticky tape is caused by the breakdown of the binder, which yes contains a microscopic amount of specialized lubrication. When the binder breaks down (very typical on XDR cassettes and a few others) it creates a problem where the tape sticks to itself. This is because the glue/binder that holds the magnetic layers and lube together starts to deteriorate and fast.
The only solution for this is to remove the tape from its crappy shell, put into an oven at no more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit for a few hours and then reassemble in a new shell.
This is called baking tapes and it will restore the binder and lube particles for a few more plays.
Otherwise your tape is hooped. If you put any OIL/LUBE on the tape you will destroy your deck very quickly and will end up with costly repairs.
This comes directly me, a professional broadcast/recording and mixing engineer as well as a repair guy.
If you read the comments here you will see many folks just like me saying that this is NOT the correct way to repair tapes and you will see the Anadialog fighting us every step of the way instead of listening to common sense and professional experience.
DONT OIL YOUR TAPES FOLKS!
I recently purchased a pre-recorded cassette on ebay, and based off what you said in this video, it seems as though it does need lubricating (i tried playing it on my twin deck, in deck 2 the auto stop kept activating towards the beginning of the tape (athough it was fine once i got past that part), and in deck 1, in that same spot it slowed to a crawl a few times)
and thinking about it, i have a feeling there may be a few tapes downstairs that need lubricating (i remember i once tried to play one of those, and the auto stop activated before it had got anywhere near the end, that was before i got my twin deck, and the machine i had tried to play that tape on is now completly broken, well, the cassette part of it is broken, it makes a mechanical noise whenever i turn it on, the noise is coming from the cassette mechanism, for whatever reason the tape heads in that machine are now permently in the raised position, the machine broke when i was trying to record to a blank cassette, it breaking had nothing to do with the pre-recorded cassette)
So i will now have to try and get hold of the things required to lubricate a cassette tape (i already have a cassette player which i think is suitable, i can definatly put a tape in place with the door open, athough i am not sure if the door will be in the way, athough as the door is already a little bit broken on it, and i have another one which is identical, i am not too fussed about breaking the door off of it if needed)
and it seems i may have to experement with different lubricants, as neither of the ones you showed seem to be avalable in the country where i live
Great let us know how it turns out! Try looking for a silicon based lubricant with NO solvents, thinners, alcohol etc.
video starts at 9:10
Oh...another thing is...this technique also helps to regain back the fidelity of the old cassette tape! Silicon lube not just lubricate, but it helps to clean the tape by wiping out the ferrite debris, moulds and etc from the reel.
Note that if you're putting too much lube, you're likely ended up soaking the tape with the lube. You can clean the excess lube by rewinding back and forth with clean and dry cotton swab/buds. Also, you will need to clean the cassette housing inside as well. After cleaning the cassette housing, rewinding back and forth again and let it dry for few days and try to play the cassette and observe if the cassette plays well without being stuck. If cassette stuck again, try to lubricate the tape head and it should be played without much issues.
Indeed! Yes, it's very important to absorb the excess of lube. Otherwise you may have a slippery transport and have wow and flutter issues. Just add it, let it absorb and then clean it up!
The only thing about cleaning the cassette housing is that sometimes there are no screws at all to get into the cassette!
Came here looking for such a comment.... Because, IIRC, I've had scenarios where opening up the cassette shell and cleaning off the inside walls and applying a lubricant to the sides of the two ribbon spindles that rub against the interior of the shell made a massive difference in my particular cases without applying any lubricant to the ribbon itself.
Hello new to cassettes I have a few that play just sound highly distorted would this help or is it a different problem
Not 100% sure but most probably this is the cause, the drying out of lube. Try on one!
@@anadialog I can’t find either of the options in the video have they discontinued 3M
@@anadialogwould this process damage the player in any way
Wow. what you are saying actually makes sense. i have a lot of old cassettes from 70s and 80s and this method might actually work. the key though is patience
So glad I found this, I had an old 8-bit game tape that was making a horrible squeaky noise and wouldn't load. I'd already tried changing the felt but no joy. This method worked perfectly and it was working straight after applying the silicone. Thank you!
I have used the cassette format on and off since around 1973. The only tapes that ever have given me trouble are the prerecorded ones. I still have old C-60 Concert tape [ old dudes like me know what that is ] that are 50 years old and play almost as good as they did when new, which wasn't very good to start with.
Sadly true! Quality does matter.