More RMG woes

[shack palace]

started a session on a new roll of RMGI 900 tape......it started leaving light residue all along the tape path.....this residue build up has gotten progressively worse over time......one play through leaves an unbelievable amount of gunk......but there is no audible deterioration in the recorded material........have already done a digital transfer as a safety.......should i keep using this tape until i notice a loss in fidelity?.........anyone else been in this situation?....i feel like i am racing against time here....how much life is left in this crap roll?......

[Cellotron]

Well - if it's shedding oxide guess you could bake it in a convection oven same as if it was a tape from the late 70's / 80's - but you really shouldn't have to bake a brand new tape!

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[crow]

i have used one reel of RMG 1/4" and did not have that problem, beut everyone else i've spoken to who has used rmg tape said they had the same problem, and that when contacted, rmg kept replacing the tape for them until they got one that worked. i also read a sign at protape (here in austin) that it has something to do with the width of their tape (quantegy having allegedly been a little narrower than it needed to be and wearing rollers etc. down at the smaller width, so that when a regular-width piece of tape goes on, it sheds at the edges). personally, i'd go with the digital safety and call rmg to get the issue resolved.

all that being said, and as good a sign as it is that rmg seems eager to correct the problem, i love the atr tape and the company. the one reel of rmg i used didn't knock my socks off, but i really like the atr i've been using. just my two cents, and i sure hope both companies stay in business for a long time.

[drumsound]

I think Crow nailed it!

[shack palace]

I think Crow nailed it!

absolutely.....

......i don't want to slight RMG too much....their customer support is great....but i probably won't buy their tape again....i also use ATR solely now....have never had a problem.....and love the way it handles..........

...i digitized the dying roll of RMG and will work from that........

[austingreen]

I've been having the problem of moderate to severe shedding with my RMG reels after a few times loading and unloading, I'd say maybe half a dozen times, then it sheds so much some tracks will not track properly without being cleaned. I thought maybe I was storing them wrong (vertically, on the floor in a closet, with cool constant temp) but maybe it wasn't me after all. I don't think it was the width issue because when I first starting using the reels they were fine with no shedding. The reels are maybe 6 - 8 months old.

I am just starting to learn with a 1/2" 8 track Tascam so I want to use a couple of reels over and over again, transferring to digital anything that's worth keeping and re-using the reels. Is this possible without too much shedding? how many times can i expect to re-use a reel if it's in good shape to begin with and stored properly? And how should they be stored to make them last as long as possible?

Also my RMG arrived in a plastic bag, inside the box. Should I be storing the reel inside the bag as well?

[drumsound]

If the reel isn't shedding it can be used quite a number of times. If it is it needs to be baked and then transfered.

The RMG issue is kind of a pain. If you machine has had years of AMpexQuantegy use the heads and guides may be worn to that size and the slightly wider RMG tape will be a bit of an issue or perhaps a major issue depending on the amount of wear on the machine. You can have the heads lapped and the guides turned...[/i]