Leader, Splicing, and End Tape??

banana brains · Post by **banana brains** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:19 pm

These are probably stupid questions, but I'll ask anyway.

1. What is leader tape?
2. What is splicing tape?
3. What is end tape?

I just bought a reel to reel. I have some RMGI SM911 on the way.

Obviously, I have an idea of what these are used for. I guess I'm looking for a practical and brief explanation of how and when to use them.

Thanks,
Seth

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:29 pm

Leader tape is plastic(or paper, depending) tape that doesn't record audio. It's cut into reels of tape for various reasons: as a "leader," in other words a bit at the head of the reel, or as a spacer between songs/cues/etc.

Splicing tape is adhesive tape, slightly narrower than recording tape, and it's used during editing to stick bits of tape together.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:57 pm

And "end tape," I'll guess, is leader tape used at the end of a reel(??).

Back when I spent a lot of time with tape and "pancakes," we only had two kinds of leader-- plastic, and paper. But if you do a search here at TapeOp for "Leader Tape," you should find a really cool thread where many of us were enlightened to the various standard international color-coded designs for leader tape and its various uses and purposes.

BTW, since you are brand new to tape, just in case nobody has mentioned it yet, your long term storage for your masters should be "tails out" (the end of the tape at the beginning of the reel). This helps mitigate problems brought-on by print-through...

GJ

Magnetic Services · Post by **Magnetic Services** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:57 pm

Gregg Juke wrote:
BTW, since you are brand new to tape, just in case nobody has mentioned it yet, your long term storage for your masters should be "tails out" (the end of the tape at the beginning of the reel). This helps mitigate problems brought-on by print-through...

GJ

I'm just gonna jump in here and say that when I started storing tapes tail-out, I for some reason felt that I needed to keep the tape on the same reel and still have it tails out (I guess the reels were labeled when I got them and I didn't want to mix them up.) It's easy to store tails out by just spooling it onto the take-up reel and having that be it's new home, but switching to tail-out storage and keeping the same reel always (for me) meant a lot of fumbling around, flipping reels over, etc. I always seemed to get it in the end, but could someone post a step-by-step guide for this? Am I crazy?

The Scum · Post by **The Scum** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:27 pm

could someone post a step-by-step guide for this? Am I crazy?

Tails out is a complete workflow all it's own. It's much harder if you approach it piecemeal.

When idle, the machine will have an empty reel on the left, and no reel on the right.

When you load it, the full reel goes on the right (yeah, maybe the labels are facing the deck). You then rewind the reel onto the empty reel, and start form there.

When you're done, play (or pack) the tape onto the right reel, and remove.

Voila - tails out.

Magnetic Services · Post by **Magnetic Services** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:34 pm

The Scum wrote:
could someone post a step-by-step guide for this? Am I crazy?
Tails out is a complete workflow all it's own. It's much harder if you approach it piecemeal.

When idle, the machine will have an empty reel on the left, and no reel on the right.

When you load it, the full reel goes on the right (yeah, maybe the labels are facing the deck). You then rewind the reel onto the empty reel, and start form there.

When you're done, play (or pack) the tape onto the right reel, and remove.

Voila - tails out.

I know. My question was about taking a reel someone else started HEAD-out (tail-IN) and flipping it around while having it end up on the same reel with the label still facing up. I start all my new stuff tail out, so it's not a problem any more, it just confused me when I got a bunch of pre-recorded head-out reels.

The Scum · Post by **The Scum** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:58 pm

it just confused me when I got a bunch of pre-recorded head-out reels.

Don't be so attached to keeping the tape on the reel it came on?

In my estimation, it takes 3 full winds and 2 spare reels to take a reel from head out to tail out, still on the original reel.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:05 pm

Right; you need three reels:

Reel A (heads-out) --> Reel B (tails-out) --> Reel C (heads out) --> back to original Reel A (tails-out)...

GJ

A.David.MacKinnon · Post by **A.David.MacKinnon** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 6:39 am

Just to get back to leader tape -
When I work 100% on tape (instead of tracking then transfering to digital) I will often make a master multitrack reel (or 2) with the good take of each song. That just means cutting the good take out of it's original reel and splicing it into the master reel. I also splice leader tape between each song.
The advantage of this is that when it comes time to mix I don't have to spool through a bunch of reels to get to the good take. Having leader tape between the songs also makes it really easy to find the start point on each tune. You can see it and you can hear it. Leader tape doesn't make any sound through the speakers but it sounds different from regular tape as it passes through the transport.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 6:55 am

>>>>Leader tape doesn't make any sound through the speakers but it sounds different from regular tape as it passes through the transport.<<<<

But can't the plastic tape hold a static charge, which can occassionally "pop" when passing over the playback head? That's what I seem to remember, which is why they made the paper tape (?). But I always hated the paper tape; sooo delicate and cheese-y, it was always breaking befeore you even had a chance to pull enough off the reel to make a razor cut...

GJ

A.David.MacKinnon · Post by **A.David.MacKinnon** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:36 am

I've never had an issue with it (or noticed it). It does sound different though. Kind of like the sound your tires make when you drive on cement vs asphalt.

Magnetic Services · Post by **Magnetic Services** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:28 pm

The Scum wrote: Don't be so attached to keeping the tape on the reel it came on?

They came with recordings on them that I wanted to back up before using the reels myself, but I decided to store them tail out because I knew it would be a while until I got around to it (still haven't), and I still wanted them on their original labeled reels to be able to identify them later. Ain't that weird.

sorry to momentarily derail, but at least I got my answer! Thanks.

Back on topic: I use actual tape for leader, just because it's what I have. I think it came in a first aid kit (for taping gauze into place). My tape is half-inch and this leader tape is just a bit narrower, so it's perfect. I like how it helps those initial few tricky winds. Is there any reason I shouldnt be doing this?

The Scum · Post by **The Scum** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 4:08 pm

I still wanted them on their original labeled reels to be able to identify them later.

With a few careful minutes and a screwdriver, you can swap the flanges around...assuming they're all the same type of reel.

banana brains · Post by **banana brains** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 7:47 pm

Thanks for all the advice on leader tape and tails out storage. My deck is being aligned and I just got some RGMI 911 in the mail today.

Can't wait to try this stuff out! Right now I'm just staring at the reels. My wife is not impressed. She said, "ya I know what they are, I've seen them on tv."

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 7:59 pm

You don't get sweet mechanical movement like that in the digital world! If you wind up tracking in the same room as the tape-machine, you might even accidentally record the sound of the reels moving through an open mike. Something we used to try to avoid, but also something that's much preferable to the sound of a computer fan over-working...

GJ

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Leader, Splicing, and End Tape??

Leader, Splicing, and End Tape??

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