Happy turkey day all you tape loving folks!
Every year I make it a point to listen to all of my TP tapes. Of course, some see some heavy rotation all year long but some just don't make it off the shelf for one reason or another.
Being a modest collector of older tapes, I find that the ones that I buy that are "still sealed" or appear to have been played a couple of times and then stored have more obvious print through.
Another issue with the ones that have only been played a couple of times before long term storage comes with inperfect tape packs.
As the tape tension pulls the tape toward the hub, any tape that's not layered onto the winds below it correctly can become curled over time. Also as the tape is pulled toward the hub, it can leave the outer layers with less tension allowing deformation in less than ideal environmental conditions.
So, this is my annual reminder to play your tapes.
I won't say that it absolutely has to be done to avoid dreadful tape issues or any issues at all for that matter.
But it's certainly not a hardship and it has been recommended by archivists.
So, enjoy the holiday season and share the wonderful sound of tape with your fellow man/woman.
