I can't find any information on this type/grade of reel to reel tape. Says Library Box and is in a pack of three. Is this tape any good for hi fi music or just made cheaply for voice documentation. Or none of the above, opinions?

Hard to tell where it falls in the evolution of tape. Idea of when it was made?

BASF invented magnetic tape, for the German Magnetophon which Ampex reverse enginered post WW2 into what we came to know as magnetic audio recording. They never made 'junk', unlike 3M did but only because they didn't know any better. Tape is a LOT more complex than it looks.

If it's from 1970 onwards, and doesn't have any characteristic deteriorations (certain formulas did), and you bias the machine for it, it should be adequate. If you can't nail any parameters on it at all, I'd prefer one of the more recent Japanese formulas (Maxell).

This looks like the BASF I saw in the early to mid seventies. I doubt it's older than that.

The only sure test is to try it out and see what happens. If you have a three-head machine, you can toggle between monitoring the source and monitoring the playback, and thus you can discover any differences right away.

With a so-called "library" formulation, I'd expect a tape grade more suited for voice, but it may not be so. They may have meant that designation to indicate a tape suitable for long-term storage (hence a tape less prone to ailments such as "print-through," warpage, edge curl, oxide shedding, drying out, etc).

On the other hand, "library" may refer only to the packaging, touting it as a storage convenience (three reels in a box), while having nothing to do with the tape itself. And I'd guess this is actually the case.

Larry

Are these tapes still sealed in shrinkwrap, or have you opened one? It's odd that there's no mention of the length of the tape or the formulation on the front of the box. Almost as if it's a package of special library boxes with no tape inside.

I have a couple of cartons of TDK and Maxell reels that are still sealed. I have the vague idea that the shrinkwrap helps to preserve the tape. But I really don't know since I won't open the tapes.

-Steve W.

Bingo! I am sure that is what it is. BASF sold them like that. If it contained tape, it would have the type and length on the wrapper, at minimum. I still have a couple of sealed boxes of BASF, with tape, and used many of them in the past.

If the cost is more than $20. for all three, I would walk away. It is a crapshoot until you get the
reel in your hands. Also, as already pointed out you need to see the specs. Here is what a box
looks like.

Tapes are still in shrink wrap three pack, Epay item. I was just stumped on the lack of information on the box and no additional pictures or information. I was thinking maybe the library reference had more to do with the packaging than anything else. Difficult to tell, some sellers don't really make much effort to provide usable information.

If the tape in that box is the 2400-foot type Steve showed you, it should do well, assuming that its oxide coating hasn't degenerated. It's thin tape, however (typically half a mil), and you would have to be careful with it. It will be subject to various types of deformity (stretch, warpage, and edge curling among them), if it isn't handled and stored properly. It won't break cleanly like acetate tape does, but it will stretch like taffy if overstrained. Been there, done that, too many times.

I agree, more than $20 for three reels with condition unknown, I'd walk away from the deal.

On the other hand, if I could verify NOS condition of the tape, I'd jump on it.

Larry

I can assure you. Those boxes are empty, i.e. they contain NO tape, and never did.

Well, if you're right, Brian, and if the seller on Epay is claiming there IS tape in that box, then something is screwy somewhere...

I'd lay off that particular deal, Elrick, if I were you.

L

Those library boxes are fairly heavy, and the plastic wrap is still on it. The seller may honestly believe that they contain tape. I do not recall whether the boxes came with an empty reel inside. It has been about 40 years since I bought or sold any. I worked, for about a year, for the South African distributor of BASF.

Ahh, so the boxes are plastic and not cardboard. Hard to tell from the picture.

And now I understand. Many thanks, Brian.

Larry

Presumably the green label lists the contents, since the legend on the front is pointing to it.

I can see on the far right edge that I have had one or more of these cases. They are grey with a white spine that slides open to access the tape. I think they were sold as separate storage. BASF tapes generally came in cardboard boxes like most other brands.

There's a good chance these are just storage boxes, like "library-style" VHS storage boxes...you had to buy them separately.

Eric