Anybody into buying Reel to Reel sealed pre-recorded tapes?

It's been discussed about vinyl many times, but is there a market for buying
sealed Reel to Reel pre recorded tapes?
Has anybody here got a passion for them?
Buying pre-recorded tapes un-opened also comes with it's own bunch of
probabilities much like vinyl. Like the prophet 'Gump' said,
'you never know what your gonna get'.
Being a bit of a Beach Boys fan, I have about 8 R2R's that have never seen the light
of day. A couple problems can be coherent in these even without cracking the seal.

Poor quality, either in duplication, the tape speed, the brand of tape and whether it
has withstood climate and temperature changes prior to myself acquiring them.
Whether the tape has oxidised and/or the binder has become weak is unknown
until the first play/FF through the tape.
For all I know, they all could have been placed on or near speakers or some other
magnetic field that could have erased or removed a lot of the top end dynamics.
The tape speed on a lot of these reels from the day are 3.75 ips, which is not in the
Hi-Fi audiophile bracket, but still can sound good, depending on the above factors
and the machine it's played on.
7.5 ips is the ideal but those tapes were a lot fewer and more expensive, having to use more tape.
Anybody else get into this sealed R2R hobby?
Do you crack the seals and check em out?
Do you do what I have done and kept them sealed for whatever reason?

Here is the front and back of my 'Smiley Smile' from 67':

 

What's the point of having any of this material if you are not going to play it? Seriously?

 

I am with jusbe, pointless to have them and never listen to them.

 

I'm a reel to reel guy (own 4 decks) and you couldnt GIVE me a 3 3/4 ips tape. They sound like garbage. Many of the 7 1/2 ips tapes sound terrible also.
I basically use my decks to add analog warmness to digital files and cds.

I also see no point in buying sealed tapes if youre not going to play them.

 

I like them as a collector's stand point, and as 'how they were released'. I also have
playing copies, some are pretty beat up. The 7.5 ips Pet Sounds sounds great!

 

Yes! it makes sense to collect sealed copies. Some vinyl collectors do that, as sealed copies are not for listening. They are rarities, museum pieces, unlikely survivors, examples of what a brand new original unopened item looks and feels like. There is value in this.

For playing, a NM copy can always be purchased.

I have said, a record (or tape) was never intended to remain sealed for decades. The outer wrapper was to protect the packaging on the retail shelf, and guarantee the customer an unplayed, mint copy. You take it home, open it and play. However over time, storage damage is likely, chemical reaction from plastic liners/ inner sleeves, magnetic damage, exposure to temperature extremes, and possible print through. The worst case scenario is possible, but also best case. The tape may be pristine!

 

Monitor out from record head while running tape?

 

I feel like some Historian or Custodian hanging onto these pieces as they are, and I understand the
opinions on 'meant to be played' and that is something I can't argue with, that is what they
were made for.
While we are in the duration process of these sealed items, perhaps in another hundred
years time we can re-evaluate 'sealed' vinyl/tapes and see what the consensus is then and whether
hanging onto them in this way changes the general assumption.
But who cares eh? We will all be dead by then haha!

 

You have a list of any sealed boxes you wanna sell?

 

Unfortunately, I'm still on the side of collecting them, I'm probably a little bit nuts!
If your not into The Beach Boys, don't bother with this post.
Here is my 'Friends' sealed copy:

I have this one that is Opened, but still unplayed. The 'Sunflower' album:


The reel is odd and annoying to for us that like things uniform.
Side 1 is Side 2 and vice versa!

 

I don't listen to Beach Boys......not sure I have ever come across any sealed boxes. I have bought many opened ones and the success rate is about 60%, meaning those sound really good, the rest are not good. Many with drop-outs galore and or dead channels.......If the seller has not played them I will generally not buy them or offer a low price.
My local record store will get some and he will let me take them home and play them, if no good full refund.

Somewhere, someday someone will open their dad's basement and find loads of pre-recorded tapes in VG+ condition........For now we are stuck with box after box of 3.75ips of classical music covers by God only knows who.

 

Yes! Great advice for people buying pre-recorded tapes, you wanna have great communication or know the seller
before purchasing. It doesn't take much to mess up a tape. I've experienced the same with pre-recorded tapes with
drop out's galore! These have only been garage finds and no real expense paid.
Those buying on eBay, beware the 'tape untested' scenario but want big dollars!
Red Flag right there.

 

yes if i had the budget & one of these
METAXAS & SINS new R2R machine

 

That makes more sense! Having spares of such a resource is hard to resist. Seems you've found a decent supply of pre-recorded R2Rs, which is a bit of a miracle these days.

 

Hey @jusbe, I wish that were the case, I've just collected them over the last 20 years or so.
I'd like more, but as time goes on, they are too expensive, or just not there to buy.
I look out for them, but they are becoming scarce to find un-opened, hence why I started
the thread. Trying to find out whether people buy them to open or do as I have done and
kept them 'as is' in sealed plastic.

 

And it's most likely not 1/4 track either. Most likely is 1/2 track. And high speed. Nice but I will stick to my Otari MX 5050 B II, it does what I need, and can also play back 1/4 track tapes when desired.

And I agree highly with many of the commenters on 3 3/4 IPS tapes. They are especially a crapshoot, often more prone to dropouts, more likely to be duplicated at 8X and higher speeds, the quality on them also suffers, and less good frequency response. And that's when new. They are much less forgiving of poor care, dirty storage conditions, and less than well maintained tape machines.

Unfortunately, much of the music most people on the forums love happens to be 3/4 of the time, 3 3/4 IPS and 8X speed duplicated or higher. Classical, Jazz, Easy Listening, and adult pop music is more likely to be 7 1/2 IPS, as those buyers were much more demanding. On the 3 3/4 IPS titles, I tend to favor LP discs on.

 

I bought a few but I opened them up immediately. I doubt the seals were original, anyway. It’s pretty easy to re-shrink wrap something.

 

Not if it's old shrink.

 

I got a single new old stock 7 inch tape on sale in the classifieds, if anyone is interested.

 

Wonder if the reversed sides on Smiley Smile add to the collectibility.

 

I actually never noticed that!
And I call myself a fan?
pfffft.

 

Won't play consumer format 1/4 track tapes either. The motors on this don't inspire confidence either. And it's sort of stylish to the point of impeding function. I prefer mine. Which can play 1/2 and 1/4 track, NAB and IEC. And record 1/2 track at low and high speeds.

 

As the collector of many pre-recorded reels dating from over a 20-year time period (made between the mid-1950s to late-1970s): SEALED COPIES, in my experience, WERE OFTEN THE WORST TAPES; once I'd opened them and gave a listen.

Their singular common problem was often either severe print-through of the signal bled onto the successive layers of tracks or, the lack of "air" between the tape never having been unwound literally had somehow over-magnetized itself and had erased all the high frequencies....making the tape useless to hear.

I'll pick a reel in a slightly worn-looking box (as long as the tape itself is an interesting 7 1/2 title and not full of splices) anyday over a "mint" example because of this. Case in point: I recently got a 7 1/2 copy of the Beatles HEY JUDE reel (Ampex L385) at a used vinyl shop for under $50; because the edges of the box had minor tears and the cover was a little scuffed...BUT: the reel was intact and played beautifully! After running a cloth damp in silicone to restore any dropouts while loosely respooling it (which you CAN do with pre-1973 polyester base Ampex stock), it plays even BETTER (the amount of background talking heard during HEY JUDE, for instance, is revealed so amazingly clear unlike on any other format).

 

I bought a large record collection a few years ago which came from a non climatized locker. Unknown, at the time, to me, it contained around 40 pre-rec tapes and quite a few home recorded reels. I just went thru the top pile of boxes at the sale and it contained enough good Jazz vinyl titles to justify the $100 the seller was asking. I figured the rest was just gravy and a tasty gravy it was! There was tons of 45's,78's,33.3's,and other misc. music things so I didn't even know there were R2R's until I got home and unpacked. I actually had to make multiple trips to get it all plus have the owner throw the rest away in a dumpster...broken and moldy 78's/45's,etc.. Once I looked the tapes over they were musty smelling and a lot of them had mildew spotting on the plastic reels and some even on the sides of the exposed tape thru the reel cut outs. The boxes are in real nice shape though.

I stupidly traded in the best titles at a record shop for $5-10 a piece...Sketches Of Spain,My Favorite Things,Black Saint and Sinner Lady,etc...real great Jazz stuff, probably a dozen or so. Then the record store, or one of it's employees, put them on eBay and made hundreds of dollars. I kept the rest and have meant to get to them and try them out but haven't pulled the trigger yet. This winter I pulled a few to check out... Gabor Szabo-Spellbinder,Stan Getz-Sweet Rain,Wes Montgomery-Bumpin',Jack McDuff-Do It Now!,Gary McFarland w/ Bill Evans,Ramsey Lewis-The In Crowd, most 7 1/2 in. but for Wes and McDuff 3 3/4. They're sitting, staring at me right now. Teac-A 2300S is my player. The rest of the tapes are Sinatra,Glen Campell,The Supremes, (although not their best titles) other Jazz and Classical. One of the home reels had the JFK assassination from TV broadcast and another interesting one is marked Timothy Leary,lecture in Pittsburgh,1968 at Carnegie Mellon U. I'm going from memory...might be a year other than 68 but close and location could be Duquesne. That could be interesting and historic.

 

Miscellaneous home recorded reels are getting harder to find. I have some, which were musty, with some mildew spotting on the reels.
I have a demolding technique that works well for me, so I'd like to share it here on the SHF.

Demolding begins with wiping any excess from the outside of the reel. I use plain ammonia window cleaner, no citrus additives, which does not harm most paper labels with factory slick. Ammonia cleaner is a deodorizer and to some degree, sanitizing.

Next, on a spare reel to reel recorder, I spool the tape to a clean reel. (Mine is a Sony TC-355 which has a reasonably slow FF and REW speed) While doing so, I pinch the tape in a cotton cloth, whetted with dry silicone. This removes mold, removes abrasive dust, and applies dry lube to the tape. The silicone evaporates almost immediately.

The empty moldy reel then can be washed or hand wiped (if it has a label) A cleaning brush should work well, but I fold a piece of terry cloth and "pull" through the inside of the reel. Hand wiping with ammonia glass cleaner also works well for me. (again no citrus additives which are acidic) My cleaned reels from 10+ years have shown no adverse reaction.

The box can be wiped down much like an LP cover. I use the same ammonia glass cleaner on a cloth or Bounty, and almost fully saturated (NOT damp) so it does not "drag" and leave marks on the slick. Excess can be removed with a damp cloth. The inside of the box is sometimes matte finish, which does not take well to wet cleaning. So it must be dry wiped, or damp wiped very carefully. (different cleaning methods apply for slick and matte)

The tape will still smell musty after cleaning and re-spooling, so it must be deodorized.

Wrap the tape in fresh newspaper.
Likewise, wrap the box in fresh newspaper, and a piece folded on the inside.
Keep the box and tape separated.

The newspaper and ink are effective in dehumidifying and deodorizing any musty item.
Pack everything in a new box, with crumpled newspaper.

After a few weeks, change the paper. It will have absorbed much of the musty odor and moisture.
Change the paper again after a few months, repeat. (changed twice)

This method takes about 6 months to complete. The result will be a completely odor free and mold-free tape or record!
For extra severe molding, some items may not be recoverable. For most, the result will be 100%