RE: [AV Media Matters] tape baking

[lists.rlhess@mindspring.com]

Since the artifact value of what I'm dealing with is no where near that of
an original Andy Warhol tape, at least my pragmatic, non-official, stance
is do anything to get the best possible transfer you can get now before the
tapes get worse. Baking is only part of the answer, especially where
splices are concerned that are damaged in the baking process (or already
may have been damaged by aging prior to baking).

As far as 16-bit transfers, none of the tapes I see (and I'm talking audio
here) come NEAR to utilizing that dynamic range.

I've never destroyed a tape in baking and I've been able to re-bake some
when I obtained better reproduction equipment...which now approaches
state-of-the-art.

It is a complex issue, but the folkies I'm working with (and that's a very
small niche in the market) are FAR more interested in getting the best
possible version onto CD-R (at least and if someone can fund it CD) for the
best shot at preservation.

Cheers,

Richard