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Tape Baking & Restoration

Certain audio tapes manufactured from the early ’70s onward develop a chronic issue known as Sticky Shed Syndrome (SSS). This condition makes them unsafe to play without proper restoration, often resulting in squealing, shedding oxide, and even permanent damage if not handled correctly. For reels affected by SSS, the most reliable solution is careful heat treatment, commonly called tape baking.

Why Do Tapes Become ‘Sticky’?

  • Binder Breakdown: Over time, the glue (binder) holding the oxide layer can absorb moisture, causing layers to stick.
  • Stretch & Squeal: Sticky tapes can bind together in the reel pack or adhere to tape guides, leading to pitch fluctuations and transport issues.
  • Risk of Damage: Because the tape backing tends to stretch rather than snap, simply rewinding an untreated tape can irreparably harm the recording.

Our Laboratory Grade Incubation

We do not trust your tape’s restoration to food dehydrators, which can fluctuate up to 15 degrees during the heating cycle with no reliable target temperature. At Sonicraft A2DX Lab we carefully selected scientifically designed professional-grade heating apparatus that provide a more precise and safe approach to restoration:

Fisher Scientific Incubator 

  • Holds temperature within ±0.1°C for ultra-consistent heat
  • Automated Safety: Any drift beyond 3°C triggers a complete shutdown to protect your tapes.

 Grieve Oven 

  • Computer programmable to within a tenth of a degree.
  • Programmable ramp up and ramp down times for gentle temperature transitions

 All Reel Sizes: Both the Fisher and the Grieve accommodate up to 16″ reels of 2″ tape with ample space for optimal airflow.

Grieve Oven

Key Steps in Our Baking Process

  • Condition Assessment

We gently inspect your reel(s) for signs of Sticky Shed Syndrome. If confirmed, we schedule a bake session timed to your transfer appointment—keeping the tape at peak playability.

  • Precise Heat Treatment

The tape is exposed to low, controlled heat for a carefully calculated duration. This process temporarily re-stabilizes the binder, making the tape safe to wind and play.

  • Re-tension

The most careful step of the restoration process is the first unwind. We re-tension the tape with undivided focus to make sure the incubation was successful and to be sure the tape is not suffering other restoration concerns such as adhesion syndrome or destabilization.

  • Playback & Transfer

Once safely unwound and retensioned, we run a safety pass of each tape to ensure stability and performance, as well as providing us a quality control version of your recording to compare with your transfer to make sure we have achieved consistent playback without dropouts and that any issues with the recording are proven to be in the recording and not in the transfer. We also use this QC pass to set optimal levels in each channel of multitrack recordings using mastering quality 2 dB stepped gain and attenuation at the converter level, maximizing your transfer to within the top 6 dB in the digital domain. If all is well, we perform with your ultimate analog-to-digital transfer.

  • Safe Storage & Return

After transfer, we return the tape to a library wind for long-term storage. We do advise that Sticky Shed can recur over time; if you need future transfers, re-baking may be necessary.

Expertise & Experience Matter

Tape baking isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. We have:

  • Baked Thousands of Tapes: We know which formulations respond well and which require extra care.
  • Developed Custom Timelines: Tapes have aged differently, so we tailor heat times and temperatures to each reel.
  • Backup Systems in Place: Our lab uses battery power to prevent mid-bake power losses and ensure consistent conditions.

Before you consider a DIY approach, remember that inexperienced baking can permanently damage your irreplaceable masters. At Sonicraft, baking is included in our per-reel rates—so there’s no extra charge.

Common Signs of Sticky Shed

  • Squealing or Screeching during playback
  • Flaking or Shedding Oxide on the machine heads or guides
  • Tape Pack ‘Glued’ Together making winding difficult or impossible
  • Speed (Pitch) Fluctuations as the tape drags or halts mid-pass

If you notice any of these issues, stop playing the tape immediately and get in touch with us for a professional evaluation.