Emiguide No.2 Microphone Techniques

[llama]

I'd never heard of Emiguides. One of the tapes from Andy - yestertech - has this thread title printed on its leader tape. Sadly, it's been recorded over...

The leader says it is recorded 3 3/4 ips and full-track. So with a sufficiently slim head positioned exactly in the middle I suppose I could recover it. Or maybe erase the two half-tracks that have been recorded on it and then play back on a full-track head (which I don't have).

Anyway, interesting stuff and I wonder what the whole series comprised.

Graham

[julie_m]

It's an interesting idea. Of course, it depends on the erase heads not being so wide as to wipe out the whole of the space in between the recorded tracks, after a pass in each direction.

Perhaps a stereo cassette head would do the job?

[reelguy]

Graham,
Drop me a PM with your address and I will send you the Emiguide 2 that I have.
.just played it and it sounds good. 3 3/4ips and full track so will play on 2 or 4 track Mono or stereo M/cs as well as full track...
I don't think I have any of the other guides though and cannot remember how many there were..
Hope that helps,

Regards Peter W... Reelguy.

[vidjoman]

I have a recollection of those guides. Think they came in a round red plastic box that had a flat in one edge and could be stacked side by side on a shelf. Memory (fading fast) suggests there were 6 in the series.

[llama]

Hi Peter W - Reelguy and thanks for the very kind offer. I really am trying to reduce my stock of stuff & indeed this batch of tapes will be on the way to Ben in a couple of months. I imagine others on the Forum would be very pleased to have the tape or a copy of it.
What fascinated me was that professionally-printed leader tape, whether others were aware of these guides and, maybe, the forensic intrigue of recovering lost information!
Graham

[jamesperrett]

Originally Posted by llama

So with a sufficiently slim head positioned exactly in the middle I suppose I could recover it.

You've got me wondering whether a quarter inch 8 track machine might be able to recover anything? I'd be happy to have a go on my Fostex E8.

[reelguy]

OK Graham,
The recording isn't interesting enough for anyone to bother trying to recover it. Especially as the offer of a free original was available.
They did come in red boxes . Although I have the red boxes mine have different colours of EMI leader tape in them.
I have a vague memory of yellow boxes being available as well but can't remember what they contained.
EMI Demo tapes supplied with Grundig recorders often had printed leaders as did pre recorded music tapes way back then..

Peter W...Reelguy.

[robkay15]

Hope it is OK to revive an old thread - Just found these in my storeroom, had forgotten about them until I unearthed them the other day and in process of trying to find out something about them I came across this thread.
I think these might be what you were discussing.
Don't know too much about them so any info you can provide would be good.

Thanks
Rob

[Reelman]

When the thread first appeared I thought that these guides came in yellow "boxes," the red ones were used for 3" tapes, splicer and leader tape.
I have an EMI ad somewhere.... I think the guides could be obtained for free upon purchase of some EMItape.
Interesting find though.
Peter

[vidjoman]

Thanks for correcting my memory. Yes they were yellow boxes and leader tapes came in red ones. I did have them all but not sure what happened to them. Not something I would have destroyed and probably gave them to a school or similar.

[emeritus]

The Emiguides must date from before 1962. I have never seen them, but they are mentioned in the book "The Emitape guide to better recording" by John Borwick, published by E.M.I. Tape Limited in 1962, cost 2/6d.

I have two of the 3" Red Emicases that I bought in 1962 when I got my EL3585 recorder. One contained a tape, the other an empty spool. The rear of the cases have parallel ridges spaces 1/4" apart that could be used for tape splicing. It seems from the photos that the yellow guide boxes do not have these ridges.

Talking to an EMI rep at an exhibition at the time (possibly the Radio Show at Olympia?) established that the 3" cases were not available for separate sale. I had raised the question with the rep because a local shop had been charging extra for empty spools in 3" Emicases, and the rep said he should not have been doing that. My uncle used the 7" Emicases, which were sold separately, to store his tapes, and I had wanted to buy some empty 3" cases to store my own.

[robkay15]

On further delving into my storeroom I have actually found the red ones as well (7 of them)
There is a groove on the back of these cases which could be as above for splicing the tape.

Regards
Rob

[P.Pilcher]

I have an Emitape editing kit in my cupboard which I acquired in the mid 1960's. It consists of a grey plastic mounting holding 5 red 3" reel cases with a flat on one side as pictured above. The reels within contain special non-oozing white adhesive tape, three different colours of leader and a reel of metallic tape to activate electrical stop switches. On each side of the reel set is a holder for an Ever-Ready type single edged razor blade for tape cutting, I have the blades as well. There is also a substantial metal editing block with diagonal and rightangled cutting guide grooves and a slot running its length which is appropriately shaped to hold the tape. This block (with a felt undersurface) sits nicely on the deck of my Brenell STB2 when the lower plastic head cover is removed.

P.P.

[vidjoman]

I also had the EMI editing kit and although the tapes have gone I still have several of the Aluminium editing blocks. Best ones on the market. Much better than the type with little arms to hold the tape. The EMI ones are self gripping due to the shape of the slot.

[julie_m]

EMItape aluminium splicing blocks (with the undercut groove, shaped to hold the tape without clamps) were the type favoured by the BBC, even if their tape wasn't ("full of [suspiciously well-positioned dropout] dropouts" was the description I heard) so you're in good company preferring them

[camtechman]

There is a groove on the back of these cases which could be as above for splicing the tape.

I never knew that, I've several of these and, as you say, they have the "groove".

Thanks