8mm Forum: Super 8 Sound Fullcoat Audio Recorder?

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Topic: Super 8 Sound Fullcoat Audio Recorder?

John Semper
Junior
Posts: 5
From: Burbank, CA, USA
Registered: May 2015

posted May 28, 2015 04:33 PM

Does anybody have an old Super 8 Sound audio recorder capable of playing Super 8 magnetic fullcoat that they'd be interested in selling or renting?

The Super 8 Sound Recroder was a modified Sony reel-to-reel, quarter-inch magnetic tape recorder manufactured by the Super 8 Sound Company of Cambridge, Ma. back in the seventies. I have a many fullcoat sound reels that I recorded back then that I now want to transfer to digital and I'd like to use one of these recorders to do so.

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted May 28, 2015 05:02 PM

This is a switch:

It's more common to have people with the recorders on the lookout for the tape!

Fullcoat

Maybe if you contact Doug Arnott you can work something out.

One thing for sure: don't dispose of the fullcoat once you are done. It sounds rare as gold these days.

Just curious: have you ever tried running fullcoat through a sound projector? Depending on the location of the head in the original recorder, you might get a signal with a regular magnetic head in a projector.

(Can't hurt to try...)

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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John Semper
Junior
Posts: 5
From: Burbank, CA, USA
Registered: May 2015

posted May 28, 2015 08:18 PM

Hi Steve, yes, I am going to try that if worse comes to worse. I just don't want to damage it.

I also live very close to Pro 8mm in Burbank, so I might take it over there to be transferred - but I was hoping to avoid their rather substantial charges.

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Paul Mason
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 540
From: Aldershot, Hampshire, UK
Registered: Nov 2013

posted May 31, 2015 05:50 AM

John,
If you try using a projector to playback the tape, splice some film leader or scrap film on the beginning. Auto threading doesn't work with fullcoat. It's not stiff enough and just "concertinas" up.

--------------------
Paul.

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted May 31, 2015 07:10 AM

I've always thought fullcoat is on regular film base with oxide coast to coast.

-so you're saying it's more like standard audio tape but perfed?

Interesting!

--------------------
All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Paul Mason
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 540
From: Aldershot, Hampshire, UK
Registered: Nov 2013

posted June 01, 2015 03:16 AM

Steve,
Well that's what I thought too. However I bought some second hand 16mm fullcoat in a box marked Zonal France 2 or 3 years ago and found it was extremely thin and flexible. It could have been either acetate or polyester based. It wouldn't go in reverse in my projector but went forward happily enough and I was able to record and playback OK.

--------------------
Paul.

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Paul Browning
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1006
From: West Midlands United Kingdom
Registered: Aug 2011

posted June 01, 2015 03:16 PM

I have a few reels of the cresta perf tape, and I'm fairly sure its normal reel to reel tape but perforated on one edge like super 8 film. Cresta did c2 and c3 tape, for there converted Philips reel to reel machines with a perf reeder ( interrupter) to keep the sound and film to projector in sync. They also converted cassette machines, but I not sure if these were also perf tape, I guess it was just pulses on one track and sound on another. Elmo did a dr1 cassette tape syncroniser that worked with the gs1200 ess system, these were probably similar to this system.

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Brian Fretwell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1785
From: London, UK
Registered: Jun 2014

posted June 02, 2015 02:58 PM

The reel I had was on a very thin polyester film base (like that on some Marketing releases). Flexible enough to make good head contact but strong enough to pass through a projector.

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John Semper
Junior
Posts: 5
From: Burbank, CA, USA
Registered: May 2015

posted June 06, 2015 08:25 PM

Just to follow-up, my recorded fullcoat does play back through my sound projector. So it looks like I will be able to transfer the sound to video myself. But - if anybody is interested in selling their Super 8 Sound recorder, I would still be interested in buying one.

And thanks, everybody, for your help!

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J.R. Bookwalter
Junior
Posts: 2
From: North Canton, OH, USA
Registered: Jun 2015

posted June 25, 2015 04:32 PM

Bumping this topic... I'm also in search of someone with a Super8 Sound Recorder, but to digitize about 23 reels of fullcoat to AIFF or WAV files.

Looking for anyone cheaper than Pro8 in Burbank, if possible. Would be willing to include the reels (and a couple of spares that have never been used) as part of the deal once captured, since they seem quite rare now. Thanks!

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Thomas Dantona
Junior
Posts: 4
From: Saint Peter, MN, USA
Registered: Jan 2015

posted October 17, 2016 07:52 AM

I have at least 800 feet of Super 8 Sound Fullcoat but sold the recorder/player long ago.

I would be happy to trade the fullcoat for an audio transfer of whatever is on these reels.

Please let me know if you have a recorder/player and are interested.

Thank you,
Tom

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Scott Smith
Junior
Posts: 1
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: Oct 2018

posted October 30, 2018 09:03 PM

I am working on a solution for Super 8mm. I do a lot of archival transfer work in 16mm and 35mm, so have all the basic equipment needed. AM waiting to hear back on some custom heads to properly do transfers.

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Scott D. Smith CAS
Chicago Audio Works, Inc.

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