8mm Forum: Defective Mag Tracks

This is topic Defective Mag Tracks - CASTLE in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on March 12, 2007, 11:31 AM:

I've had a flutter problem on my CHINON for some time now. Listen to this..... It seemed to be pretty constant and I assumed the head or something was on its way out until this morning I ran a DISNEY title NOT a CASTLE title and the sound was near perfect. The problem seems to be a constant issue when it's a CASTLE release and some of my BLACKHAWK ones, too. Could it be that the stripe on the CASTLE/BLACKHAWK titles is dissipating/deteriorating and that's why it seems so bad. Now for the clincher.... My 16mm CASTLE releases - many of them have the same sound issue and they're optical - so what's up with that??!!

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on March 12, 2007, 11:53 AM:

Maybe it was on the original sound masters hence the reason it sounds equally bad on both 8 & 16mm

Kev.

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on March 12, 2007, 12:39 PM:

Hi Brad, how long have you had the Blackhawk and Castle prints? - They length of time between cleanings may help - Have you had the Chinon maintenanced recently? - Just to be certain - Some of my prints go back thirty years or more and still sound vibrantly - Might be the masters as Kevin mentioned - Shorty

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on March 13, 2007, 01:10 AM:

One title where it's both formats is "Yukon Have It" (Chilly Willy cartoon). Both prints sound like it's under water. My print of "Hide and Shriek" (ironically I had a print that sounded great - lost it - repurchased it and now it has the same kind of flutter (under water sound). My prints of "Bird Who Came To Dinner", "Gabby's Diner", "Wizard Of Oz" - all suffer from flutter. I ran a print of a "Lone Ranger" one-reeler (which btw I have no idea who printed these) called "El Conquistador", my print of "Proud Horses Of Austria" and my Derann print of "Lonesome Ghosts" and NO flutter also a print of "A&C Go To Mars" - all perfect. It seems to be a problem predominantly with my Castle titles. I have some other 16mm Castle titles ("Crusades", "Christmas Carol", assorted classic Horror 1-reelers and they're all fine). I cleaned the projector as thoroughly as I could before viewing the batch from today. The only thing I can't access is the sound head itself (it's fully enclosed - and I wouldn't dare dissecting it). Could Castle have used inferior striping material that over years is de-magnetizing? I don't store them near anything that emits a magnetic field like a tv or stereo. I just can't figure it out.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on March 13, 2007, 03:28 AM:

Brad
Last night I ran two castle films I have had scince the 70s and the sound was excellent on both films, I am sure they were polyester stock which is thinner. I was wondering is it possible because it is thinner was the film being properly dampened before it gets to the soundhead from the effect of the bottom loop, lack of pressure on a roller or something, if you could even try those same films on a different make of projector that could confirm whether its the films or the projector, just a thought.

Graham.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on March 13, 2007, 04:13 AM:

Have you tried some lube/cleaner on these films. Load the projector and start playing one of these films and then gently apply some lube as the film enters the machine and see if there is an audible difference.

Acetate prints can get a bit stiffer with age and that can lead to these sort of problems on both 8 & 16mm.

Kev.

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