R2R Audio Tape - Agfa Professional PEM 369

This is what to expect if you use this type of Agfa reel to reel tape, as it has not aged well and is now one of the "bad" tapes to avoid.

Agfa PEM 369

Black backed   Long Play

Made in Germany

First produced in 1988

width 1/4 inch  6.33 mm  

reel 10.5in/ 3608 ft   26.5cm/1100m 

192 min per track at 3.75in/sec   9.5cm/sec

96 min per track at 7.5in/sec   19cm/sec 

48 min per track at 15in/sec   38cm/sec 

24 min per track at 30in/sec   76cm/sec 



cardboard box

black plastic spool with spindle centre

debris where the tape contacts the the tension arm

sample of debris





This was a new unused tape in its protective plastic bag. The tape had a black backing so I was suspicious it might be sticky. It is not advisable to play sticky tape as it would result in smearing on the heads, which could be difficult to remove. I ran an internet query and discovered that this type of Agfa tape could be "sticky". So I have published the results of my own test.

My test confirmed the tape was bad.

The tape looked and felt fine. I mounted it on the deck and then fast forwarded. The tape wound slower than normal and got progressively slower. There was also a strong synthetic smell. I held both tension arms away from the tape to release some of the tension and the tape speeded up. The tape was obviously causing drag. When the take up reel was full I repeated the operation. During all this tape transfer, just a very few slivers of the black backing material peeled off and dropped down to the floor. Some bits also lodged in the tape winding on the take up reel. This debris was not sticky, it felt dry and did not leave any stain if rubbed between thumb and forefinger.  Because the debris was not greasy, I did also try to record onto the tape very briefly near the start of the tape. Surprisingly, it did record but sounded distorted. After the test, I cleaned the heads and tape path with Isopropanol and there was only minor discolouration on the cotton bud.

 

This type of Agfa tape, although bad, is not nearly so awful as bad Ampex tapes which can make a terrible sticky mess on your heads and tape path.
Both the Agfa reel and box are quite attractive and useful so have been retained but the bad tape has been binned (and not sold on Ebay).

I have previously experienced other types of bad Agfa tape (eg PEM 268). However some types can still be very good (eg PEM 468).