Setting Up and Completing a Tape Trade

Last Updated: Monday, 18-Nov-2002 06:19:45 EST

Okay, so now you've spent a bunch of money on equipment and re-formatted your tapelist, and you are ready to get some good trades going. Here are some guidelines that you might like to follow, divided into three sections:

• Setting Up The Trade
• Making The Tapes
• Mailing The Tapes

There are a number of ways to seek out trades. You can go to one of the tapelist depositories on the web, like Tapetrading.com or Drew's STASH or take a look at personal homepages for tapelists (that you can find by using a search engine like Altavista).

If you find a tapelist that has something you are interested in, fire off an e-mail to the owner. Here's an example of what you might want to write:

To: Tom Marshall
From: Dan Mielcarz
Subject: Interested in a Trade?

I saw your tapelist on the web, and I noticed that you had the tape of Phish from the ROTC formal in 1983 when they put on Michael Jackson to drown the band out. I'd love to set up a trade for this tape, and I have a lot of stuff that you don't, including a 90 min. version of Bouncing Around the Room from 12/7/98 (DAUD2). I've included my list below this message. Get back to me if you would like to trade.

-Dan

[Put Tapelist Here]

It is a good idea to mention something the person doesn't have in your message, rather than making them go through your whole tapelist searching for it. It also increases your likelihood of a response. I also suggest that you try to write clearly; a poorly written request often gives the impression of a lack of maturity and experience and might cause your request to get deleted. It's not necessary to be 100% grammatically correct here, but trade requests that lack the word "dank" seem a little bit more professional.

I suggest that you just cut-and-paste your tapelist into the e-mail, as opposed to sending it as an attachment. There are lots of different e-mail systems out there, and they all can't figure out attachments from the other systems. If you have your tapelist on the web, you can include the URL instead of the tapelist, but you should offer to e-mail it if the person doesn't have web access. You should include your grading and equipment information along with the tapelist (actually, this should be a part of your tapelist, right at the beginning, if I haven't mentioned it earlier).

Wait a couple days or so, and you should have a response to your request. Or maybe not. Don't be offended if the person doesn't respond to your e-mail. They might not have the time to respond or might not be interested in your offer; it isn't a personal attack. Someone who doesn't respond to a trade request is not a "bad trader".

Alternatively, you can seek out tape trades by by posting a message to rec.music.phish stating that you want to make some trades. These messages should follow a different format:

To: phish@phish.net
From: Dan Mielcarz
Subject: Trades anyone?

I'm looking to set up some trades. I have DAUD1s of the first few shows of the Austrailia tour from this Spring. I have a 3-head deck, and I would like to trade with people with the same.

Anyone who is interested can check out my list at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mielcarz/tapelist.html or e-mail me for a copy.

Looking forward to some good trades!

-Dan

Here's the most important difference: do not post your tapelist to rec.music.phish! This only pisses people off, and you will be flamed. In the message, you should put some teaser shows, and then a URL or an offer to e-mail your tapelist. Mentioning your equipment can seem a bit snobby, but I've found that you are more likely to get attention from serious traders if you do.

At this point, you should start getting responses to your requests. This is when the real trade setup begins. As you e-mail back and forth with the person you are trading with, be sure to get all of the following information:

Exactly What Tapes Are Being Exchanged

Obviously, this is important. You can't go over this too many times with the person you are trading with. Make sure the number of tapes are equal on both sides, or that one of you is sending blanks to make up for a difference.

Destination Address

Also pretty obvious, but don't forget the zip code. It will make things go a lot faster. If possible, use the four-digit extension after the zip code. This allows the postal service to computer-sort your mail down to the block, not just the town.

Phone Number

In case anything goes wrong, you'll want to have the person's phone number. This is especially useful if your tapes mysteriously don't arrive. It is easy for a bad trader to ignore e-mail, but a lot harder to ignore a phone call. If they won't give you their phone number, something is Phishy, and I would be wary of trading with this person.

Brand and Model of Tapes

Usually in trades people want to use the same make and model of the tapes they are getting. The huge majority of traders use Maxell XLII tapes. If you want to use another type of tape, be sure to discuss this up front with your trading partner, because some people have large stockpiles of XLIIs and won't trade with anything else. Also, be sure to never use Type I (Normal Bias) tapes in a trade. They sound bad and are not very durable.

The Case & J-card Situation

This is, in my experience, the thing that most often gets screwed up in trades. You need to be absolutely sure whether you are sending J-cards and cases or not. I generally don't like to send cases, because they almost inevitably get cracked. I usually do send J-cards. What I do doesn't really matter, however, just make sure that you and your trading partner know what is going on. Also, be sure not to write on the J-cards unless specifically told to do so (more on this later).

Turnaround Time

How long each of you expect the trade to take. Don't lie about this. If you are busy and it will take you a week to get the tapes done, say so. Also, if you find that your estimate was on the short side as you are making the tapes, let the person know.

It is probably a good idea to send a summary e-mail at the end of this just to get all of the information in one place. This is especially important for big trades, but I can't hurt for smaller trades. Here's an example:

To: Tom Marshall
From: Dan Mielcarz
Subject: Trade Wrap-up

Tom,

Just to be sure...

I get:
10/31/83 (2 tapes)
3/23/98 (2 tapes)

You get:
12/7/98 (2 tapes)
8/4/84 (2 tapes)

My Address & Phone:
Dan Mielcarz
5 Rolinda Ave.
Concord, NH 03301-2219
(603) 224-0924

Your Address & Phone: [Hint for the clueless- not Tom's real address]
Tom Marshall
1 Main St.
Burlington, VT 15104-0856
(802) 860-1111

We are using Maxell XLII tapes.

We AREN'T sending cases OR J-cards.

I'll have your tapes out by next week at the latest.

If any of this is screwed up, let me know.  Thanks for the trade!

-Dan

As you can see, this message leaves no doubt about the variables involved in a tape trade. You should save this message and all other correspondence about the trade for future reference. With this information in hand, you are ready to start making the tapes.

So you have your blank tapes ready and your source tape in your playback deck. Don't hit record just yet! These are the steps you should take to make a good copy:

Unpack the Blank Tape

Put your blank tape into one of your tape decks and fast-forward it all the way to the end. Then rewind it back to the beginning. This makes sure the tape is wrapped around the spool at constant tension, and it also distributes the lubrication evenly throughout the tape. You may want to do this with a less expensive deck; there is no need to use a three head for this step, so why put unnecessary wear and tear on the motors?

Set the Bias Correctly On the Decks

If your decks have a manual switch for Bias, be sure it is set correctly, as this can have a dramatic effect on the sound of the tapes. Most tapes people use for tape trading (Maxell XLII, XLIIS or TDK SA, SA-X) are CrO2 or Type II tapes. Once in a while you might use a metal tape (Maxell MX, MXS or TDK MA, MA-X); these tapes are Type IV, or simply "Metal". You should never use Normal (Type I) tapes.

Some decks have a fine bias control. If your deck has this, be sure to use it! Consult your owner's manual on how to do this.

Make Sure Dolby NR is Off

While Dolby has come out with some good inventions (surround sound being one), their noise reduction system is not very good. It flattens the high ends of tapes, making them sound completely muffled if they are not played back on the deck that made them. They obviously won't be played back on the deck that made them in a tape trade, so this is a bad thing. I could get into a more technical discussion, but it isn't necessary. Just don't use Dolby for tape trades, ever! (See the Phish.Net FAQ if you want details)

On a side note, if your deck has Dolby HX Pro, don't worry. This is one of those good inventions, and you don't want to turn it off. It usually can't be turned off anyway.

Setting Levels

Setting the recording levels correctly is the most important step in making a tape. If you screw up, you pass on a bad tape to everyone your trading partner ever sleeps...umm trades with.

1. To set tape levels, find the point on the tape that you are copying where the music is at it's loudest. The first verse of Wilson can be good, or a really loud Chalkdust Jam. Lots of other songs work too. Use your Playback deck for this. Stop the tape right before this section.
2. Consult your Record deck manual to determine what the peak levels for the type of tape you are using fall at. Generally, Type II (XLII) tapes should peak around +3db, and Metal tapes around +6db. (If your deck has VU meters the peaks will be lower)
3. Pass the signal through your Record deck. You may need to have a blank tape in record-pause mode to do this.
4. Observe the level meter on your Record deck.
5. Adjust the Record Level knob on the deck until the loudest parts of the music coincide with the level meter just hitting the specified peak level (+3db for example) from your manual. The light at this level shouldn't be lit constantly, but only intermittently.
6. Rewind the source tape and you're ready to go!

If you are only using a dubbing deck to make tapes, you can't do anything about the levels of your tape; in fact, the dubbing deck will probably lower the levels of the tape. This is probably the main problem with dubbing decks.

You've done all of the preliminary stuff, now you are ready to make the copy. First, you should advance the tape you are recording onto past the clear leader (about 10 sec. if you have a real-time counter). Put your record deck into record-pause mode. Play the source tape until the sound starts up; then rewind to about 2 sec. before this point. Then hit play on your Playback deck at the same time you hit pause (to get it out of rec. pause mode) on your record deck. At this point, if you want to fade the crowd noise in, it can sound really professional. Be sure to listen to at least a portion of each side of the tape as you make it (if you are using a three head deck to record with) to make sure that there are no problems with the tape. If you are using a two head deck, be sure to do this after the tapes are made.

If you use a dubbing (i.e. dual well) deck, there are a couple of things that you shouldn't do while making the tapes. Do not use high-speed dubbing under any circumstances. Do not use auto-reverse. These two "features" of dubbing decks contribute greatly to the degradation of sound quality from one generation to the next. Avoid them.

A quick note on tape flips. You shouldn't have to worry about this, if the person copying the show from DAT to Analog did his or her job correctly. However, if the tape has a cut in a song, you should fade the song out at the end of Side A, back the tape up for about 5-10 seconds, and then fade it back in when you start recording on Side B. Never let auto-reverse do this job for you.

Once you finish the tapes, be sure to use some means of remembering which show and set it is. I like to stick the band name, date and set on one side of the tape using the label. Some people like to tape the setlist to the tape that it corresponds to. Try not to mix these up, because it is a minor hassle for the person who gets the tapes, and you could forget which tapes you've already made (which can lead to a major hassle).

You've now made all of the copies you needed to make and you are ready to mail t hem. Which brings us to...

Before you throw the tapes in an envelope, you should make sure that you have all of the following:

All of the Tapes

Pretty obvious, but you should make sure that you have included the correct number of tapes in the envelope. You should also be sure that these tapes have music on both sides. There should be some way to tell which tape is which; like I said earlier, I use the label on one side of the tape to write the name of the band, the date of the show and the set number. Other people write this on the backing of the label and Scotch tape this to the tape. Whatever you do, don't write on the J-cards.

The Cases and J-cards

Only if you decided to send them, of course.

The Setlists of the Shows

If you can make tape labels on your computer, that is a great way to include the setlists. If not, you should type them up if possible, being sure to note where Side A ends and Side B begins. If you can't type them, be sure to write legibly on a separate piece of paper. A post-it note attached to the J-card can be a good way to do this, because it fits right in the tape case if you fold it right. Be sure to indicate the source and generation of the tape with the setlist if you know it. Do not write on the J-cards.

A Little Note

Thank the person for the trade, tell them you hope they enjoy the tapes, yadda yadda yadda. Just try to give the trade a personal touch.

Now it's time to package the tapes in the envelope. Well, to start with, you should use the right kind of envelope. It should be a padded envelope, with the bubble wrap stuff as the padding (these can and should be reused, BTW). Do not use the padded envelopes that are filled with that fiber stuff. Those things are not durable and the fiber stuff gets everywhere. Next, if you are sending tapes without cases, you'll want to use a rubber band to hold two tapes together. This allows you to fit more tapes in the envelope (if you don't need the room, you don't have to do this). Then, get a large zip-loc bag and put all of the stuff you are sending into it. This is to protect the tapes from the elements. Now, put this bag full of tapes into the envelope. Make sure the contents of the envelope are as flat as possible; this minimizes the chance of breakage.

Now you are ready to seal the envelope. I like to use clear packing tape to do this; other people like to use staples. Whatever you use, don't go too far overboard or you could render the enevelope unusable in the future.

To address the envelope, I like to tape an index card to the envelope after writing the address on it; this allows the adress to be removed easily with little damage to the envelope so it can be reused. The postal service suggests that you write in ALL CAPS when you address something. I usually don't, but you should definitely print clearly because the zip code is used to computer-sort the mail when it can be read by a computer. Don't write "Fragile" on the envelope, because, as Charlie Dirksen puts it:

Generally, postal employees don't like to be told how
to perform their jobs.  "Fragile" translates into "Look here you
incompetent postal employee, be careful with my fuckin' package!,"
which often leads, posthaste, to a damaged or misplaced package.

To actually mail the tapes, I suggest going to the post office, handing them the package and telling them you want to mail it First Class. They will weigh it and you won't pay a penny more than you need to, like you might have to using stamps. They also attach a bar coded sticker that speeds the package on its way to its destination. If you do use stamps, be sure to use enough, because you don't want the package coming back to you. Don't do Priority Mail unless they tell you First Class is going to cost more than $3; it is the same thing as First Class - they both get your package to its destination in 2-3 days. You do get a free box when mailing priority, so if you are mailing enough tapes for a box to be a good idea, priority can't be beat. Fourth Class, or "Book Rate" should not be used; tapes are a bit more fragile than books, so it is a pretty big gamble for some pretty small savings. The only time I ever had tapes mangled was when they were sent to me Fourth Class. If you are going to use it, be sure your trading partner knows and approves; many people will not.

If you are mailing a package that weighs over 1 lb., you must mail it from the post office personally. This is part of a misguided attempt by the government to combat terrorism (along with their great new policy of detaining anyone who looks remotely Arabic at customs).

As soon as the tapes are in the mail, you should fire off an e-mail to your trading partner that says so. This will give them a rough idea of when to expect them.

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