Wire FAQ
Because we understand how precious these recordings are to their owners, every precaution is taken to ensure their safe transfer and return. Even with those precautions, there can be unforeseen problems.
What could go wrong?
Well, beyond losing a wire in the mail (which we've never had happen), there is always the possibility that a wire will break either during playback or more commonly during rewind causing the wire to tangle. This is usually caused by a loose knot or a kink catching on the wire as it passes. Because it's difficult to know when or if a knot or kink is present, we can not predict whether this will happen to your wire. Sometimes the wire loosens causing it to become tangled even during playback. Because of the diameter of recording wire it is very difficult to untangle it. Though every effort is made to recover as much of the tangled wire as possible, there are times when the damage is beyond repair.
What precautions do you take?
First, there is a visual inspection. This doesn't always give us a clue to potential problems. It does let us know whether the wire was last rewound evenly on the spool or if it seems loose. In these cases, the wire is manually (by hand) wound and rewound before playing. If all "appears" fine, the wire is played back through our system into the studio computer. Sometimes this is done a second time if the wire was wound out of sync with the winding action of the head.
Is there anything I can do to prevent these things?
Yes! Loose wire often means tangled wire. Wire can easily become loose during shipping. The best thing you can do is to secure the end of the wire or string leader to the outside of the spool with a piece of tape. If your spool has a plastic or paper leader, wrap a rubber band around it before shipping. Securing the wire will keep it tightly wound during shipping. Be sure you tape to the non-label side otherwise the tape may take some of the label with it when removed.
I can tell by looking at it that my wire is tangled. Can it still be transferred?
Please do send the wire to us anyway. Though there are no guarantees, there is a chance it can be untangled. The one exception is a wire that is no longer on the spool. Don't send it if is one big pile of wire. We do charge $20 for the first labor hour for untangling. If it takes more than an hour though, expect $15 per hour after that. 
