You’ve got to be in a pretty big city in order to have retail options that deal with the kind of things sound techs need. You’re not going to find a pro sound store on every corner.

Even if you have a high end music store in your community, one that sells sound equipment for working musicians, it may well not have something as simple as rolls of console labeling tape. A lot of music store employees, usually working musicians, not techs, may not even know what it is.

Your town is much more likely to have a store that deals in art supplies or craft supplies. That is where you should start your search.

Console tape is widely known as “artist tape“, and it is used in lots of labeling and other photography management tasks. It uses the same “no residue” repositionable adhesive that is prized for its clean removal.

Don’t bother asking any of the clerks if they stock console tape. They’ll have no idea what you are talking about.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

For as long as anybody can remember, the inner cardboard hub of a roll of console labeling tape has been 3 inches.

It is unlikely that the diameter of the hub had anything to do with being just the right size to fit around most peoples’ wrist, but it is the perfect size for that.

When you are doing lots of labeling, there is no more convenient way to get a small piece of tape than to be able to use your non-writing hand as a sort of tape dispenser.

Just slip your hand through the hub and you can hold one, or even several rolls of tape right where you need them without losing the ability to use both hands.

Not coincidentally (my guess) the hub size of gaffers tape, which is also three inches, was probably also a “lucky accident”.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Most of the characteristics that make a tape product suitable for a specific process are things that can be quantified. This is particularly useful when comparing two similar products.

Here are the specs that describe, in detail, what makes Shurtape P724 the best tape for labeling sound consoles:

• Backing-Impregnated kraft paper
• Adhesive-Synthetic rubber
• Thickness-5.8 mils
• Adhesion to steel-57 oz per inch
• Tensile strength-30 lbs per inch
• Elongation-2.5%
• Service temperature-40F to 150F

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

You only have to do this important job with masking tape once to understand what I am talking about.

One reason that utility grade masking tape is so inexpensive is that it uses a very low quality adhesive.  This rubber resin based adhesive has good holding power when it is fresh, but dries out very quickly.  When this happens, the adhesive separates (de-laminates) from the paper backing.  The paper can be lifted off, but the dried out adhesive stays behind.

I recently stumbled upon a pro audio blog that was actually recommending the use of white electrical tape for console labeling. That is definitely not a good idea.

The rubber-based adhesive used for electrical tape is much more likely to leave a sticky residue on your console than paper tape or even gaffers tape.

Once that adhesive starts to build up on your console, it can start to migrate into the faders and other controls and start causing a number of problems that you can’t see. Sticky faders can be really hard to clean.

Because electrical tape has a smooth vinyl finish, Sharpie Marker is really easy to smudge, so you can’t touch the label until the marker ink is completely dry. This takes just a second with proper paper tape, but may take a really long time with electrical tape.

Finally, electrical tape is not really hand tearable, so in the process of tearing it, you also stretch it. That makes it narrower and gives it a wrinkly finish, both of which make labeling more difficult.

I grew up in a family of left handers and watched as my brothers struggled to write without smudging their work. It took a lot of effort to learn just how to hold a pen or pencil.

When labeling a sound console with a Sharpie Marker, you really have to be careful to keep the side pad of your palm off of your labels until it has a chance to dry.

Since Permacel 724 paper tape is coated, it does not absorb the ink from the marker. Until the ink actually has a chance to dry (it takes only a few seconds), touching it with the side of your hand will smear the ink across your label, staining your hand in the process.

Either keep your hand off the labeling or learn to write from lert to right!

We love Sharpie Markers and have used them for console labeling for years. I haven’t mixed sound in a long time, but there is a Sharpie in my pocket right now. I use it all the time.

We recently came across what may be the best console labeling tool ever. It is a single indelible marker with different tips on its two ends. Genuis!

Quite often, you need to write more info on your console labels than can be easily accommodated with a standard fine point sharpie. The longer you use it, the broader the tip becomes.

With the dual point marker, you can simply switch to the other end if you need to add details to the marking tape.

Dual point markers are considerably more expensive than two separate Sharpies, but the convenience just might make it worth the cost.

Several tape manufacturers have recently introduced console mixing tape in lots of colors. It is seductive to think about using a cool newer color that no one else has, but you should consider this before making the switch.

It is hard to beat the contrast between bright white tape and a black Sharpie for making things stand out in a low light environment.

Some of these new colors will not provide the same level of contrast in a dark auditorium or arena and it may make it more difficult for you to instinctively reach for the right fader every time.

That makes no sense, now does it? Here’s what I’m talking about.

Permchrome is the kind of ink you find in black Sharpie Markers. Flatback is the kind of paper tape that is used for console marking.

Sharpie ink is considered to be permanent, and once it has dried it is almost impossible to get off of the tape (or your clothes). That means that once your console labeling dries, no matter now sweaty your hands get or how much beer you spill on the mixer, your labels won’t smudge or rub off.

Flatback is the type of tape that is used for the best console tape. It has a smooth coating to make it easy to write on and is able to prevent permchrome ink from bleeding through the tape and getting on the surface of the equipment you are labeling.

If you are labeling expensive equipment with a Sharpie, make sure that the tape you are using is flatback.

Shurtape 724 is pro’s choice for this kind of labeling.

People who create temporary labels for sound consoles focus, rightly so, on “the horizontal”. By that, I mean that the primary purpose of the label is to indicate what microphone is represented by each input on the mixing desk. Normally the labels go directly under the mix fader and include information like “vocal”, “bass”, “kick drum”, etc.

Since most mixers are a long row of identical control strips, the labels make sure that the tech doing the mixing is moving the correct fader to make the changes they want.

The use of half-inch wide console tape allows you to expand this labeling to mark additional information about every control knob for each individual console input. Using tape that will fit between the fader strips means that you can also make notes and marks about equalization, aux sends, monitor mixes etc. It dramatically improves your ability to retain detailed information when you have dialed in a mix that you need to recreate later.

Add a roll of half-inch label tape and a fine point Sharpie to your tool kit if you regularly find yourself sharing a console with other acts. It’s essential during festival season.