I decided to try some of our affordably priced Techni-lux gaffers tape in my home recording studio. I always need a way to secure the cables in place that I use for tracking so I don't trip over them. Gaffers tape does this nicely without leaving a sticky residue on my carpet. It also works great to stick lyric sheets to the vocal booth wall, plus a number of other quick fixes when setting up stands and gobos. I knew this gaffers tape was extremely affordable and expected it to perform somewhere between good gaffers tape and duct tape but it far exceeded my expectations.
Recently during a sunny after church lunch party in the backyard, our newly purchased patio umbrella would not stay aimed toward the sun once tilted. One of the guests suggested that maybe some duct tape would hold it in place. I ran downstairs to the recording studio to get my new roll of gaffers tape knowing it would be a much better solution than duct tape.
Upon returning, I started to fix the umbrella by taping the shaft to the weighted holder on the ground and mentioned that I was using gaffers tape instead of duct tape. What's the difference several people asked?
I told them that although the two rolls of tape look similar (outside of their usual difference in color), but exhibit considerably different traits based on the materials used to manufacturer them. Duct tape or "duck tape"' is made of vinyl that is fabric reinforced and uses a rubber-based adhesive, developed in 1942 during World War II to seal the lids of ammunition boxes and be water resistant. Gaffers tape is cloth backed and uses a synthetic rubber adhesive that leaves almost no residue. Developed for use in the theatre and film industry, gaffers tape has many professional applications usually found near stage and screen productions.
After I finished fixing the umbrella, we all agreed that the gaffers tape did a fine job. One of our guests asked where they could purchase gaffers tape for home use. I referred them to my companys web site www.ccisolutions.com/gafferstape.
The Techni-lux gaffers tape is a great value for anyone needing to secure things without damaging the finish that you are sticking it to. It is a great alternative to duct tape which leaves behind sticky goo that's really a pain to clean up.
Did I mention I really love gaffers tape?
Wayne DuCharme is a
25 year pro audio veteran,
active worship musician, producer/engineer
& technology product specialist