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Author Topic: Confused about alignment tapes!  (Read 6419 times)

Offline audiolab1

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Confused about alignment tapes!
« on: April 13, 2009, 03:31:25 PM »
Hi everyone,

I'm hoping some of our knowledgeble members can help me out.
I have a Studer A-80/RC 1/4" stereo deck which is used predominantly for playback of old RCA 2-track pre-recorded tapes.
I also use it for the occasional live FM broadcast taping.
I also have a Technics RS-1506 used for 1/4 track tape playback.
In the past I have had the machines aligned by a friend, but I have a full measurement setup and would like to do this job myself.
I don't have a demagnetizer yet (I know, I know) and I want to purchase an MRL test tape to setup these 2 decks.
On the A-80 I usually record on Quantegy 456.
Which reference fluxivity should I go for from MRL?
Also, and this might sound like a really stupid question, can the MRL tapes be used to setup either 2-track or 4-track configurations?
Obviously I would like to align the head for both 2 and 4 track playback on the RS-1506.
Your input is appreciated!
Thank you,

Andrew

Offline ironbut

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Re: Confused about alignment tapes!
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2009, 06:12:33 PM »
The reference fluxivity on your Technics is 185nWb/m. You'll need to find out what reference your Studer is set at, but that's all it is, a reference level. You might want to buy a tape that is made to the reference level of your Studer but that's up to you. If you check Jay's website on choosing an alignment tape, there's a table for adjusting for different levels. If you want both machines set for NAB 7 1/2 ips, you should only need one tape. They're all recorded full track so you'll have to adjust for fringing effects on the 1/4 track playback. All of this info can be found on the MRL web site which has a new address;
http://home.comcast.net/~mrltapes/
BTW, except for head wear, there shouldn't be any reason that the adjustments of your machines would change since the last time they were aligned. There's some pretty good stuff about heads and alignment in the Beginners Guide which is a sticky above the General forum.
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