Messages

16

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Lyrec FRED portable editing deck - now ReVox PR99 player.

« on: September 30, 2009, 10:59:29 AM »

No problem, Brian.
Well, it's certainly colorful, probably a graphic artist thought it looked like it was moving even when standing still. Kind of like paint stripes on a car. The TP reel is a good looking example. Also, the reels that came with Tandberg decks look pretty good.
Ken

17

Suggestion Box / Re: Cuban music...........

« on: September 30, 2009, 10:39:43 AM »

Thanks for the Cuban music suggestion, Red. I can also recommend the "Buena Vista Social Club", produced by Ry Cooder. Made in a vintage Cuban recording studio, very real sounding.
Cheers, Ken

18

Suggestion Box / Re: Suggestion for Series 3

« on: September 30, 2009, 10:35:21 AM »

Yes indeed,
Dexter Gordon, anything from the Blue Note years!
Ken

19

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Lyrec FRED portable editing deck - now ReVox PR99 player.

« on: September 30, 2009, 10:11:18 AM »

Hello Brian,
Thanks for posting the PR99 deck photo! To remove the rack brackets, take off the back enclosure and that give you access to the bracket bolts.
Cheers, Ken

20

Tape Tech / Re: Resistors used in PR99

« on: June 26, 2009, 11:05:56 AM »

Hello Andrew,
Thank you, very much, for the information on the other resistors you have had success with. I can remember in the early 1970's when my friends and I were trying the Corning glass composition resistors for the Dynaco tube pre-amps and power amps we were modifying. Then we tried the original Roederstein Resisita brand of resistors, each change seemed to lift a layer of "grunge" from the sound. I can remember J. Gordon Holt describing the sound as the sound grains of uncooked rice makes as it goes across a sheet of paper held at an angle. That always stuck in my brain, a gritty grainy quality especially noticeable on stringed instruments. To me, resistors, especially found in tape recorder electronics seem to be related to this sound I don't know exactly why but they do.
I appreciate the information on the various capacitors you've used, very much appreciated. I've thought about adding a separate power supply for the playback electronics in my PR99 playback only deck, there's lots of spare room there!
Cheers, Ken

21

Tape Tech / Re: Resistors used in PR99

« on: June 19, 2009, 10:09:59 AM »

Hello,
I can highly recommend the Vishay S102 series of bulk metal foil resistors, especially in circuit path and head loading positions. I believe what causes a great deal of the so-called "transistor sound" can be attributed to what the resistors are adding. I can recommend contacting Ms. Lopez at [email protected] who works in customer service for the Texas Components Company for help in ordering specific values. They are expensive when compared to other resisitors but are worth it, in my opinion.
Cheers! Ken

22

General Discussion / Re: Filmco

« on: April 16, 2009, 07:35:38 AM »

Hey Jay,
I haven't bought a complete deck from them, but I have bought capstan motors and circuit boards from them with fine results. I would buy from them again with no problem.
Ken

23

Suggestion Box / Re: Ry Cooder & V M Bhatt

« on: September 25, 2008, 02:38:24 PM »

Hello Doc,
I was at a friend's house a couple of days ago and was talking about the TP and said how there was some mention of doing Ry's "Buena Vista" album. My friend, who is a music lover, quickly said, "I'd love to hear "Meeting by the River", that is a recording for all time!".

24

Suggestion Box / Ry Cooder & V M Bhatt

« on: September 25, 2008, 02:17:24 PM »

Hello,
The album is titled, "A Meeting by the River" recorded by Water Lily Acoustics and loved by music lovers and audiophiles around the world.

25

Suggestion Box / Re: Buena Vista Social Club

« on: September 18, 2008, 02:09:25 PM »

Hello,
Excellent suggestion! I would love to hear a TP version of that recording. Good idea.
Ken

26

Arnold Overtures / Re: TP-003 - Oh my!

« on: July 21, 2008, 12:54:41 PM »

Hello,
I just received my copy of the Arnold Overtures, congratualtions to everyone involved! Beautiful presentation, a first rate job in all aspects of the case, liner notes and reels themselves. I can't wait to bring them home and start the fun! Talk about having something to be proud of, you guys have raised the bar for everyone else who offers musical enjoyment for people to have in their homes!
Thank you for all of your efforts!
Cheers, Ken

27

Tape Tech / Re: Inverse tape playback circuit

« on: February 08, 2008, 03:56:33 PM »

Thanks! Now I understand much more!
Take care, Ken

28

Tape Tech / Re: Inverse tape playback circuit

« on: February 08, 2008, 03:18:24 PM »

Hello Arian,
Thanks for the response, like you I'm trying to build a good sounding tube playback amplifier. I've built the Audio Amateur inverse RIAA network and use it to examine phono circuits. I was hoping someone was familiar with a piece of test gear that would do the same for tape playback. It's hard to imagine the original design engineers, at Ampex or Studer, would use a test tape to evaluate each circuit change they thought up. If so, they probably went through lots of tapes in the days before computer modeling came on the scene. It would seem to me that they would have wanted a steady source to look at on a 'scope and distortion analyzer. Then test it with actual heads and tape.
Are you basing your design on any classic playback circuits? If you need any schematics, let me know, I might have it available.
Take care, Ken

29

Tape Tech / Inverse tape playback circuit

« on: January 15, 2008, 04:39:48 PM »

Hello,
Is anyone familiar with a test instrument that would convert a sine wave, for example, into various tape playback curves? There are inverse RIAA circuits that allow an engineer to examine a potential RIAA circuit and see if it will output a flat response. I was wondering if there is such a device that would do a wide variety of playback EQ curves?
Thanks, Ken

30

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Studer 810s for sale

« on: September 10, 2007, 03:31:17 PM »

Hello John,
Congratulations on the Revox PR-99, it can be a fine sounding unit. Keep in mind there is only one resistor change, per channel, to convert an NAB to an IEC playback circuit. If you are at all handy at de-soldering a part I'd be happy to give you further information on how to make the swap. Also, you would want to make the audio connections from the "monitor" out connections on the top of the unit. This bypasses a great deal of circuitry that "clouds" the sound and can result in quite satisfactory performance. While I'm sure the Bottlehead playback amplifier is excellent, with a little work the PR-99 can hold its own.
Regards, Ken Swauger