Messages

61

General Discussion / Re: Odd tape dilemma...

« on: August 24, 2009, 10:56:00 AM »

  After taking a good look at the tapes, it turns out that only a handful (from the same series) are incorrectly wound. Since several of the tapes are sealed in plastic and tagged, I would guess they were originally produced like that, but for what market is a guess. All of the songs in this series are mid 80's top 40 stuff, with a short pause and verbal description between each title.  Using the above suggestions, I was able to re-wind the tapes using a twist, and running my ATR slightly faster than normal play with the shuttle control.

  The rest of the tapes all look 'backwards'....shiny brown on one side with an almost black matte-finish surface on the other, which is outside. A friend suggested to spool one up as normal and try it, and sure enough, these appear to be wound correctly and play fine. The odd thing is that whatever type of tape was used (the reels are not marked at to the tape type), the play side is visually deceiving, being the shinier side of the two.  Yet on the top 40 tapes, the oxide is the darker side. If you saw any of the reels side by side, the tape looks identical.

 Wierd, and I spent the better part of Sunday afternoon flipping reels.

Tj

62

General Discussion / Odd tape dilemma...

« on: August 23, 2009, 11:52:45 AM »

  I purchased a collection of studio tapes, all 7.5 ips 1/4" 10.5 NAB reels, that contain various music titles; each reel arranged by genre. Best guess is that the tapes were originally masters for radio stations to build playlists from. Problem is that the tapes are wound upside down on the reel (the oxide is out). The boxes are marked 'tails out', and at first glance that seemed correct, but the tape is definitely wound incorrectly.
  I cant figure out how one would do that in the first place, let alone fix it. All of the tapes (around 200) are like this. Has anyone run across this before, or know how to un-do the incorrect wind?

Regards,
Tj

63

Tape Tech / Opinions on windage holes?

« on: February 18, 2009, 11:59:21 AM »

  I recently picked up a small lot of 10" metals containing pre-recorded music. The tapes are suprisingly good; properly stored and marked, and the playback quality of the music is excellent. Oddly enough, whomever assembled the reels, put them together with the windage holes "out of phase"....normally you can look right through an empty reel but these have the holes offset.

  Is this even a concern? I've heard several opinions on the holes; one is that they are there to help keep the tape pack even at high speeds, but someone else mentioned that they have little/no real function. Any opinions?

Regards,
Tj

64

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: which machine to get?

« on: February 03, 2009, 08:51:40 PM »

  My Technics 1506 is a great machine; sound is superb and it handles tape pretty nicely. It is well-constructed and durable. I have a Seduction on order, and with that it will be the main source machine in my listening room. That being said, I had to consider more than a few 1500-series machines before purchasing mine, mainly due to the very-limited supply of replacement parts.

 It is my understanding that there is a good parts supply for the Otari decks, especially since the last version of the MX5050BIII (?) was discontinued only a while back. (again...?....thats what I have been told).

 The bix Ampexes, and perhaps Studers, take a significant commitment to get into. Parts and repair can be costly, and their setup is more in-depth than consumer decks. I am talking mainly from the ATR standpoint, as I know nothing about Studer decks. I occasionally come across a large multi-track Studer, but cant seem to get a feel for what it would take to convert it to 1/4" tape, both in monetary terms and work effort.

  My ATR-800, which is not in the same league as the 100 series, cost more to get 'audio-room ready' than I spent on all of my other machines combined!

Tj

65

Tape Tech / Re: Rewind, or not??

« on: February 03, 2009, 05:22:38 PM »

  On the older Ampex decks its done by jogging between the two to control the tape speed. As explained here:

http://recordist.com/ampex/docs/histapx/tape-shuttling.html

 Easier said than done, at least from my efforts. It also notes that 'modern' machines do the shuttling for you when pressing stop. I havent noticed that on my Technics deck, but a previous post mentions a second 'click' in the stop process that I am going to listen for.

Tj

66

Tape Tech / Re: Rewind, or not??

« on: February 03, 2009, 05:04:25 PM »

  I dont think I've ever actually tried shuttling the tape on my 1506. Seems kinda scary, jogging the controls from one fast direction to the other, but sounds like its common practice........

 I do it on my 440 deck, but that machine has a different feel to it at the controls. Its also possible to spool an *entire* reel onto the floor with that deck before you realize what is happening.

 How does shuttling work mechanically? I guess the brakes are not active at this point, just changing which motor is holding back torque...or something?


Tj

67

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: which machine to get?

« on: February 03, 2009, 04:56:54 PM »

  Name sound familiar. Would you be from the M/L forum?

 The Technics decks are wildly popular, partially because they're great machines, but perhaps equally so because of their use among the tape project crowd. Tough to get parts for, as anything that appears on the auction site commands big prices. Good decks can be had, though.

 I've seen quite a few Otari decks, most were beat to all heck. That being said, the people that were using them really liked them. They have some nice features and found their way into many a small studio. I'd like to find a clean one for the audio room.

The ATR is a different story. Expensive from the get-go, and likely even more so to maintain. Used machines often need considerable work...nice ones sell quickly. Then again, I've seen some rough 102's sell quickly, for prices that would knock you out of your seat.

Tj

68

Tape Tech / Re: Rewind, or not??

« on: February 02, 2009, 10:49:13 PM »

  I put around five feet of leader tape at the beginning and end of 7" reels; makes threading easy and of course is a better place to put on the brakes, unfortunately the leader sometimes passes me by and runs off of the reel, in which case only the leader takes a little tattering. The tape that broke was approx in the middle......first time it happened but then again I dont RW/FF that much, with the exception of 10" reels that I store tails out; and these are run right off of the spool, not stopped mid-tape.

  Perhaps the breakage was just a fluke. I should dig out a reel of 'junk' tape in each size and abuse 'em a little, just to get a feel for how each machine is handling the braking.

 On the Ampex decks, it seems as if you must shuttle tape controls to come to a controlled stop. Is it also a common practice on consumer decks, or was your comment that the machines do it automatically as part of the stop function?

Dolph...what machine are you running, and whats a 'memory flag'?

Thanks-
Tj

69

Tape Tech / Rewind, or not??

« on: February 01, 2009, 10:18:07 AM »

  Some tape users say they never rewind/FF their tapes, instead they always play them through to avoid the possibility of stretch/breakage. Others say fast winding tape is not an issue if the machine is in well form. My usually gentle 1506 broke a favorite tape while stopping from FF a while back, only time this has happened but it leaves me hesitant to fast spool anymore.

  My 440 (B version) can be rough on tapes unless 'shuttle' the controls, a practice that seems easy on paper but not so much so in practice. Spool speed on this deck is so fast that I've thought about modifying the motor circuits to cut the speed way down...just enough to move between songs at a rate maybe just a bit faster than play speed.

 Is there a general consensus among forum members on fast-winding....is it generally a non-issue, or to be avoided only with certain tapes? Is there a way to do it/not do it?

Should you stop the tape before the end runs off of the spool (insert 'flap flap flap' noise here)...?

 Maybe this can be a topic in the general topic 'beginners guide'.....

 Regards-
Tj

70

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Adding VU meters to Seduction/modified Technics?

« on: January 27, 2009, 08:32:25 AM »

  Thanks for the suggestion; when I build my Seduction, maybe it would be wise add a second pair of output jacks controlled by a switch, so the meters can be used just for a quick check.

 Watching the meters bounce back and forth does nothing for me except give a visual confirmation that there is information coming off of the tape, and which track is doing what.

Thanks,
tj

71

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Adding VU meters to Seduction/modified Technics?

« on: January 26, 2009, 10:46:27 AM »

  I have a Seduction on order and plan on modding my RS1506 for direct-head output to the rear. Not so much a TP playback machine but just trying to better the playback of my pre-recorded collection. Only concern is that with the head mod, I lose the VU meters, which are often helpful when dealing with older or unknown tapes. At least they show whats coming off of each track regardless of what you think should be there.
  Has anyone done the head mod and still kept the meters, or added an outboard set?

Regards,
Tj

72

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Calling all Pro's

« on: January 20, 2009, 08:50:20 AM »

  Interesting comment about the Ampex 440c; hopefully more discussion about the 440 series comes up in this thread. Those machines are relatively common and affordable (well, perhaps not the C), easy to work on and spare parts are plentiful. I own a 440B with SS electronics, and while it is a nice machine, it can be awfully rough on tape in the hands of an inexperienced user.

 Steve-no harshness noted in your reply; I understood where this thread was going and maybe jumped in too enthusiastically.

Tj

73

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Calling all Pro's

« on: January 18, 2009, 05:58:33 PM »

 Steve-

     I am by no means a pro (and this is in fact, my first post since officially joining this forum); living in close proximity to New York has afforded me the opportunity to personally look at quite a few studio grade machines so I'll share the experience from the buyer's standpoint.
  New York City (and the surrounding boros/Long Island) were probably saturated with recording studios at one time, so its not uncommon to come across used high-end RTR equipment for sale.  When I went to look at a machine, the first requirement was that is had to be usable.  You mentioned 'investment in money and/or time and work to restore' , but used machines either work and were kept well, or they werent, and were complete junk. If a machine actually came from a studio, it usually worked or was close to it, unless it was a multitrack big-tape machine, which requires thought into the costs of converting to a smaller format.
  The majority of machines I looked at were simply 'acquired' by someone renting a building and were probably left by the previous tenants because they were not worth moving.  I came across quite a few Otari machines in this fashion; most were sitting in harsh environments (welding/fabricating shops, abandoned studios that were wet, etc). Many were two-track mixdown machines but had so much visible wear/physical damage that they needed untold amounts of work.
  Sony machines were also common, but only in multi-track formats, and I wasnt able to approximate a cost to convert to two-track, plus spare parts seem tough to find.
  Studer machines were usually found at working studios; their owners simply set them aside as they migrated towards digital recorders. Like the Sonys, the Studers were usually multi-track formats with big headstacks......not cheap.
  Ampex was my holy grail.....unfortunately I was not able to find an affordable ATR100 series machine that was runnable without major work. Even the machines I saw that needed a complete rebuild exceeded my budget, although I suspect that the buyers purchased them with high hopes but probably did not realize what they were into.
  In the end, I stumbled across an Ampex ATR-800 that was working in a studio up to the day I purchased it. It was clean, came with full documentation plus plenty of spare parts, and had a good reputation among small studios as being a good performer and reliable. It was a half-inch four-track machine, but Mark Spitz at ATR Services outfitted the headblock with new 1/4" heads, and compared to my other "consumer grade" machines, it is akin to comparing an economy car to a Cadillac.
  The bottom line of all this was this: to get into a studio machine I had to either purchase a rebuilt/restored one from a reputable shop, or acquire a cheap one and spend the money anyways, which put many machines out of my budget. You then have to factor in transport and spare parts, a big part of the equation.

  I could go on for literally *forever*, but hopefully this was something worth sharing.

T.j.