Messages

1

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Modded Revox A77 and playback metering

« on: August 03, 2009, 06:22:41 PM »

Thanks Timlein, good to know I'm not alone there! I guess the alignment instructions will
take that in to account. I tried to respond earlier but had some trouble loggin in for some reason.

Another thing is in my discussion with JRF re a head relap they said If I sent the entire head block they will do an optical alignment and check all the guides etc for me which sounds like a great plan.

I jumped in to removing the headblock without realising that two of the bolts are actually holding the entire capstan motor in position! Needless to say I thought I'd lost the whole guts for a while there but managed to get it  back in place trying very hard not to bump the axis....

Has anyone had experience removing the entire head block or is it something left alone? Ive already removed the  heads from the block but would  love to send the whole block so it can be properly set up.

cheers

Tim

2

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Modded Revox A77 and playback metering

« on: July 26, 2009, 10:36:47 PM »

Dear revox owners,

I have a simple but burning question about playback VU metering on A77's.

Does the stock Revox A77 have metering on playback?

I wouldve assumed yes  but mine doesn't, it has been modded with output transformers
by its original owners (The Australian Broadcasting Comission)  and possibly playback metering
has been sacrificed or bypassed. I'm very happy with the sound btw.

It meters on input /record and only on playback when using the (I-II or II-I option) but definitely not
on straight forward playback.

If any owners of standard A77's could let me know that would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Tim

3

Tape Tech / Re: Otari mx5050 8 track bypass?

« on: December 23, 2008, 08:29:27 PM »

Thanks Ironbut and Studer Fool. The bottlehead option looks great, just a bit out of range for now.

There is a tech I can use who I've used for my tascam  tsr8, the Otari has been very well maintained all its life but is probably due for a check up.

 Generally it sounds pretty good (quite true to the original source on playback with a bit more oomph and presence, maybe better playback head/amp than monitoring head/amp? ) but what i noticed is that running sources through the electronics themselves and monitoring from source (without tape) tended to degrade the sound slightly when AB'd with the source bypassing the machine all together. I recently borrowed an MCI 2" 24 track with transformer balanced discrete amps and you can actually add life and depth to the sound by running through the electronics without tape!

If I need to spend significant money on upgrades or a re cap I may consider an upgrade in machine... I love the 8 track format for its simplicity and its limitations.  Anyone have a favourite higher end machine in this format? I imagine something like an ampex or studer 1" 8 track would fetch a fair bit if it could be found... then theres upkeep...

Tim

4

Tape Tech / Re: Otari mx5050 8 track bypass?

« on: December 23, 2008, 12:41:32 AM »

Thanks Steve ,
I'm starting to get more of a picture now
the eq curve and head impedance definietly make it more involved I imagine!

Been looking at the bottlehead and Aria options in the last hour, not sure if in my budget
but will investigate further.

Be interested to know how you find the 4 track version of the Otari.

Any more tips on improving or replacing the playback electronics by anyone out there appreciated!

Thanks

Tim

5

Tape Tech / Otari mx5050 8 track bypass?

« on: December 22, 2008, 10:35:22 PM »

Hi forum members, 
I'm brand new here, the owner of an 8 track Otari mx5050 mk4 and revox A77 in a home recording set up (I aslo have an old Akai domestic 4 track for tape delay and a 1950's ferrograph for tube glory which doubles as a nice guitar amp!).
 
I'm in the process of trying to upgrade my home/project studio and was intrigued by reading on this forum that it may be possible to bypass the playback electronics in the otari and use higher quality outboard electronics wired to the playback head for better reproduction.

I find this possibility very exciting due to my limited budget and the scarcity of top notch
vintage professional 8 tracks out there (Ampex, scully studer etc).

Just wondering if anyone who has done this may be able to set me straight on how involved this is and what has to be taken in to consideration,
one main issue would be the output level received from the playback head and what impedance, gain etc is needed to amplify the tiny signal (would a mic level pre amp be suitable for example)? and of course the ease with  which the playback head can be directly tapped ( I read here that the edge connectors would make that fairly easy on the otari).

I'm due to receive an old studer 089 mixer that has excellent transformer balanced class A pre amps but I imagine tapping the playback heads directly into the mic - line inputs sounds too easy to be true?

Any help or hot tips for a novice would be greatly appreciated.


thanks

Tim