Oh, Thank you Thank you Thank you. .... ??
I can do that... using a fairly good ADC .. Benchmark ADC. BUt what would you learn from it that you cannot learn from an HD download? You wont know what the real live music sounded like either way. Only if you do your own recording will you know what live sounded like vs the recording.
THx-RNMarsh
Hi John,
That may well be. As I said, my experience at 30 ips is very limited. Running at a more conservative 15 ips seems to be a "happy spot" for the machine and tape. You lose 2 dB s/n versus 30 ips, but that's what Dolby A and Dolby S was for. Later they started to lay down tracks without any noise reduction for some music because certain aspects sound better that way.
I have never seen a more gentle machine for tape handling than the Studers they have at The MetalWorks studio. Beautiful to watch in action. The only tape that ever made a Studer squeak would be Agfa. Filthy stuff! As for head bumps, Norm told me that they were eq'd out. I'll believe Norm 100%, and then some.
Sounds like you had some interesting experiences at Ampex John.
-Chris
That may well be. As I said, my experience at 30 ips is very limited. Running at a more conservative 15 ips seems to be a "happy spot" for the machine and tape. You lose 2 dB s/n versus 30 ips, but that's what Dolby A and Dolby S was for. Later they started to lay down tracks without any noise reduction for some music because certain aspects sound better that way.
I have never seen a more gentle machine for tape handling than the Studers they have at The MetalWorks studio. Beautiful to watch in action. The only tape that ever made a Studer squeak would be Agfa. Filthy stuff! As for head bumps, Norm told me that they were eq'd out. I'll believe Norm 100%, and then some.
Sounds like you had some interesting experiences at Ampex John.
-Chris
Why?
---------
Anatech --- That HP 4192A is like brand new... no dust, inside or out... no oxidation on anything. Looks like new... even with recent cal stickers.
Usually a product with a fan and no filter would have grit/dust balls inside. This is like new inside. Just a fan that was getting wobbly.... took it out and apart, oiled it and now it is quiet as new again.
happy camper over here;
-RM
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Hi Richard,
As well you should be. It's always a joy getting well maintained equipment.
I just received a pair of HP 5087 distribution amplifiers. These are better than the one I had. They are already set up with 12 channels of 10 MHz output modules. Mine was very incomplete and I had to modify several 5 MHz amplifiers to 10 MHz. These are all tuned amplifiers. The only thing extra I would wish for was separate output commons for each channel.
All I had to do was set the supply voltage and all the levels per the manual. Looking forward to swapping my first one out for one of these. Unfortunately these were in Military service and not in good cosmetic condition. They cleaned up okay (better), but the scars from our service people are still visible.
-Chris
Just looking that 4192A up Richard. You are a very lucky guy indeed! Enjoy.
As well you should be. It's always a joy getting well maintained equipment.
I just received a pair of HP 5087 distribution amplifiers. These are better than the one I had. They are already set up with 12 channels of 10 MHz output modules. Mine was very incomplete and I had to modify several 5 MHz amplifiers to 10 MHz. These are all tuned amplifiers. The only thing extra I would wish for was separate output commons for each channel.
All I had to do was set the supply voltage and all the levels per the manual. Looking forward to swapping my first one out for one of these. Unfortunately these were in Military service and not in good cosmetic condition. They cleaned up okay (better), but the scars from our service people are still visible.
-Chris
Just looking that 4192A up Richard. You are a very lucky guy indeed! Enjoy.
This was the standard text back in my day of servicing R-R Decks -
Standard Tape Manual, useful data and techniques.
In my studio experiences, playback of two track mixdown tape vs 16bit/44k digital was quite different.
Of course AD/DA converters are much better now, but the result back then was that the 'presence' and 'life' in the recording was 'removed'....the fundamentals were still present but the fine detail/nuance that makes for realism was lost.
Dan.
Standard Tape Manual, useful data and techniques.
In my studio experiences, playback of two track mixdown tape vs 16bit/44k digital was quite different.
Of course AD/DA converters are much better now, but the result back then was that the 'presence' and 'life' in the recording was 'removed'....the fundamentals were still present but the fine detail/nuance that makes for realism was lost.
Dan.
Could anybody share experience, impression or opinion with typical current digital recording studio grade gears compared to good analog? I tend to think decent 24bit/96k pro systems while not current gold standard should already compare on level to high grade analog system.
I was at a recording session a few years ago... and recording was being made On Location in a church. In a nearby room were the recorders ... mastering reel-to-reel tape and digital recorder. The recording engineer asked us to listen to both played back over a high quality pair of monitor speakers. He was so excited by the quality of the 'back up' digital recorder... sounded so close to each other.
I am not sure if analog tape has improved since then but I know the digital has...
THx-RNMarsh
I am not sure if analog tape has improved since then but I know the digital has...
THx-RNMarsh
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You're welcome of course.
A jar of alcohol/iron particles, a loupe and an eyeliner pencil/crayon was the goto method of setting head positions.
John, you have mentioned Phase Modulation/Intermodulation in the past.
Care to refresh us on your findings ?.
Dan.
I'm still waiting to hear a system with good RTR playback.
No doubt it exists, since you can play it back on a great machine that could have been used to record.... but I just haven't had the personal experience yet. Too many stereos at shows and stuff using RTR sound awful (but that's shows).
No doubt it exists, since you can play it back on a great machine that could have been used to record.... but I just haven't had the personal experience yet. Too many stereos at shows and stuff using RTR sound awful (but that's shows).
I recently "sold" my Tascam BR-20 to a friend. It was amazing, a half track, 15 ips machine, so it had plenty of impact and dynamics. I just can't afford to feed it as the tape is expensive as all ****. It had no hours on it, just the cal tapes when I first got it and a test recording. I think I set it up for 499 if memory serves. If it wasn't that, then 456.
-Chris
-Chris
I would say the opposite. The magnetic tape adds a lot of nuisances. Distortion, noise and variation of the response curve following the level. This gives weight to the recording, create a binder between the instruments and can create an impression of greater dynamics, the distorted sounds seem stronger.
If the digital is doing something, it is in the opposite direction. A tiny loss of "heat"? more due to our listening habits than anything else, I think.
In fact, all this mythology about digital comes from the fact that the listenings studio monitors were "voiced' so that the mixes take account of the future losses due to the vinyl. In the treble, especially. The speakers lacking treble, the engineer added to the mix and the vinyl came to restore more or less the ideal balance.
When the CD appeared, it did not produce any losses. And so, his listening was too acute.
In any case, personally, I am unable to tell the difference between live and recorded in 24/96 in a double blind test. And the differences between two good converters are mainly due to their analog parts, IE in the same order of magnitude than a change of humidity or temp in the air for your speakers.
And, anyway, the main problem is that we don't have the same system at home than the one that was used by the producer during the mix
And, as magnetic tapes are in museums, now, it is more useful to devote oneself to improving digital than living in the nostalgia of the good old days.
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