Studio Master, constant prob with 4th track!!!

[tofu roshi]

I have an old cassette Studio Master, Studio 4 4-track which has developed a problem over time... I believe the first time it occured was in '96 since I'd purchased it in '93. At times (now, as a matter of fact) when I go to record the 4th track it will record but the sound will be extremely scratchy (to the point of indeciferability) and there is nothing that can be done. It happened about a month ago, but then the problem went away and I was able to record the day after... PLEASE HELP!!! What can I do?

[Dom Franco]

Ok don't laugh! but first things first....
1. Have you cleaned the Heads? look for debris or damage to the fourth position on the record head.
2. Have you de-magnetized?
3. Have you tried a different tape? (If an old tape plays back ok then it may just be the record head!)... Bummer!
4. If you have checked all of the above, mabye it's the head alignment. which is a difficult adjustment. You would be better off having it serviced professionally. *Trouble is that It might cost as much as a brand new machine to have this old one fixed!*
5. If you are adventureous, you could take it apart and look inside. Look for poor connections to the head or bias section. Loose rollers or capstain etc. If you are gonna have to by a new unit any way...have fun experimenting! (Be careful not to touch the 110VAC. power supply voltage wires.... IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE OR WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE... DON'T EVEN OPEN UP THE CASE!

Sincerely;

Dom Franco

[William Fleischer]

I feel your pain, Tofu. I own a Yamaha MT-50 4-track and in January, one of the tracks (the 4th one) started to loose its ability to over-dub. I started hearing 'ghosts' or shadows of previous recordings on the track every time I tried to record over it. I asked the same questions as Dom did above and determined that it was time to say goodbye to my loveable, hugable, analog four track.

...So 9 months later; I have just completed a new, digital setup. I bought a Fostex FD-8 digital multi-tracker, a new killer PC, and a pro sound card as well as million other accessories,cables,monitors, etc... Now I go 8-tracks digital on the mult-tracker and mix down to my PC. Then I touch up the mix using mastering software and can burn to CD. Don't get me wrong, I know this is a tremendous investment, but the benefits, flexability and quality you get out of the digital recording process is incredible.

Sorry for this digital blip in this all-analog post site; but I once was terrified of digital and stayed with my 4-track for fear of the investment and complexity, but now I'm one of the many converted.

Bill

[Dom Franco]

Originally I proposed this category as "Non-Computer" recording. The analog name just stuck... We can talk about anything here. I just didn't want to have to weed through all the "SOFTWARE" type questions to get to the information I was interested in. I have a digital setup myself,
but it's just not computer based.

Dom Franco