reel to reel better placed horizontally or vertically?

[_brian_]

I've always used my reel to reel standing up. Sounds a bit weird & silly but I'm not taking the mickie!! Anyway, I was thinking when a reel to reel is lying horizontally the tape due to gravity may want to bear down slightly on the guides. I know there is a fair amount of tension on the tape but surely the best placement is vertically? The tape will rest evenly on the guides & will not be misaligned. Am I way off here, or is there something to this? Also, if a recorder was to be setup & aligned standing up, would it be a bad idea to then use it horizontally?

Don't hit me

[evm1024]

Typically the capstan shaft and flywheel do not use a thrust bearing (It would introduce noise) Instead on Tascam machines for example the inside end of the capstan shaft rests on a teflon (or other plastic) sheet. This forms a low friction, low noise bearing and also forms a position index for the capstan.

When the machine is lying down the capstan shaft rests on this bearing surface and does not have any Z axis play (in and out).

When the machine is upright the capstan and flywheel are free to move in and out and MAY introduce some small motion in the tracks on the tape.

In theory your deck should be flat or angled back a few degrees so as to allow the capstan shaft to move back onto this bearing and thus not dither in and out.

Regards Ethan

[_brian_]

ah see 11 people viewed my thread but as of yet no contributers, mabye not the clear & easy question we all thought. I'll throw a spanner into your thought processes day and noght without even dropping a single globule of sweat!!

I spelt night wrong, but i like it that way & it's the first time I've ever typed globule, perhaps I'll use it in conversation today.

I need sleep

[RRuskin]

It's a royal pain to clean a vertically mounted machine and editing is damn near impossible.

[ofajen]

Horizontal is also generally preferred because it minimizes the importance of any wobble or imbalance in the rotating parts, since the gravitational potential is the same at all points of rotation, while in vertical mode the heavy side goes up and down, which can tend to introduce a low speed flutter component.

Cheers,

Otto

[mixsit]

I don't even use my '32 much any more but I learned something new here.

[_brian_]

excellent!! so it's the opposite from which I thought , oh well. I'll lay my machine horizontally then as it's easier to clean, demagnetize & since there are more techinical reasons for doing so now!!

Thanks again lads, always good having access to the experts

[ofajen]

Originally Posted by _brian_

excellent!! so it's the opposite from which I thought , oh well. I'll lay my machine horizontally then as it's easier to clean, demagnetize & since there are more techinical reasons for doing so now!!

Thanks again lads, always good having access to the experts

Be sure to check the manual and see if there are any adjustments to be made when switching between vertical and horizontal operation. My M-23 has a spring that needs to be attached when operated vertically to increase the tension applied between the flywheel rim and capstan in play mode. Of course that's a pretty old transport design, but it is still a good idea to make sure you cover the bases.

Cheers,

Otto

[analogkid]

Honestly Ihave seen units mounted both ways in major studios - in fact the TASCAM decks are most often mounted on the rolling racks that can be tilted as needed.


AK

[trancedental]

I've got a Revox PR99 MkIII which is an ex BBC machine. It comes complete with a adjustable trolley rack which moves from a horizontal position to a 70 degree angle, so it's not strickly vertical even then.

So I'm assuming that this machine would only be kept at a 70 degree angle while being moved around it's working location & would normally be horizontal in use?

On the other hand my Fostex E-16 has been kept vertical for the last ten years as it doesn't have any rack attachments on the sides!!!!!!!!!!

[david winter]

I personally use a Revox B77MK2 at home and for various reasons I prefer it flat than upright:

1) You never know whether the capstan is precisely balanced. I noticed a flat piece of metal which maintains the bell-shaped rotor of the papst motor. This is not evenly placed when locked, so I presume this may introduce very slight wobble. In any case, I remember having put it upright once and had some very light wobble. Maybe this was an impression, but it didn't convince me.

2) How often do you clean and degauss your heads ? You should often do that and it will be much easier for you with a machine placed "flat".

3) I personally use pancakes as I often get broadcast tapes. Never use those vertically.

4) Whenever you need to edit your tapes or even change the leader tapes, it will be MUCH easier to do with a machine put horizontally rather than vertically.

My $0.02...

David.

[_brian_]

Originally Posted by ofajen

Be sure to check the manual and see if there are any adjustments to be made when switching between vertical and horizontal operation.

There doesn't seem to be any mention of any adjustments needing to be made. It just says it can be mounted horizontally or vertically. It's a fostex R8 I have and the tape seems to be catching on the arm guides a little, I'm not sure if the table height will need to be adjusted. The wear on the heads seems to be spot on but it's my first reel to reel so, I'm not sure. I'll lay it horizontally & use it like that for a little while to see if it settles down any.

[Beck]

Depends on the machine, but I generally recommend horizontal or angled back for most multitrack machines. The wider and heavier the tape the more important mounting position is. And if you have a Tascam 1/2” or wider the weight of the tape reel will eventually wear out the reel clamper if the machine is mounted vertically. Well, think about it… a lot of pro machines are mounted horizontally by design with no option for vertical mounting.

When it comes to a small machine it’s probably not such a big deal. I mount my Tascam 22-2 vertically but it only uses 7” reels and is so light it’s easy to move around for maintenance. And of course I wouldn’t mount my Akai GX-77 horizontally… that would be dumb.