My crazy idea, that is probably impractical....
Construct a spray-foam insulated enclosure around the MM-1000 with a door that has a double-pane window, and some kind of ventilation in the back. May cut noise by 50% or more if you use the right materials. Would make machine access a PITA but once you get it up-to-snuff, you might consider this.
There also is the possibility of making said enclosure latchable on every side for easy take-apart when you need complete machine access... I'm sure you have pondered that, but if not, food for thought.
I've SORT of pondered that...two concerns I have is the heat buildup. The Coney Island sized tension resistors get hot enough to cook on, not to mention the electronics modules in general. The other piece would be, as you mentioned, access. My room is really actually quite tiny when you take into account the halftrack rack and mixer tables...and two drumsets...cozy. BUT, I may experiment with even constructing a U-shaped baffle that sets on the transport surface and can be lifted up and set over the upper bridge when needing access...I'll have to do something because the transport noise is going to be an impediment to mixing even, not to mention tracking.
I'll have to see what it is like when the lower racks are full. The present state with the racks virtually empty makes it kind of like a horn of sorts for the capstan and reel motors. And I'll also be following up on a replacement capstan assembly because that machine I assessed in Portland was *significantly* quieter and yet it was still the AC hysteresis sync capstan just like mine. Good food for though indeed, Muck. I have a good collection of 2" mineral fiber panels so it is possible to build a light custom baffle for the MM-1000, its just cramped in the room for moving anything around.
FYI, I have nothing to add, but I definitely enjoy the (continued) posts. If there was a "like" option I'd be clicking it...
Hey, thanks. I truly appreciate that.
LOL. The VR Ampexes were more than loud. Most of that coming from the quadraplex head motor and air (or was it vacuum) system all mounted up top. The local TV station where I first encountered those things, wouldnt even have them in their machinery room, they were relegated to the hall way.
Oh right, right, right! Yeah the air pump and all that makes a RACKET! I think I've heard of that more than once (putting the machines in the hall).
So I did some tracking and it looks like there is a *little* hit and miss on playback...I think there are 3 tracks that don't reproduce from the play head, but it records on all 8, and reproduces from the record head in sync on all 8...I don't think the tracks that won't play from the play head is a cabling problem or a head problem because the meters go dead when I switch to the play head on those tracks, so I have a hunch it is a relay issue or something on the amp card. I'll try swapping cards and go from there. And the machine needs aligned BADLY...I can send known tone level into the machine, record it and there is vast variation in playback levels between tracks and then again when switching from sync to repro. No surprise, but it is pretty bad. The amp cards are not all native to this machine so I was expecting it to be far from lining up. BUT...I tracked some bass doodling to three of the tracks...it records and plays back, and you know what? Sounds pretty dang nice so far. Noise floor is pretty high but I chalk that up to the bias not being set and who knows what nominal level the different channels are set at...I wouldn't be at all surprised if many of these channels are set for 185nWb/m...and who knows if the meters are calibrated to that...I know NOTHING at this point, but I think, considering this machine hasn't been used in awhile and was likely doing video sweetening at Universal Studios, it isn't calibrated for 355nWb/m which is what I'll be doing. BUT...its fun...love switching between record and repro on this thing...big chunky paddle switches all across the face of the upper bridge. And an added bonus: nothing has blown up yet.
[EDIT]
AND...
Tape is running nice in the tape path. I need to re-check the tensions, and do a little tweaking to the height of on of the guides, but NO edge shed anywhere yet (and I've done a bit of shuttling so far), and no visible tape distortion at contact points in the path.
