dead tracks??

R

ROBOTQUALITYREC

New member
i finally got a chance to go through my fostex g16 track by track and see how it worked. everything sounded great BUT tracks 3 and 8 dont record. i recorded a stereo mix on tracks 2+3 a few weeks ago and it worked fine. but when i was testing it (with a drum set) i had track 3 as the snare track. i wasnt hearing anything at first and had the kid keep hitting the snare. once i found out i had a plug in the insert weirdly (so i couldnt moniter) i fixed it and it was LOUD. it was in a joemeek pre, into the board, into the g16. i recorded and...nothing. i wonder could the loud signal to the heads too long damage it? i listened to the stereo mix again and the 3rd track played back but VERY quiet. i tested all the cables and they were fine. very weird. not really a problem. im looking to get it serviced someday soon...but i cant find anyone in western MA.
 
I am not an electrical engineer so might terms might be a little off. Each channel has a seperate board on the G16. These have the amps/caps/etc for recording an playing back. It is not uncommon that amps or caps go bad and become defective. This is what your problem sounds like. There are mods on these boards to upgrade these parts to get better sound, but also routine maintainence to repair bad parts. The two options are to find someone who can replace the missing part or uy a junked G16 for parts and use one of the functioning boards to replace you bad one. Having two machines, one for parts, is a common practice.
 
I am not an electrical engineer so might terms might be a little off. Each channel has a seperate board on the G16. These have the amps/caps/etc for recording an playing back. It is not uncommon that amps or caps go bad and become defective. This is what your problem sounds like. There are mods on these boards to upgrade these parts to get better sound, but also routine maintainence to repair bad parts. The two options are to find someone who can replace the missing part or uy a junked G16 for parts and use one of the functioning boards to replace you bad one. Having two machines, one for parts, is a common practice.
 
ROBOTQUALITYREC,

What mixing board do you have there?

You mentioned using an outboard pre-amp made by Joe Meek. Where are you plugging the output of that pre into?

Does your "board" have recording busses?

Are these busses assigned to the correct channel on the recorder?

Are you saying that if you tried the same recording and patch procedure to two different channels that everything would work?

Please give us a more accurate picture of exactly what equipment you have there and how your signal chain is routed.

Thanks!:)
 
kristian - buying a junk g16 sounds like a good idea. if i can find one! i see them on ebay and they always seem to be working. id love to have a tech go through it and fix everything and update everything else...but i cant find one around here.

ghost - i used my old 80's live board (peavey mkIV) im getting an old Aries console on monday so ill test again. on the peavey, each channel has post and pre sends and returns. (only pre sends would record, not post) i tried 8 channels at a time. everything worked but tracks 3 and 8. i switched cables with the tracks adjacent to 3 and 8 (that worked) and still nothing. i tried sending it to a different return channel on the board. still nothing. i opened up the back of the recorder and the 'circuit board'? (im not a tech guy) that holds the cards was cracked at all the 4 screws that hold it in. it didnt look like anything "important" was damaged, but it sketched me out. also, behind the meter bridge/remote on the front, when you remove it theres openings for amp adjustments and eq and all that. the last half of the tracks 8-16 have things lined up with the holes. the first few look shifted to the right. maybe this thing got dropped? regardless, everything other that tracks 3 and 8 work great and it sounds gooood. i need to take it to a tech. anyone here from Massachusetts?

thanks!
 
more confusion...

ghost - i had a mic into the joemeek - out into the line in - out to the recorder. that was drum tracking. i had the pre ALL the way up and didnt realize it untill i fixed a plug that was in the pre return too far. then the track didnt work.

when i was 'testing' it afterwards, i used a sm58 plugged right into each of the channels. i plugged into one channel, said "test channel one test" and so on. everything was set the same on every channel. 3 didnt play back at all. 8 played back verrrrrry faint.

when i listened to a previously recorded stereo mix i made on tracks 2 and 3, track 2 played back wonderful and full but track 3 was very quiet. (when i recorded them weeks ago track 3 was just as loud as track 2.)

so i assumed it was that VERY LOUD snare for 30 seconds that blew the amp maybe?
 
Depending on just how hot that incoming signal was, it is within the realm of possibility that you did blow an input stage somewhere either on the board, (mixer) or on the multi-track or both!:eek:

It sounds like its Mr. Good-wrench time.:(
 
Shortest path...

this has nothing to do with troubleshooting but for the cleanest and shortest path I would go mic into mic pre straight into the G16 than g16 output to your mixing board.I have a E16 and when I track with my tridents I have all my inputs and outputs hooked to patchbays and I insert my tridents into my tapes ins on my patchbays.Just a thought...
 
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