Ok, maybe I got what I paid for this time.
It's a Fostex B-16D, 16 track 1/2" tape machine. For those of you curious bout its features, here's the jist:
One speed - 15 ips
Dolby C NR (whether you like it or not, can't be turned off)
2 head design (making calibration of rec levels and bias nearly impossible)
I really don't care about the above limitations. What's bugging the crap outta me is that the electronics are noisy. When listening to the tape-outs on my mixer, at modest, unity levels, and turning the tape machine on, an incriminating hiss protrudes through my monitors. It's not my mixer. I'm 150% positive that the tape out circuits are all noisy. It's not bad, but multiply it by 16, it's pretty annoying.
Also, my tracks sound like raw tape (maybe worse). Is Dolby C Noise Reduction supposed to WORK, or not? On top of the noisy electronics, there's TONS of tape hiss. Maybe it's the heads. THey're evenly worn, but it's a bit flat. THey have shape, but, you know. a bit of wear.......... I'm very tempted to sell it for a 38, or maybe a 48 or a 58. I'd much rather have 8 good tracks than 16 noisy tracks.
Is there anything that I, the pissed off user that's handy with tools, can do besides sell it, or pay an arm and a leg for 16 tracks worth of gates? I don't want to have to transfer the tracks to a digital domain just to clean them up.
-callie-
It's a Fostex B-16D, 16 track 1/2" tape machine. For those of you curious bout its features, here's the jist:
One speed - 15 ips
Dolby C NR (whether you like it or not, can't be turned off)
2 head design (making calibration of rec levels and bias nearly impossible)
I really don't care about the above limitations. What's bugging the crap outta me is that the electronics are noisy. When listening to the tape-outs on my mixer, at modest, unity levels, and turning the tape machine on, an incriminating hiss protrudes through my monitors. It's not my mixer. I'm 150% positive that the tape out circuits are all noisy. It's not bad, but multiply it by 16, it's pretty annoying.
Also, my tracks sound like raw tape (maybe worse). Is Dolby C Noise Reduction supposed to WORK, or not? On top of the noisy electronics, there's TONS of tape hiss. Maybe it's the heads. THey're evenly worn, but it's a bit flat. THey have shape, but, you know. a bit of wear.......... I'm very tempted to sell it for a 38, or maybe a 48 or a 58. I'd much rather have 8 good tracks than 16 noisy tracks.
Is there anything that I, the pissed off user that's handy with tools, can do besides sell it, or pay an arm and a leg for 16 tracks worth of gates? I don't want to have to transfer the tracks to a digital domain just to clean them up.
-callie-