Stutter

S

simpleybass

New member
Im recording with a Yamaha MT120. Channel 2 seems to get an occasional burp, or stutter (for lack of better words).

The input is an SPB1 xlr (20' cable) into a solid state mic preamp, 1/4" unbalanced out (3'cable) into the recorder.

My input levels are OK (tickle the red).

I've cleaned and demagnetized the heads. I'm recording with dbx on, and using the slower tape speed (4.8).

Any suggestions how I can identify the problem?
 
Maybe you need to turn your record level down a bit. And I would be recording at the fastest speed if you have one.
With dbx sometimes tickling the red is a bad thing.
 
It lasts a split second, kind of like a bump in the road.

It's not a sound, but more of a dropout.

It happens periodically, always a split second. Just one channel.

I'm pretty sure it's not a bad connection in any of my cords or jacks, because I had that problem and it resuted in scratchy sounds, or dropouts / reduced gain for varying lengths of time. Now I know how to clean my contacts.

But the "stutter" still shows up. It's less noticable in a mix, but very apparent when I listen to that track alone.

I'm going to try switching the mics to different channels, to see if I can narrow down the potential problem area. However, I doubt it's the mic.

And I might try the higher tape speed. The reason I'm not usually using 9.5 is because the machine is noisy when it's going that fast, and the mics pick up that sound. I can't put the tape machine in another room, because I need start, stop, and monitor levels while we are recording (I'm playing). Can I make it quieter with some kind of lubricant?

:o
 
Last edited:
I'm not familiar with that machine so I couldn't tell you why it is so loud. your dropouts are likely being caused by dust or eyelashes or something on the tape. pet hair perhaps? you did say you are cleaning the path properly, right?
 
Yeah, I guess this developed into two issues

1. The dropouts. I'm using new cassettes and I have cleaned the heads & tape path with rubbing alcohol and q tips. The problem does seem to be on channel 2 only. I take that back- I could be getting this on more than one track. Maybe it is dust. Should I vacuum out the casette compartment?

2. noisy machine on the faster tape speed.

I'm looking for pointers on both of these issues.
 
Last edited:
ok I checked out your machine online. its a pretty cool looking piece. I don't really know what else to suggest, but there is a chance someone else will answer your thread. it could be anything. if there is any dust you will want to clean that up. when you say the machine is noisy on fast setting do you mean the recorded sound is noisy or the machine is making audible noise in the room? The audio should be less noisy on the faster speed.
 
Ok...

On the faster speed the machine makes more noise in the room, in other words, if it's playing or recording, and I'm standing next to it with my headphones off, the darn thing is loud, just the sound of it spinning the tape that fast. The mics pick up that whirring noise. Imagine the sound of a computer fan but way louder.

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top