sm900 on Otari MX5050 alignment weirdness

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ethyrvalve

ethyrvalve

Norman Nanoweber
Hi all,
I've run into some weirdness on some RMGI sm900 tape on an MX5050 mkii 2-track.
After setting up with the recommend overbias (4db) for the otari's record gap size it sounded fine, but it very quickly fell out of alignment (it suddenly dropped about 5 or 6 dbs). Mostly on channel 1 oddly enough.
Another reel seems to be working OK so far.
Could it be the tape's fault if only one side goes truly out of whack.
I've been using new old stock 3m996 for a couple months without a single problem.
Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any insights.
 
ethyrvalve said:
Hi all,
I've run into some weirdness on some RMGI sm900 tape on an MX5050 mkii 2-track.
After setting up with the recommend overbias (4db) for the otari's record gap size it sounded fine, but it very quickly fell out of alignment (it suddenly dropped about 5 or 6 dbs). Mostly on channel 1 oddly enough.
Another reel seems to be working OK so far.
Could it be the tape's fault if only one side goes truly out of whack.
I've been using new old stock 3m996 for a couple months without a single problem.
Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any insights.
Click to expand...

Check for heavy oxide shedding by running a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol over the tape path.
 
ethyrvalve,

I recently had the exact same experience on my 58.

Don't know if it is the same issue for you, but I had oxide buildup on the syn and repro heads...it didn't take much, but was dropping my repro levels at times down to infinity.

This was with RMGI SM911. I have a call in to RMGI with the batch number.

My YTT-1142-2 test tape plays back fine...the SM911...
 
Thanks for the replies folks.
There was a fair bit of oxide. But it didn't seem like enough that it would cause such a radical shift in levels (granted, this is from a standpoint of nearly total ignorance).
has anyone else seen the alignment to go out of whack very unequally on different channels?

PS Sweetbeats, i'm a fellow 58 user. I have nothing but good things to say about that wonderful machine.
 
ethyrvalve,

FELLOW 58 USERS UNITE!!! :p

Love to hear anything you want to share about your experiences with the 58. Are you currently using it/own it? Any problems you had with it? What's the story?

If you haven't already, check out the photos of my sync head on post #38 of my Tascam 58-OB Story... thread. Look at the oxide between tracks 1 & 2. That was enough to start causing some fluctuations in levels on those adjacent tracks. Clean running tape is gooood.

I will say too though that, and this is subjective a bit yet, cleaning the amp card relays and resoldering the multipin connector joints has helped the response reliability.
 
There were a number of stories of the SM900 shedding and some SM911 were also noted to have the same issue. I would not start tweaking unless you know the tape is good. You should be able to take several passes without a siginificant amount of oxide on the tape path. Even a spec of oxide can cause audio problems. The bad RMGI batches don't seem to be dry shedding but rather on the wet side (not sticky shed either) and I too agree (with Beck) that it's the result of under-curing, at the factory. Basically, the guys there have a stable oxide / binder but may not have the technique / quality control down yet, don't let it dry sufficiently. A small number of bad tape slips through. Just to be fair, most are fine. That's my opinion, based on what I saw and heard.

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Just to let you folks know RMGI is going to replace the tape. No hassles. Good people.
 
Yeah. What Phil Paske from RMGI conveyed to me is that when they moved the plant from Munich to the Netherlands there were significant environmental and climatic differences that caused problems. According to him they have that worked out, and are continuing to replace rolls that are defective with very little effort on the part of the end user.

My shedding was as mentioned above...not dry powder but sticking to the tape path components, but the tape itself does not feel sticky/tacky.

Phil emailed me right after I talked to him and there are 7 points/questions to answer for their quality control department...took a minute or so.
 
That's actually great to know, Cory, as it's the first time we're getting word from the source as to what went on with the early batches of tape (which, apparently, are still being sold by some dealers).

IMHO, RMGI should contact its dealer network, recall the tape and replace it with the newer batches. (This should have been done earlier). Problem solved and could have been done 'behind the scenes'.

Thanks for sharing your conversation with Phil.

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