E-16 getting a level...but that's about it

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huriyet

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So I have had this machine since December but have only put tape on as of yesterday. It seems most components are in working order. The machine was cleaned by me personally with the help of friend who holds better knowledge in cleaning reel players than I had. We got the heads looking great and all the rest. Oil, rubber cleaner the works.
So I got the tape on and it rolls fine and all that. I even get a nice looking level on the VU. But when I playback a recording I get nothing on the VU? And also can't get sound from the outs. There's only 16ins and 16 outs. So it's pretty hard to screw that up. I can't even hear hiss or anything. Are my heads shot? The machine came from a very good source. Any Ideas?

Thanks!
 
huriyet said:
So I have had this machine since December but have only put tape on as of yesterday. It seems most components are in working order. The machine was cleaned by me personally with the help of friend who holds better knowledge in cleaning reel players than I had. We got the heads looking great and all the rest. Oil, rubber cleaner the works.
So I got the tape on and it rolls fine and all that. I even get a nice looking level on the VU. But when I playback a recording I get nothing on the VU? And also can't get sound from the outs. There's only 16ins and 16 outs. So it's pretty hard to screw that up. I can't even hear hiss or anything. Are my heads shot? The machine came from a very good source. Any Ideas?

Thanks!
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Make certain the tape isn't traveling over the head guard and/or you are not in "input monitor" mode when playing back.
 
RRuskin said:
Make certain the tape isn't traveling over the head guard and/or you are not in "input monitor" mode when playing back.
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Ha funny I just found the head shield guard. I took a look to see after what you said. It was pushed in so I popped it out...never knowing it was there. Thanks! But alas it's not the problem. And I did try playback with both imput monitor depressed and not. Funny thing is, I can't even get a signal at all from my outs. Tried them all. So a signal shows on the e 16, but I can't monitor or record it? I feel it's something either really obvious or something in the guts. Bah.
 
huriyet said:
Ha funny I just found the head shield guard. I took a look to see after what you said. It was pushed in so I popped it out...never knowing it was there. Thanks! But alas it's not the problem. And I did try playback with both imput monitor depressed and not. Funny thing is, I can't even get a signal at all from my outs. Tried them all. So a signal shows on the e 16, but I can't monitor or record it? I feel it's something either really obvious or something in the guts. Bah.
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Something tells me you don't have the manual, correct? There is a head shield that goes up and down. There is also a cue lever near the play/record head that goes in and out for fast wind cueing. You want the shield down when you thread the tape and the cue lever out. It can accidentally lock "in" causing accelerated head wear. As I recall, pressing the record button by itself engages "input monitor." The individual track arm switches don't have to be on to do this. You will get nothing off the tape when in this mode. Press it again to disengage.
 
The Manual is available on the Fostex site.

www.fostexusa.com Go to "Support" and download the manual under Product Documentation.

May help your problem.
 
Terfyn said:
The Manual is available on the Fostex site.

www.fostexusa.com Go to "Support" and download the manual under Product Documentation.

May help your problem.
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Yeah got one of those. Unfortunately according to it, I'm doing everything by the book but the book has no trouble shooting. I think what I'm experiencing is probably just my machine exclusive. Whole thing seems strange to me.
 
If...

If you accidentally plug into the Outputs instead of the Inputs, and the Inputs to the Outputs, (all connections backwards) you will be able to deflect the meters but will never be able to record.

Verify that the mixer's outputs go to the tape deck's inputs, and the tape deck's outputs go to the mixer's tape returns or other line inputs.:eek:;)
 
ahh

So I unplugged the whole thing (snake and all) the other day to demag. And when putting everything back together...i may have switched the snake inputs/outputs. I'm a fool. Anyways thanks allot man. I now know it works, 2 dead channels though so i'll have to look into that.
One thing though, i get a mono signal? I can only monitor from my board, no headphone jack on the e 16. But yeah all I hear are mono signals. I've used 2 track and 4 track machines before and never had that problem.
 
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Gee, how did I know that?

That is a classic no-brainer that many users have experienced, even myself maybe once or twice. It's a common mistake for Newbies, so don't worry.

If there's 2 dead channels, I'd now look at the head and getting it spotlessly clean. The track record (heh: pun) of sticky tape over the past few years would prove that there's a enormous amount of goop and oxide that can be deposited on the heads and prevent tracks from recording or playing properly. It only takes one stubborn little spot of oxide to ruin the rec/repro response. Beyond that, there may be an issue of reseating the audio cards, if perhaps the unit was shipped and jostled around a bit.

A mono signal? Well, it's hard to determine from your description, but each tape track would be itself a mono signal. On your mixer you should be able to take the tape returns and pan them into stereo in the submix section. It could be a mixer hookup problem, signal flow or setup problem on the mixer. BTW, what mixer are you using?:eek:;)
 
Yeah It was really over confident of me, just plugging them as if I've had the machine my whole life ha.

So I'll take another look at the record head. They were both scrubbed well but one spot could be enough to hinder right. So yeah I'll look again. The tape I have now is new so that should help too. The player came from a studio here in Ontario. So I don't believe he was using old sticky tape to record shania's demos ha. Which is a bonus knowing for me. Read so much about bad tape and it's destructive properties.

Yeah I'm trying to record some signals wet, but the direct outs don't send the bussed FX so i'm having to send the signal through a main out, the left channel. So I guess that's why my signal is mono. I might run the signal through my soundcard and use ableton to host the signal converting the out to stereo. Sounds crazy I know but I want my wet signals. I wish they had made the outs on my board for each channel to carry the FX. I know why they didn't but I still would have liked the option. I'm using a studio master 16-8-16.
 
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