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  1. O

    My studio gear is up for sale.

    Are you selling all your instruments, or will you still have a guitar or something left over, in case you feel like playing music now and then? It would be weird, but I could stand selling off my gear, but I would really miss having something to play. Cheers, Otto
  2. O

    eq going to tape to ballance high freq rolloff

    My recorders generally don't have any roll -off to worry about, but when I track with my M-130 ribbons, I may use a 12K shelf to boost the highs going in to compensate for the mike's roll-off on the high end. Up to 5 dB or so, just so I don't have to eq it on playback and raise the hiss level...
  3. O

    Maybe this is a dumb question, but...

    Quite right... and it's even better if you can make sure that all of the lights light up the whole time in every tune you mix. Cheers, Otto
  4. O

    Maintenance qustion for Ampex 440's....!

    I've done this, but it's not really recommended. You really want an oil designed to work well with turbine motors and not leave gummy deposits. A sewing machine oil would generally be a better choice. Cheers, Otto
  5. O

    Can i use quarter inch tape on a 16 track machine?

    Dealing with two tape widths (at different times and for different purposes) is possible on some machines. The "small format" machines of 3M, MCI and Ampex, just to name a few, generally could be set up to handle both 1/4" and 1/2" tape. You'd just swap out the headstack assembly and then...
  6. O

    When tape won't erase....and why?

    How faint is "faint?" My 3M M-23 1/4" machine lists a S/N ratio of 62 dB (using Scotch 203) comparing a 3% distorted tone at 400 Hz to noise. The erase spec says a 3% distortion 1K tone will be reduced by 68 dB. If the S/N and erase specs don't change much between 400 Hz and 1K, all that means...
  7. O

    Ian: Good to hear from you! So, where are you these days and what are you up to? Yes, I have...

    Ian: Good to hear from you! So, where are you these days and what are you up to? Yes, I have two recordings that Lee did that are completely his remakes of Hiatt tunes. Then there are a couple of mixes of tunes we both played parts on and then there are some rather lengthy recordings of us...
  8. O

    Absolutely Terrifying!

    At first I assumed this whole video was a hilarious hoax. However, the same guy has a series of 15 videos on "ehow" at the following link: http://www.ehow.com/video_2385256_4_track-reel-reel-tape-recorders.html Unfortunately, none of them are quite as off-the-wall as the YouTube one. Cheers...
  9. O

    Top tips for drum tracking at home

    If you track to tape, you may want to push levels to compress the tone and add saturation, and you always want as high of a level as sounds OK, because the noise floor is usually on the border of annoying unless you are using noise reduction (which I don't) and if the levels on the tape are...
  10. O

    Unprocessed Vocal Tracks

    Are you recording your own vocals? Any chance you could stop by a good local studio and record a vocal take there to keep as a reference? Shouldn't cost much to just do a couple of dry vocal tracks. That way you could compare it to what you do and see if you are on the right track. Cheers, Otto
  11. O

    Ampex MM1100 16 Track

    I seem to remember reading that the MM-1100 often had issues with hygroscopic materials in the audio cards, and that this issue was fixed in the MM-1200. Did I just imagine that? Cheers, Otto
  12. O

    Advice on 1/4" 4 track machines!

    I built this up last night and it works fine. I had to scrounge a bit to find three 3-conductor 1/4" jacks. I even happened upon a bunch of unused 82 ohm resistors. I wouldn't want to mix this way, but it's fine for monitoring when you put tracks down. Cheers, Otto
  13. O

    You ever just feel like throwing in the towel?

    Cory: Scroll to the pictures at the bottom and you will see your next machine: http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/msg/1544333383.html At least it's old enough and heavy enough to be of interest, eh? :) Cheers, Otto
  14. O

    Advice on 1/4" 4 track machines!

    I have one of these machines. I think I'll follow my own advice and build one these. Cheers, Otto
  15. O

    Ampex 631 / 641 tape - deciphering the specs

    631 is good tape. Recordings will last... probably 100 years. You have to live with lower levels. Cheers, Otto
  16. O

    Advice on 1/4" 4 track machines!

    If you're not too fussy about the sound while monitoring, you could even do a passive 4x1 mixer with just a 100 ohm resistor on each input, if you don't mind adjusting the tape output controls a bit to get the levels tolerable. A box, three TRS jacks (two in, one out), four 100 ohm resistors...
  17. O

    Advice on 1/4" 4 track machines!

    Sorry, that wouldn't work with mono headphones, as they would tie the output to ground. Cheers, Otto
  18. O

    Advice on 1/4" 4 track machines!

    How about a simple 4x1 mixer, wired with two TRS input jacks and the output wired to both T and R of TRS output jack?. You could just run two TRS cables from the headphone outs in, set levels and monitor by (mono or stereo) headphones in mono. The PAiA Craig Anderton kit (CA-17, IIRC) could be...
  19. O

    You ever just feel like throwing in the towel?

    I took the liberty of stealing the following info from Wiki answers to collect the notable steps along the way: 1) Sir Humphry Davy, an English physician, successfully passed an electric current through platinum strips in 1801. They only lasted a few minutes. 2) In 1809 Davy created what...
  20. O

    What is your process?

    I doubt I'm unusual in that the process varies widely. About all I can share are a few of the questions that need to be answered: What will I record it on? What will be the timing source? Will I start off first with some MIDI tracks? Will I be syncing up to the MIDI rig? How many tracks do I...
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