ampexatr700

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JustinBell

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so I bought one for 50bucks.
Im going tomorrow to get some tape for it.
when pluged in at my work with no tape it powers up and the vu meters move slightly, but non of the functions work (probably becuase theres no reels of tape on it?), or eh make the wheels move hah:D so I take it home, down to the studio and plug it in, press play and the left wheel starts spinning and the stop button works aswell. I am completly new to analog recording. I have recorded digital all my life, so excuse the dumb questions.
as I said earlier I plan on buying some tape tomorrow or this weekend and having it looked at in a shop if I cant get it up and running myself, but what I can I check/mess with, anything to know about this deck? what can I check right now withoutany tape?
thanks for any answers
 
JustinBell said:
so I bought one for 50bucks.
Im going tomorrow to get some tape for it.
when pluged in at my work with no tape it powers up and the vu meters move slightly, but non of the functions work (probably becuase theres no reels of tape on it?), or eh make the wheels move hah:D so I take it home, down to the studio and plug it in, press play and the left wheel starts spinning and the stop button works aswell. I am completly new to analog recording. I have recorded digital all my life, so excuse the dumb questions.
as I said earlier I plan on buying some tape tomorrow or this weekend and having it looked at in a shop if I cant get it up and running myself, but what I can I check/mess with, anything to know about this deck? what can I check right now withoutany tape?
thanks for any answers
Click to expand...

An excellent machine made for Ampex by TASCAM in the 70's. The capstan motor is the only thing that cannot be replaced as they can't be rebuilt and are no longer made.
 
what about the issue of the working play and stop buttons and how the ff rr and record do nothing? sorry for a probably stupid question
 
what type of tape should I be getting the the ampex?
 
JustinBell said:
what about the issue of the working play and stop buttons and how the ff rr and record do nothing? sorry for a probably stupid question
Click to expand...


Nothing happens until the take-up tension arm is lifted upward which is what occurs when tape is threaded properly. Hold it up and start pressing buttons.
 
JustinBell said:
what type of tape should I be getting the the ampex?
Click to expand...

Whatever is compatible with Ampex/Quantegy 406, 456, or 499, 3M 250, 226, 996. Look for new RMGI syuff. Stay away from used tape. See threads on sticky-shed syndrome.
 
so I bought one for 50bucks
Click to expand...
I hope you feel guilty. ;) That's a steal. Congrats on the purchase. I used to own the Teac version of the machine. Assuming all works, you will love it. Like Rick said, if you lift the tape arms (trick the machine into thinking there's tape loaded) the reels should both move.
 
thanks alot everyone!
both reels are moving and all the buttons seem to be fine.
how do I check the wear on the heads? mabye theres a place with some of those basic questions already answered? also I dont have any hubs for the deck, so when I buy the tape is that when I consider what size/type of hub I need, or does the deck determin that?

also if you wanna hear some of my playing you can check it out here,
www.purevolume.com/justinbell
I plan on trying to find a 1" 8 or 16 track for recording and use the mtr700 for mixdown. first thing I'll probably do is mix down some digital tracks to it and see how that sounds, Ive never tried that before :D
 
This is one of my favorite head-wear reference pages:

http://www.analogrules.com/badheads.html

Put up some pics of your heads when you can, and we'll give you our 2p. :)

My guess is you're going to be purchasing 2500' reels of tape (10.5" reels) so there is one type of reel adapter...Since Tascam designed the deck you can contact Tascam Parts at (323) 727-4840 or parts@teac.com for the reel adapters. You can use the same ones as the Tascam 32 (and many others, but that is a well-known simple reference). They'll be cheaper and gauranteed new if you get them direct from Tascam and you don't want to risk getting used ones because they fail over time and there's no way to know how many "miles" they have on them used.
 
Justin,

I hate to tell you, but it really is not possible to get an assessment of the heads with the pictures you linked. Put a white index card on the face of the deck up to the heads to cut down on reflections from the flash, and get your camera level with the face of the heads, dead-on. Also, if your camera has a manual focus or better yet a macro mode use that so the pictures are in focus.

What kind of camera are you using?
 
ok I'll take some new pics this afternoon.
how can I test the imputs? Ive got lots of mics but all the boards are have are digital with rca outs. I do have an ADesigns Pacifica pre, could I just plug a mic in there and then from the pre to the deck? just see if the meters move at all?
I also bought some scotch 1/4 tape this afternoon

oh yeah, sweetbeats, its just a cheap HPphotosmart m22
 
Yes, you can connect your mic to any preamp with a direct output and connect that output to an input on the deck. That will get your meters moving, and then if you set the deck to monitor the input, then you can connect the outputs to a mixer or whatever and monitor what you are speaking into the mic. That way you'll be able to do a basic test to tell if the input and output electronics are at least working.

I hear you on the camera...listen, get some good light in there on the heads, put the index card in there and if you have to back up to get the camera clear of the face of the deck so that it is level with the heads, do that. Just make sure to set the camera for the highest resolution and don't reduce the images before putting them up on photobucket (you probably knew that already, but just in case...)
 
hey sweetbeats, I just connected a shureKSM44 to my pacifica, then used the xlr out from the pre to the 1st imput of the deck and there were no signs of life!:eek: please help! what am I overlooking here?

the vu lights are burnt out but the meters should still work eh?
 
That deck has balanced mic inputs, so, you should be able to plug a dynamic mic directly into one of the mic in's and see meter movement.
 
JustinBell said:
hey sweetbeats, I just connected a shureKSM44 to my pacifica, then used the xlr out from the pre to the 1st imput of the deck and there were no signs of life!:eek: please help! what am I overlooking here?

the vu lights are burnt out but the meters should still work eh?
Click to expand...

Make sure the monitor switch is in "source." The metering follows that switch.
 
AH YEs

Hi Justin, How is that deck coming along? Your post made me dig my ATR700 out from under the bench. It has been sitting there waiting for desk space....

Some may recall that mine fell off a shelf that broke and bent up the reel that was on it. The deck suffered no lasting harm. Built like a tank. Except for one of the input level pots. Anyone out there with a parts deck want to get me a replacement pot?

I have both a working deck and a manual....

Turns out that I had a noisy output card. Some caps gone bad - quiet till it warmed up. But I did have a spare card that took care of that problem.

They look good in oak!

Keep us posted in how this is going for you.

Regards, Ethan
 

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thank you again everyone! what a great place for a musician to get help with all this analog stuff! hah

so where Im at now with the machine:
I got the meters moving, and did a test record
got some 1/4 tape, threaded it, but non of the functions work!
what I mean is the rec ff rr ect. dont wanna do anything with tape on there.
BUT like a few people suggested I (before had any tape) "tricked" the machine into thinking that there was tape, and everything works fine, the reels move ect.
now, I can get it recording if I pull back the right tape arm I beleive its called.
so I think mabye theres somthing wrong with thattape arm?
heres a pictre with some tape on it, and you can see that the left one is doing its thing but the right one, well, dont look right hahha.

https://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo323/justinbell_photos/HPIM0325.jpg

https://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo323/justinbell_photos/HPIM0327.jpg
 
nice!

hey ethan, that does look amazing with oak sides dude!
I cant wait to get mine back into shape

Justin
 
You don't have the tape threaded properly. It goes around from the bottom of the take-up idler wheel (between the wheel and its bottom guide) than over the top guide before being threaded to the take-up reel. Do yourself a favor and find an owner's manual. A sevice manual wouldn't be a bad idea either.
 
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