Cassette v. 1/4" v. 1/2" (life beyond the DAW)

[cjacek]

I am always afraid I'm going to toast my machine. or my hard drive in the nearby computer. or the needles on some vu meters in my rack. I never do it in the middle of a session.

I've heard from people who work in pro studios that when the Han-D-Mag is used, all who are there are mortified and take quite extreme precautions .. Some just use an inexpensive (and much weaker) demager "stick" such as the Nakamichi clone for their beast recorders with satisfactory results with less risk ... With something like the Han-D-Mag you may actually damage the structures of the cassette recorder heads, even if used properly, not to mention having to put all your tapes in another room!

 

[cjacek]

I don't think I'd really use a demagnetizer unless I had some way to measure magnetization or unless there was a clear sign of a problem. But that's just me.

 

[FALKEN]

I don't think I'd really use a demagnetizer unless I had some way to measure magnetization or unless there was a clear sign of a problem. But that's just me.

problem is its hard to identify a "clear sign" of a problem.

sometimes I "hear" a tape degrading after playing a song 30 times. but really its all in my head and the next day it sounds normal.

likewise, sometimes I "hear" an improvement after demagging. but am I just imagining it??

It seems that demagging my mixdown deck before doing the A to D transfer is well worth the 2 minutes it takes.

guess I'll never know for sure.

have you ever tweaked the volume or eq on a track to where it sounded "right" only to find out you were working on the wrong channel?

 

[cjacek]

Just get an Annis Magnetometer.

 

[cjacek]

Btw: What type of recorder you've got Falken ?

 

[FALKEN]

Fostex E-16 and a Tascam 32 which is currently not functioning (arrgh!!). If anybody wants to sell me a Fostex E-22, or a half inch-4 track (tabletop) PM me.

 

[GemSmith]

So is everyone pretty much in agreement then that I should NOT use a han-d-mag on both the Tascam 424 cassette deck and the Tascam 388 1/4" deck?

Doesn't sound to me like the rewards are worth the risks...

I'm going to send that thing back if I can... I'll probably keep the cleaning chemicals, as I'm sure they're good quality, if not a little overkill...

 

[FALKEN]

So is everyone pretty much in agreement then that I should NOT use a han-d-mag on both the Tascam 424 cassette deck and the Tascam 388 1/4" deck?

Doesn't sound to me like the rewards are worth the risks...

I'm going to send that thing back if I can... I'll probably keep the cleaning chemicals, as I'm sure they're good quality, if not a little overkill...

either way, dude. I use the han-d-mag on my 1/4". For casette get the one on ebay.

 

[cjacek]

Here's my 2 cents ... If you're going to go around demaging, wouldn't you want to know if you really pulled it off
or if, instead, you'd managed to magnetize the hell out of your tape path ? A Magnetometer will tell you this.

 

[GemSmith]

Here's my 2 cents ... If you're going to go around demaging, wouldn't you want to know if you really pulled it off
or if, instead, you'd managed to magnetize the hell out of your tape path ? A Magnetometer will tell you this.

So what is the appropriate range model for use on tape heads? I can't seem to find anywhere that carries the Annis Magnetometer by itself, rather than selling it in a kit with the Han-D-Mag which I just bought as a standalone unit... Any leads there?

 

[cjacek]

So what is the appropriate range model for use on tape heads? I can't seem to find anywhere that carries the Annis Magnetometer by itself, rather than selling it in a kit with the Han-D-Mag which I just bought as a standalone unit... Any leads there?

US Recording media can ship the Magnetometer seperately. I know 'cause I emailed them and they said so.

 

[cjacek]

So what is the appropriate range model for use on tape heads?

Just contact them and ask what would be their recommendation.