dbx on cassette?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ceedubindustrie
  • Start date Start date
C

ceedubindustrie

New member
Dear audio-logue-philes:

I've been geeking around with cassette decks lately (recording directly to 2-track cassette, specifically). I have the 8-channel dbx noise reduction machine that came with the Tascam 80-8 I purchased and have been eyeing it wonderingly: would it work just as well to use two channels of that to put things on and take them off of cassette?

I intend to experiment, anyway. I would love to hear your input, anyway.

:)

-C
 
Could work OK, but the main weakness of dbx noise reduction is its sensitivity to dropouts, which are more common on cassettes. No harm in trying, though.
 
dbx

Dbx used to be a prime feature on many mid-80's TEAC & Technics cassette decks. It works quite well, & can deliver up to 100db S/N ratio practically without breaking a sweat!

Dbx is still used on the higher end Tascam Portastudio cassette 4-tracks, and is quite effective.

;)
 
Awesome, guys-

It sounds like this will work out for me. Thanks for the information.

-C
 
It seems like the 80-8's dbx was not dbx II, was it? (I worked on a lot of them in the early 1980's, but I can't remember for sure anymore.) dbx II was for consumer machines like cassettes whose high-end frequency response was poor at high recording levels, since the non-II version would cause serious dynamic tracking errors with these machines if the overall signal level at various times were dominated by things like cymbal crashes which have a ton of high-frequency content. If you keep the record level rather low, the only problem left is the dropout issue DonF mentioned. I never was really crazy about using dbx on cassettes for this reason.
 
Agree. The early consumer dbx 117/119 units (dbx I) only allowed you to compress 1.4:1 ratio instead of the full 2:1 and so even with cassettes you could get away with it, as that mild ratio of dbx I compression wasnt too severe. They even suggested you could use Dolby B at the same time if you wanted to.

Yes, dropout, dropouts, dropouts. Addressed by good quality tapes, cleanliness, well maintained heads and tape path. With cassettes, a litle detail like the quality of the tiny felt pressure pad could make a huge difference in dropout resistance. But also record/play alignment with NR is more fussy.
I think NR generally was more successful on open reel formats because of their inherent better resistance to dropout, especially on the wider tracks. Compared to cassettes they handled NR better but OTOH because of their better headroom, they needed it less.
For cassettes I think the old original Dolby B wasnt a bad compromise. It wasnt too vulnerable to really bad dropout exaggeration, and even without any playback decoding didnt sound too weird.
I think some of the early portastudios used Dolby B.

Tim
 
My Technics cassette has dbx II built in. Very useful and blows dolby out of the water.... as long as you play it on that deck or another deck with dbx. ;-)
That's how dolby won.
 
Are you recording to two-track cassette onto a machine that will allow the use of high bias tapes? If so, use high bias tapes and you likely won't need any noise reduction for just two tracks.

I've used high bias tapes on a 488 (8 track cassette) without NR and have gotten by fine, just by keeping the levels pretty hot.

Of course, it's always worth it to try experimenting, you may like the results.

-MD
 
DBX on cassette?

Experimenting is definitely the key. For analog tape, any noise reduction will do something. DonF is right about DBX sensitivity to dropouts. I have had good results using outboard Dolby B units for tape loops and cassette. Panasonic RP-966 units are 2 CH, have RCA I/O, REC cal, REC/PLAY mode, NR in/out, METER and LEVEL control. I like to use old Echoplex tape loops. I wind my own carts; use 3M Dynarange and these units are quiet. For consumer R/R with RCA I/O, I used DBX 154 type 1. For final mastering on high end decks, I use Dolby A. My son has a Fostex 260 high speed cassette 4 CH with Dolby C and it’s quiet. Good luck and let us know how it works for you.
 
Yeah-

I'll get some high bias tapes and try that straight up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top