fstrat, guess who asked that very same question? I'll give you a hint: go
here and read that thread.
[I'll give you another hint...it was ME!]
Read that thread. I hope it helps, but the biggest thing to get is that the output rating of the tape you use (+3, +6, +
whatever), is
not related to the operating level of your calibration tape or what level or
standard you set your machine for.
The +3, +6 +
whatever of the tape is a (get this) measure of how hot a level the tape can
handle before exhibiting 3% distortion. The higher the rating, the more powerful a signal a tape can handle before distorting.
The strength of the signal can be measured in lots of ways but when we are calibrating we are working with electrical measurements (dBv's, dBu's, etc.) and
magnetic measurements (i.e. "flux" measured in nanowebers per meter, nWb/m).
Electrical measurements measure the strength of the signal in the cables and in the electronics, magnetic measurements measure the signal strength
on the tape.
Read that thread.
Let me see if it ties it together for you.
Let us know. It took me several times walking through the terms and the process to really understand but
you can use any flux level cal tape to set your deck up. You just have to compensate what your meters read from what comes off the cal tape.
You're good. RMGI SM911 is 456 compatible. Just right for your 38, and the 250nWb/m tape is the one you want. Tascam spec'ed the 250nWb/m cal tape (which is equivalent to "+3") because the electronics were designed around using 456 tape ("+6" tape). If you use the 250 nWb/m tape and zero your meters using that "+3" flux level, then your meters are going to be hitting zero with "+3" signals...you've still got 3dB's of headroom with your "+6" tape before it starts distorting. This is a simplified overview because of course setting the deck up with tone in a calibration process is different than how the meters and the tape respond to real-world program material,
but we are simply setting the deck up to a standard so all the channels/tracks behave the same and then you let your ears judge!
Once you get a grip on this (and we'll help), then a whole world of options opens up and you start to understand why people set their decks up to different standards and select tape based on what kind of sound they want on playback...you'll join the legions of analog die-hards that understand the foolishness in getting the hottest tape and taking everything into the red to get that "phat tape compression" when (depending on the program material and the machine and signal path) they'd have
much sweeter results leaving some headroom in their electronics and using
"+3" tape like 406!! Yes, its really true.
