audiophilez said:
I was talking to a sound engineer thats worked with some of the greatest artists of all time and he says the noise is barely much anything to go out and buy a dbx unit for my 1/2" reel to reel tape machine. I havent had a chance to use it yet but im curious to find out if i should get one, any suggestions?
A TEAC 33-8, (audiophilez's machine), is a bit on the noisy side. I think the s:n ratio is around 67db on a properly calibrated deck with all heads in decent condition.
Depending on the type of music you're going to record, you might be able to get away with out using dbx if the stuff you record is constant in volume and loud enough in recording level to mask the hiss but, if you record quieter type music or music with a lot of space in between the notes, you may well find that dbx is a god-send at keeping things nice and quiet.
You also have to consider your signal chain...how clean are your preamps, guitar pick ups, stomp boxes, effects processors and such. All of those items add noises that tape noise reduction doesn't address.
Like cjacek said, it's a mater of personal preference and personal need. There is no absolute right or wrong approach here.
I have a 38 and an MS-16 and use dbx on both and have no regrets about doing so. For me, I like the fact that dbx allows me to not overload the tape where it's frequency response is far from flat. It also reduces adjacent channel cross talk so one track doesn't bleed over to its neighboring tracks and it also reduces the effects of print through because you are not hitting the tape so hard that it ghosts through from one layer of the wind to the next, over time, in storage. For me, the benefits of using it, out-weigh the drawbacks of it's design which are basically only that it adds it's own character to the sound in tonality and dynamics.
Cheers!
