Finally, back into analog

  • Thread starter Thread starter Seeker of Rock
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Seeker of Rock

Seeker of Rock

Let us be unburdened by that which has been ?
By recommendations here, I finally found a 32 that I bought. Oh yeah, via ebay....again :eek: :eek: I think by talking with the seller this reel machine will be a winner as opposed to the MSR16s (which I haven't given up on yet, btw, it's just not going back to the same tech...I'll have to figure it out myself when I get around to it someday :) ). So anyway, I'm excited about the 32. Comes with a stand and 2 sealed ampex tapes...worried about the age and shed, sure, but I'll deal with that when it gets here. The stand was a plus and the pictures and history were good. So I guess I'll use my CDRW700 for conversion after I mix to the 32, as opposed to mixing to the 700 like I did in the past.
Anything I should be aware of on the 32? Seems like a pretty straighforward machine.
 
As long as you use a good strong demagnetizer on the heads and tape travel guides after every 8 hours of use you should be fine.

Although be sure to inspect the tape guides and all heads + pinch roller before finallising the sale as heads are quite expensive to buy.

Also quite a few people on here will tell you it is better to pick up the machine than having it shipped to you, because apparently the U.S postal services are notorious for damaging items in postage.

Hope this info helps

Keith

P.S Good luck with your machines :D
 
Demagging every 8 hours seems a bit extreme?

Enjoy the 32 and hit it hard, level wise and it should sound sweet! ;)

Be careful with those older Ampex reels...I'd invest in some fresh tape for any serious projects.

Cheers! :)
 
The Ghost of FM said:
Demagging every 8 hours seems a bit extreme?

Enjoy the 32 and hit it hard, level wise and it should sound sweet! ;)

Be careful with those older Ampex reels...I'd invest in some fresh tape for any serious projects.

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

Good advice all around! Brand new Quantegy 456 and 457 is $15 a reel.
 
If your using older tape then demagging every 8 hours is ok, for new tape it isn't so much of a problem.

Keith
 
No offense krhall, but I put quite a few hours on my 488 MKII and MSR-16, and never had to demagnetize. Cleaning heads, though, before EVERY session without fail.

Ghost, my mentor, you bet I'm gonna hit that tape hard!! :)

hungovermorning (love your name, btw :) ) you have a point. I figure I may give them a shot, but not expecting much. If they start to shed in the first few seconds I'll know it by the residue. If so, I'll keep the reels as spares, though it comes with the original TASCAM reel.

I have a lot of tracking to do before I even get to the point of seriously using it (and electrical outlets and wood trim to do before that, which should be done in the next couple of days or so), but I'm looking forward to adding it to 'the family'.

I'll have more questions to come, I'm sure. Thanks for the support as always. :) :) :) :) :)
 
There are many views on this but I'm of the opinion that unless you know for a fact that the tape path has been magnetized, whether it be by a magnetic tool or whatever, you can make things worse with frequent demagnetizing.
 
Seeker of Rock said:
By recommendations here, I finally found a 32 that I bought. Oh yeah, via ebay....again :eek: :eek: I think by talking with the seller this reel machine will be a winner as opposed to the MSR16s (which I haven't given up on yet, btw, it's just not going back to the same tech...I'll have to figure it out myself when I get around to it someday :) ). So anyway, I'm excited about the 32. Comes with a stand and 2 sealed ampex tapes...worried about the age and shed, sure, but I'll deal with that when it gets here. The stand was a plus and the pictures and history were good. So I guess I'll use my CDRW700 for conversion after I mix to the 32, as opposed to mixing to the 700 like I did in the past.
Anything I should be aware of on the 32? Seems like a pretty straighforward machine.
Click to expand...

Happy Holidays! and case you need it :

http://arafel.org/audio/manuals/32_manual.pdf
 
hey that manual is cool but it stops where the maintenance section begins!
 
I got it last week, stand first and machine/tapes/reels second. Finally got a chance to hook it up tonight (just finished putting the electrical outlets in the new room). Sounds great. Ran it through the simple tests that I know...record/rewind/ff/play :) :) . The guy sent me a couple of sealed Quantegy tapes as well as some used (one 10-1/2", and a couple of 7" ), so I hooked up the 10-1/2" of previously recorded stuff and tested on that through my headphones. Everything seems to work well. I'll need to dabble in the manual just to get familiar with this and that, but good news on the 32!

I know vanity shouldn't count for a lot, but how cool is that blue-green LED counter :) :)
 
Seeker of Rock said:
I got it last week, stand first and machine/tapes/reels second. Finally got a chance to hook it up tonight (just finished putting the electrical outlets in the new room). Sounds great. Ran it through the simple tests that I know...record/rewind/ff/play :) :) . The guy sent me a couple of sealed Quantegy tapes as well as some used (one 10-1/2", and a couple of 7" ), so I hooked up the 10-1/2" of previously recorded stuff and tested on that through my headphones. Everything seems to work well. I'll need to dabble in the manual just to get familiar with this and that, but good news on the 32!

I know vanity shouldn't count for a lot, but how cool is that blue-green LED counter :) :)
Click to expand...

Congrats! Sounds like a great deal! :)
 
I'm glad the 32 arrived unharmed and in good operating condition. Have fun with your new recorder! :)
 
Hey Seeker, congrats on the deck. OH! BTW, I have a 32 that I bought at a yard sale. It sat in a storage unit for four years. Needs some work and I haven't even plugged it in. Might be a good parts machine if you are interested. Hell, it may even work, but I doubt it. I bought a 909 at the same time and it didn't work. Moisture I believe. But let me know if you are interested. We'll make a deal....REAL CHEAP! hahahahahaha! But if you arn't, no big deal.

So you have an MSR too huh? Cool. I've got two, synched with a midiizer. I love those machines. And now with the 3500, I can finally have a monitoring system for 32 tracks. And I can finally hook up the Ampex 440. Geeeeezus...I might make a tape one of these days afterall :rolleyes: :D Ha!
 
All this talk about hitting the tape hard..........

Not ALL analog distortion is good. In fact it can get pretty damn annoying and glassy, harsh-like.

While I have not heard how the 32 distorts tape, it should not be generally assumed that "hitting the tape hard" is a good idea at all times, with all machines.

Forgive me if I'm being an annoying lecturing nanny. Take it all w/ a grain of salt and do your own art. I'm just throwing my 2 cents out there :D

-callie-
 
This is my first post here.
No offense krhall, but I put quite a few hours on my 488 MKII and MSR-16, and never had to demagnetize. Cleaning heads, though, before EVERY session without fail.
Click to expand...
Right. I was working in the repair department at TEAC/Tascam in Montebello, CA in the early 1980's when the 32 came out. I fixed about a thousand machines while I was there. Not a one of them needed demagnetization.
 
Wil816 said:
This is my first post here.
Right. I was working in the repair department at TEAC/Tascam in Montebello, CA in the early 1980's when the 32 came out. I fixed about a thousand machines while I was there. Not a one of them needed demagnetization.
Click to expand...


It is one of those things that I have never done, though I have the TASCAM (forget the model #, came with the MSR-16) to do it, just honestly haven't had the need to yet because everything stills sounds get on my analog gear (well, the Dolby thing on the MSR-16, but I haven't given up on that yet, though I like the HD24 so far :( ). I guess when something starts to sound swirly, that is the time to demag?? :confused:
 
RICK FITZPATRICK said:
Hey Seeker, congrats on the deck. OH! BTW, I have a 32 that I bought at a yard sale. It sat in a storage unit for four years. Needs some work and I haven't even plugged it in. Might be a good parts machine if you are interested. Hell, it may even work, but I doubt it. I bought a 909 at the same time and it didn't work. Moisture I believe. But let me know if you are interested. We'll make a deal....REAL CHEAP! hahahahahaha! But if you arn't, no big deal.

So you have an MSR too huh? Cool. I've got two, synched with a midiizer. I love those machines. And now with the 3500, I can finally have a monitoring system for 32 tracks. And I can finally hook up the Ampex 440. Geeeeezus...I might make a tape one of these days afterall :rolleyes: :D Ha!
Click to expand...

My Florida buddy Falken (sorry for being State Predujice) has offered me a leg to stand on if I need it, but I really appreciate the offer. I'll send pics of this machine...I doubt it has had much use, or at least what use it has had seems not to be evident in the heads/body of the machine. If I'm wrong, it is really nice to know there are people here to support the problems and have parts if I need them. Now, if only I could find a Dolby S system for my MSR-16S, or someone who would know how to get around it, that would be a true blessing!! In all honesty, though, I'm thinking of selling the MSR at some point. Great sounding machine, but without the Dolby functioning I'm not sure that I want to keep it around. I guess I could track acoustic guitar passages and maybe vocals and send them to the HD24, but then I'm sending through the board to the 32 and using Joemeek opto on the way in, so maybe it is one too many hands in the link. I don't know, still haven't decided. :confused:
I'm real happy with the 32, though. The seller included one of the old Ampex looking reels, too, with the multiple spokes. Nothing but vanity, but it is kind of cool to look at. :)
 
Wil816 said:
This is my first post here.
Click to expand...

Welcome! :)

Right. I was working in the repair department at TEAC/Tascam in Montebello, CA in the early 1980's when the 32 came out. I fixed about a thousand machines while I was there. Not a one of them needed demagnetization.
Click to expand...

Always great to have someone, who actually worked at Montebello, in the golden days of analog TEAC / TASCAM, posting here! :)
 
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