Going analog with enthusiasm...

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dpholmes

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Hi everyone,
I'm a long-time reader though I haven't posted much. Back in the early fall I had the unfortunate experience of getting my apartment broken into and a lot of valuables stolen (namely: a great guitar, a bass guitar, and all my wife's jewelry). Thanks to our renters insurance we got all the money we hoped for in return, and this gave me the opportunity to start fresh with my home recording studio.

A quick aside: I (along with my friend and bandmate) co-wrote/recorded/mixed/produced/released our first album (that we had mastered elsewhere) this past May (anotherhundredmiles dot com). It was recorded and mixed entirely in the digital realm and we were pretty happy with how it came out. But... we wanted more enjoyment out of our recording process. Both of us work full-time in front of our computers all day and wanted a recording environment that felt less sterile and bound to a computer.

Enter the insurance money and the birth of my analog studio... I replaced my guitar with an '84 fender tele, but spent the rest of the money setting up an out-of-the-box home studio rig. My setup consists of an Allen & Heath 14:4:2 mixer, a Tascam TSR-8, an FMR RNP for an outboard pre, and FMR RNC & RNLA compressors. For the first time since I "borrowed" my sisters karaoke machine 15 years ago I'm officially 100% analog.

Now, if you don't mind, I have a few questions...
  • I've yet to calibrate and demag my TSR-8, but the gear is in the mail... I can't find anything in the manual or via google on how to calibrate this 8-track. Anyone familiar with calibrating it?
  • The "Guide Roller" makes a little scratchy sound during playback & record. I'm a stickler for details, anyone know how to diagnose and clean this part?
  • I noticed a couple loud "pops" during playback (at the same tape-time) of my first recorded track (tonight was the 'welcome-to-the-family' moment). What causes this and how do I prevent it? (I'm using brand new RMG911 tape, the deck is not calibrated (yet) and not recently demagged (yet), but thoroughly cleaned with 99% isopropyl alcohol)

I imagine I'll be crawling through these boards with more questions in the future, but let me first thank you all in advance for your help and shared enthusiasm. I let out so many hoots and hollers tonight when this gear was recording and playing back beautifully that I don't quite know how to describe it... but I know that many of you know exactly what I mean.

Thanks in advance...
-Doug
 
Sorry to hear about the unpleasantness with the apartment, but glad it worked out and congrats on the new rig! I'll leave the q's for the Tascam tape guys, but I recently got an 8-track machine going (thanks to GREAT help on this forum!) and I know exactly that giddy feeling! Welcome.
 
First off, sorry you had to go through an apartment break-in to get to the analog studio setup. Secondly, congrats on getting one assembled.! I would suggest taking all of the rollers off. You can do this by unscrewing the ends of them, they are just screw in end caps. This will give you the opportunity to better clean up the shafts and rollers. Afterward, apply (sparingly) some light (think sewing machine) oil to the shaft areas of these rollers. Assemble the rollers and work them around a bit. Hopefully all should be good to go. By the way, use some mild dish soap and water on the rubber pinch roller when you clean it. Rubbing alcohol might help accelerate the breaking down of the rubber, which nobody wants. Cleaning up after a gooey pinch roller is one of the worst chores one could endure.

I don't have a hard copy of the TSR-8 manual, but I would be surprised if the calibration procedure wasn't somewhere in that, unless they put it in a service manual instead. I have yet to calibrate mine, as I have yet to really put it to use yet, but the calibration tape will be an upcoming purchase as I'll be finally putting this thing to use.

Do the "pops" appear across all tracks, or is it just one track (or just a couple)? Can it be duplicated if you record again? Just trying to narrow down possibly which piece of equipment it could be and if it might be a one off event.

I'll let the gurus take over from here. Good luck with the studio and you will have to post up some of your tunes when you get them finished!
 
Thanks for the support guys.

I took all the rollers off and I believe this simple cleaning with isopropanol already fixed the squeaky noise issue i was having. Thanks!

I have a digital copy of the TSR-8 manual, but it isn't the service manual. Maybe that's where the calibration details are. Any help in this regard would be great!

Cheers.
 
Yes, I would first thoroughly clean the pinch roller and counter roller (the rubber parts) with the appropriate cleaner. Usually a lint free rag dampened (not wet) with warm water would work but failing that, some Windex and / or one time application of at least 90% alcohol. I wouldn't use it regularly as it tends to dry out the rubber. A good rubber cleaner / conditioner after that (tho not frequently) would suffice, such as the one from CAIG tho I would only use it if the rubber is hard and not soft / gooey. Then only a replacement or rebuilding would do. I would then clean ALL (and I mean ALL) the metal parts the tape touches, rides on or goes through with lint free makup remover pads (best for heads) / 99% alcohol and the others with either those pads or lint free cloth. Everything needs to be mirror clean. Also, try to forward / rewind and play through your 911 tape and check for excessive buildup of oxide / wet or dry. The tape may need replacing. Your issues are usually do to dirty tape path and / or problem tape. I don't think the digital manual has the service section. TASCAM has these in stock. Is there any specific reason that you wish to calibrate the TSR-8? I would leave it alone unless you know it was tampered with or set to another tape type or if there is an obvious problem. Those machines hold their factory calibration well. Try to first clean the machine and check the tape.
 
Thanks cjacek,

I've been cleaning and will continue to thoroughly clean these machine. Thanks for the advice on the cleaning solutions and pads.

The 911 I have on the TSR-8 is brand new, so I think it's likely a cleaning issue (the pops weren't there on the last few listens).

I spent a lot of time reading on this board and it seemed like the general consensus was that a calibration tape and recalibration was always necessary when buying a used reel to reel. I haven't noticed any obvious problem, I just assumed it was what I needed to do. If the machine holds it's calibration well, maybe I will hold off.

Thanks!
-Doug
 
dpholmes said:
The 911 I have on the TSR-8 is brand new, so I think it's likely a cleaning issue (the pops weren't there on the last few listens).
Click to expand...

Some early RMG tape (including your new 911), when the company took over from EMTEC (BASF), had some quality issues due to insufficient drying and so the oxide may sludge or flake off, causing a number of problems. Not saying this is the case with yours but it's good to be aware of this fact. RMGI is very good at free tape replacement and seemed to have fixed the problem a while ago.

I spent a lot of time reading on this board and it seemed like the general consensus was that a calibration tape and recalibration was always necessary when buying a used reel to reel. I haven't noticed any obvious problem, I just assumed it was what I needed to do. If the machine holds it's calibration well, maybe I will hold off.
Click to expand...

IMHO, it's actually not always necessary to do a calibration, especially if you know that the recorder was not previously tampered with and / or it sounds and behaves good. It's generally an ideal practice to do the calibration on an older / used recorder but it's not necessary. I think that ultimately, and in the future, you should learn to perform calibration and actually do it. You'll get it closer to factory spec and learn something from the experience. Yes, hold off for now, especially that it sounds and works well. Just keep an eye on the tape and make sure you clean after each session. Again, if after each "roll" you find significant amounts of crud on the tape transport and heads, it may be time for tape replacement.
 
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