just bought 424mk3

[warmtone]

i just wanted to say this is a great site and look forward to yacking back and forth with you guys. i recorded a direct track and couldnt believe the quality of sound. first question what is the degausser thing? where do i get it? thanx for any responses

 

[DigitalDon]

You're probably talking about a de-magnetizer. It's used to demagnetize the heads. You should be able to pick one up at Radio Shack. Follow the instructions that come with it. You simply pass it over the heads (but don't actually touch the heads as you can scratch/damage them).

Update: Dropped by Radio Shack last night. They don't carry the handheld demagnetizer anymore - just a "cassette" type that you put into the cassette recorder. I might try the cassette on my $25 cassette player but not my 424. Anyone used one of these before?

[This message has been edited by DigitalDon (edited 03-17-2000).]

 

[Tapehead]

Don't switch it on or off near your record heads either or the collapsing magnetic field will polarize the magnetism in your heads and sound like kaka.

You should be at least 4-5 feet away when you turn it on, then slowly approach the heads with it while waving it back or forth. Kind of a hi-tek witch doctor thing. You can chant a mumble too if you want to remove evil spirits from your studio.

While you're doing this keep moving it closer and closer to the heads till you're right there (i.e. 1-2 inches) then still waving it back and forth move back to where you started. That will demagnetize the heads.

If you actually do the no-no I describe above, you'll need to get a more powerful degausser to correct the damage caused.

 

[DaveO]

Do you really need to be 5 feet away? I was talking to one of the guys at 8th St. Music before I bought mine and he said the only reason to start that far away is if you're deck uses 2 inch tape. He thought arm's length is more than enough for a home 4-track.