Single ended noise reduction for reel-to-reel?

[gwargantua]

Does anyone know if there is a stand alone box for single ended noise reduction that could be used effectively in combination with a 2-track reel-to-reel? Note, this would not be a DBX box/system, which must also be un-encoded to work correctly. I was thinking more like a Dolby C stand alone box? I've always thought Dolby C sounded very musical and pleasing, even when played back without a Dolby C decoder. Many Fostex units have it built in, but is there a stand alone box? Is there another box that offers the same benefits without the need for "decryption"? I've come across some Dolby A/SR units, but I'm not sure if they are "single ended", and they're also rather expensive. I'd like to create reel recordings using noise reduction that can be played on a machine without it. All comments and suggestions welcomed. Thanks.

 

[Beck]

Does anyone know if there is a stand alone box for single ended noise reduction that could be used effectively in combination with a 2-track reel-to-reel? Note, this would not be a DBX box/system, which must also be un-encoded to work correctly. I was thinking more like a Dolby C stand alone box? I've always thought Dolby C sounded very musical and pleasing, even when played back without a Dolby C decoder. Many Fostex units have it built in, but is there a stand alone box? Is there another box that offers the same benefits without the need for "decryption"? I've come across some Dolby A/SR units, but I'm not sure if they are "single ended", and they're also rather expensive. I'd like to create reel recordings using noise reduction that can be played on a machine without it. All comments and suggestions welcomed. Thanks.

The noise that NR is designed to eliminate is tape hiss, so you won’t find something that can be played back on another machine without still having the tape hiss. You can temper tape hiss by recording at very hot levels w/out NR, so that the end user has to turn his machine down, which pushes the noise floor of the tape down as well.

Dolby A & SR are encode/decode just like B & C.

There were very few outboard Dolby C units made because Dolby Labs stopped licensing it for stand-alone boxes a long time ago. However there are two to look for:

Sony NR-500 (Dolby C)
Nakamichi NR-200 (Dolby B & C)

Single ended noise reduction needs to be on the playback machine to deal with tape hiss. There are other kinds of noise that single ended units and noise gates can tackle on the record side of the process, such as the Rocktron Hush and similar offerings by DBX and Behringer. These will reduce electronic circuit hiss and noise.

 

[FALKEN]

I use a tascam 32 1/4" 2-track for mixdowns and mastering and there is no hiss whatsoever.

are you using a quarter track or something?