SM900 on Otari MX5050 MKIII-2

[lo.fi.love]

Hello,

Does anyone have an opinion on setting up an Otari MX5050 MKIII-2 for RMGI SM900 tape? This is my mixdown/master deck.

Anyone for or against?

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Beck]

Tapes like RMGI SM900 and Quantegy GP9 will work well with a half-track (2-track) mastering deck like the Otari.

 

[lo.fi.love]

There's nothing particular to this deck which will present any issues in using SM900, right? That's what I meant.

I ask simple questions so that I don't screw up my equipment

 

[ofajen]

There's nothing particular to this deck which will present any issues in using SM900, right? That's what I meant.

I ask simple questions so that I don't screw up my equipment

What reference fluxivity are you planning to calibrate to? You might be tempted to use the 500 nWb/m that SM 900 was designed for, but that may be more than the machine can do properly.

Perhaps someone here can confirm whether the Otari would be able to bias and erase the tape properly at 500 nWb/m? I could see this as being beyond the design spec for the machine. Probably if you stick with 355 nWb/m or less you will be fine. That is basically taking the extra dynamic range of SM 900 (relative to Quampex 456 and BASF/EMTEC/RMGI 911) and sticking it in headroom, rather than S/N. With that much dynamic range in the tape, that's a good idea, anyway.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[dodgeaspen]

I'm sure people are getting sick of reading this from me but I have had bad luck with RMG and use ATR. In my opinion ATR is a better product. Very little dirt on heads after several passes.

 

[lo.fi.love]

I'm sure people are getting sick of reading this from me but I have had bad luck with RMG and use ATR. In my opinion ATR is a better product. Very little dirt on heads after several passes.

Yeah, if you want my honest opinion, I'm pretty sick of it. From what you've written here on this forum, your experience with RMGI tape is limited to less than five reels. I've bought more reels of RMGI than I can remember right now or that I care to count, and I have not had a single issue with any of it. Not ONE issue, ever.

You're entitled to your opinion, but your RMGI bashing is really very unfair. Please stop. You're welcome to endorse ATR products, but it's really bad form to put down a particular vendor/manufacturer, especially when your experience with them is so limited. It makes you look bad (being honest here) and I think it would be classier to take the high road on this one.

Also, I need to add that the magnetic recording media market is in a delicate and fragile state today, and anything that anyone does to shoot down a particular vendor, especially when there are only TWO vendors left, really hurts the entire industry. Defamation has no place on this forum, and it has no place in an industry that's struggling to survive.

My two cents. PM me if you have any questions. I felt the need to post this publicly, and I did my best to voice my frustration in a constructive manner.

 

[jedblue]

I'm sure people are getting sick of reading this from me but I have had bad luck with RMG and use ATR. In my opinion ATR is a better product. Very little dirt on heads after several passes.

I agree with Jeff on this one Dodge, it's probably time to let it go. We all know your views on RMG. I've gone through over 20 reels of SM911 myself in the last six months and haven't had a problem with it on any of my 3 reel machines.

Geoff