Tascam MSR16 - How to align the heads

C

cvalona

New member
Hello again, can someone tell me or give me the basics on how align the heads on my MSR16 ?

How often does this need to be done ? What makes them need the alignment in the first place ?

Is it the wear to the heads caused by usage ?

And lastly, if I decide not to try to learn to do this myself, how much does something like this
cost done by a service center / qualified tech ?

peace & kindness, charles
 
The head alignment procedure will be different for different decks, and I'm not sure what the MSR16's manual is like but I would imagine they'd have hte procedure in there? For my MCI heads, it involves adjusting set screws on the heads to get the optimal relationship between the tape and heads.

The typical adjustments I check when doing a full tape cal/alignment is to a) check the head wrap (pivoting the heads for the best response) by playing a 10khz test tone and putting my finger on the reel to add drag; if the the VU meter dips on all tracks that's cool; if not, I adjust the wrap, and b) azimuth, in which case I connect the outside tracks' outputs to either the two channels of an oscilloscope in X-Y mode or to a phase meter, run 1khz and 10khz test tones tones and adjust the azimuth set screws of my repro and cue heads until the two signals are as in phase as I can get them. Additionally, you also check the head height which with my heads you do visually by watching the tape pass the heads with reference to some "gutters" or lines on the heads and making sure the tape is evenly between them. Finally there's head zenith or fore/aft alignment, which involves using a flatblock (which I don't have), holding it against the headstack and holding the whole up to a light source and adjusting the heads so that you don't see any light between the heads and flatblock.

You're correct that as the heads wear over time, the head alignment will need a little tweaking. It's not something that needs constant attention even if you're pulling tape pretty regularly, but you want to keep an eye on your alignments regularly to make sure things are staying stable and to help chart their wear.

For everything else, and especially if you feel your heads have worn and/or you want a rock solid "starting point" that will last a good while until the heads start to wear more and so that you have piece of mind that your heads are "for sure properly aligned," it would be a good idea to send your headstack out to a reputable company like John French/JRF Magnetics for a professional optical alignment and test report. Shoot them a message and I'm sure they'll happily give you a quote for that, it won't be super expensive, I think they quoted me something like $115 for my MCI's 1" 8-track stack.

As you can see, it's a good idea to learn about head alignment and also have it done by a professional tech. They can get your heads perfectly tweaked with their experience and tools, and you can keep an eye on them with your own knowledge of the subject :)
 
On the TSR-8, the azimuth is measured from tracks 2 and 7. You're supposed to play a 10KHz test tape, with the channels displayed on an oscilloscope in TV (or X/Y) mode. If the machine is in perfect alignment, you'll get a 45 degree diagonal line. If it's out, you get an ellipse of some kind. What you have to do is adjust the two small azimuth screws on the back of the head until the ellipse closes into a line.

For the MSR-16 it would either be tracks 2 and 15, or possibly 3 and 14, depending on how far away from the tape edge it needs to be to get a stable signal.

The electronics alignment is much more complex.
 
cvalona,

Physically aligning heads is not a routine user task. You only align the heads if you know they are out of physical alignment which is causing some problem. What is the problem you are having?
 
Hi Tim and thank you for helping me. I actually don't know enough about my MSR16 to even know if I have a problem (s) or not ?
I bought the recorder/reproducer over 10 years ago from a friend of a friend and and that time I was told that the MSR16 had hardly any hours on it and by the way it looks I tend to believe it.

I have used it very little, very very little, but want to start trying to incorporate it into my little home studio, which among other things consist of a Roland VS2480 and my trusty old Tascam M2600MKII 24 channel analog mixer.

I have the original owners manual for the MSR16 and have been reading the section on maintenance, which includes how to DIY adjustments including the alignment process of the heads. However, I believe this is beyond my expertise not to mention I don't have an oscilloscope, test tape or any of the other items that one would need to perform these task.

So I've come to the conclusion that maybe I should fine somebody in my area, (northern, CA), maybe somebody in the Sacramento area or San Francisco Bay area and haul my MSR16 to them for an inspection?

From what I can see of the machine, including the heads, I see or am experiencing any mal-function or problems, but as I said earlier, I'm so in-experienced with the machine that I might not even know that it has a problem (s) ?

I did just send my counter & pinch roller out to Terry Witt of Terry's Rubber to have them rebuilt, they were very goo-ie to say the least, I should get them back by Wednesday of next week.

Any ideas or suggestions will be very appreciated.

NOTE: a couple years back when the rollers were in better shape, I did record and play back on the machine a little and all seemed to be as it should and every function worked perfectly. Am I worrying about all this too much ? Should I just go ahead and use it until something breaks or until I notice a mal-function of some sort ?

peace & kindness, c
 
Hello and thank you for replying. After reading my owners manual today on how to service, including how to align this that and the other thing, I've decided I better take the MSR16 to somebody who knows how to perform these task. I need to find a qualified tech in the northern CA area, hopefully around Sacramento or San Francisco Bay area.

I actually have so little knowledge in regards to whether or not I even have a problem (s) with my machine, that I've been afraid to use it. But it's time to either use it and try to incorporate it into my little home studio set, which consist among other things, my Roland VS2480 and my trusty old Tascam M2600 MkII 24 channel analog mixer, or sell it.

I'm the second owner of the machine and the mixer both of which I bought over 10 years ago from a friend of a friend. The machine looks practically brand new and in fact my friend said the previous/original owner had barely ever used it.

Any idea or suggestions would much appreciated.

peace & kindness, charles
 
I guess it depends on what you're happy with in terms of its performance. Yes why not just try it out and see what you think.

But if the recordings you made some years ago are important to you probably wise not to attempt to play them until you learn more.
Do you know about sticky shed tape issues? Forum members here can help with this.

Cheers Tim
 
Hi Tim and yes I have been reading threads pertaining to this sticky shed tape ordeal.

I believe all my Quantegy 456 is still in good shape. It's been stored properly and always kept in it's box and plastic bag wrap.

QUESTION: I have a new roll, never opened or used G9 - is this a better quality reel of tape than the 456 ? would I have to recalibrate the MSR16 in order to use it optimally ?

As for the recordings that I made years ago with the MSR16 before I rolled it to the back room and started using my ADAT and now my Roland VS2480, were not important at all. However, everything that I'm doing now is important.

I hope or wish I could find somebody in my area that could take a look at my machine, maybe even do a house call to give it a good look see ?

peace & kindness, charles
 
I dunno how well the MSR16 would like GP9. It's probably designed to run 456, it might not actually be possible to line it up that high, and being a 2-head deck the record alignment is a pain in the ass.
Also, the higher output the tape, the more head wear it can cause, and the heads for the MSR16 are discontinued now from what I hear.
EDIT: That, and the tracks being narrower, less guard bands, you'd get a lot more crosstalk.

What I would suggest you think about doing (if you do have access to an oscilloscope and a test tape) is just checking the alignment to see if it is currently good, not necessarily altering it, just looking.

It might also be worth checking the input amps, since that's fairly easy. For that you'd need a voltmeter and a stable signal generator.

Make the signal generator output a 0.316v (-10dB) sinewave at 1KHz, and feed it into input 1. Using a voltmeter, make sure that output 1 also reads 0.316v. There is a trim adjustment on each audio card to correct this if it's out (e.g. 0.325 or something). On the TSR-8 this is marked, on the MSR-24 they are not and you have to have the service manual.

For a more complete alignment, yeah, I'd consider getting it professionally serviced. On a 3-head 2-track deck, you might want to think about doing it yourself, but the TASCAM multitracks are a pain to do.
 
Thank You for the help. I'm most likely going to find a qualified tech to give my MSR16 a check up. I just don't think I'm up to the task of searching for the right equipment to do such a task (s) and secondly I really don't want to cough up the hours that it would take to learn how to do these service things.

As for the G9 roll of tape ? Looks like I should probably sell it ? I've never used it, it's probably now at least 8 years old ?

peace & kindness, charles
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top