volume levels?

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kr236rk

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Hi,

Can anyone tell me what an average volume reading would look like on this analogue display please? Its a Sony double cassette deck.

sonycassettevolumelevels_zps7cf1f591.webp

What do the '+' and '-' numbers mean ~ are these decibels?

Thanks


ps. i mean, what's an optimal *recording level* for this deck please - going by the display?
 
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Its subjective. Baseline for me would be the 0VU segment being hit regularly, +2 (not labelled) once in a while, and +4 hardly ever, assuming no noise reduction switched in. Then adjust to taste. If you are using tape as an effect then some like to hit it considerably hotter, if you are using it as a recording medium start out as above.


*edit, if you are asking about levels during playback? They could be all over the place depending on who what where and with what the recordings were made.
 
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On a good quality tape, have 0 hit most of the time, +2 a fair bit, and the loudest peaks (occasional) +4. Poor quality tape won't handle this but don't use poor quality tape anyway.

Alan.
 
You would set the recording levels so that all the bars below zero are almost always lit up and the ones above are flickering.
 
Purely by memory from a long time ago: Peak at +3dB from the Dolby mark, add another 3dB if you've got HXPro on. It looks like the Dolby 0 mark is at -2dB on that scale, so peak at +4 by that meter when using HXPro.
 
Thanks, I'm using a Tascam Portastudio with dbx noise reduction. +4 top level then? :)
 
It also depends on the tape type - I used to rather like Chrome Dioxide which I pushed quite a bit. Ferric tapes were prone to saturate if you pushed them, but in those days you just did a test and worked it out for yourself, based on what sounded best.
 
Sorry, I'm mastering on the Tascam then mixing it out to the Sony, so I'm watching the Sony levels. I use Type II cassette tape on the Tascam - at high speed - then Type I tape on the Sony at normal speed.
 
kr236rk said:
Sorry, I'm mastering on the Tascam then mixing it out to the Sony, so I'm watching the Sony levels. I use Type II cassette tape on the Tascam - at high speed - then Type I tape on the Sony at normal speed.
Click to expand...

Actually, you're mixing on the Tascam and (more or less) mastering on the Sony.

Why use Type I tape at all? Type II is better all around. I'd use that or Type IV in the mixdown deck. Type I is what we used to use for spoken word and other stuff where quality wasn't as important.
 
Re type 1 tape.
I found TDK AD to be excellent IF you biased for it and it needed considerably more bias than most Japanese tapes and LOADS more than European tapes such as the othwerwise very good BASF and Philips (which I am pretty sure was BASF anyway!).

I base this on the fact that I used to copy classical records onto tape using a carefully set up Yamaha deck and using Dolby B the tape noise was submerged by surface or original master noise.

I also used TDK SA but that was SO good that it was an overkill for all usual sources! When I got a Denon with HX it was of little improvement since I could put more level (cleanly!) on the tape than my car cassette player's replay amps could handle!

Don't know if you can still get AD or equive' today? I have a few Sony FX type lls and they seem fine for the rare cassette recording I do. (Sony TC-K611S).

http://www.vintagecassette.com/yamaha/tc_511/forsale

That ^ was the Yammy deck. Long gone now. (err, have to hack about a bit. It was the TC-511S)


Dave.
 
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