499 reel to reel tape

Hit it hard.

499 is absolutely fantastic. It sounds best when you print really hot levels. Most of the engineers I've worked with go +6 or +8, 30ips Align +6 if you are still learning your eguip. If you know you gear and are up for a little experimentation try +8. I do not know if you can adjust the alignment or speed on the MS16. If not and you are stuck at +3@15ips you may be better off with 456.
 
I actually prefer 456, since it seems to keep better. I've had bleed-through problems with 499 (and yes, I store them tail-out). You can still hit just as hard, as well, and get nice, saturated harmonic distortion. For which tape variety has your machine been calibrated? If you can recalibrate yourself, try both under a variety of controlled situations. I'm lazy and unskilled, so I've stuck with 456 for a while and found it very satisfying.
 
Reply to C.Lewis

Hi C.Lewis

I'm not a techy to the degree where I can calibrate
for different tape types. I bought this MS16 from a
guy who used 499 all the time. He said he switched
from 457 to the 499 after hearing about it. Whether
he calibrated or not is unknown; I suppose a call
would help. I'm getting some nice results however.
I do the tails out thing to, but not sure of the
benefits technically. Maybe you can tell me ?

Thanks much,
Chuck
 
Why Tails Out?

The benifit of storing tapes tails out is to avoid audable print through. You know when you have a cassette for a while and you listen closely, you can hear the song faintly before the song actually starts. That is print through.
Something else you can do to preserve the tapes better is slow wind them when you are taking them off the machine. That is play the tape begining to end or some machines have a slow fast forward command. This makes sure that the tape is smooth on the reel. The second thing is to make sure that you store the reels vertical.
j.
 
Different tapes

I'm not a tape guru, but one of the major differences of the 499 and 456 is that the 499 can take much hotter levels when recording. That means that you either should record with higher levels on a 499, or calibrate it. Otherwise you'll get more noise than necessary. Also Quantegy have different recommended bias for the two tape types.

So, call the previous owner and ask.

I still haven't decided which tape to use for my 8-track, but I know I have to calibrate the machine in any case, because the person that calibrated it before me obviously had no idea what he was doing... :(

Check out http://home.flash.net/~mrltapes/ for loads of info on calibration.
 
Reply to Why Tails Out?

Hi Jamiecer,

Thanks for the tails out info. Should I take all
my unused reels and to the tails out thing, even
though they won't be used for awhile, or can they
wait till they are used ?

Thanks,
Chuck
 
You should absolutely play off all your reels that you will not be using for a while. It will not only prevent print through but it will help them last longer.

By the way is your 16 track 1 " or 1/2 inch. What did you pay for it? Can you lock to SMPTE?
good luck,
j
 
just a point here guys - storing a tape tails out does not stop print through on tape! all it does is make sure that the print through is heard after the signal not before.

The tapes 406, 456 and 499 are just different generations of tape and have improvement in storage capacity (around 3db each) that can be traded off as either an increase in recording level or an increase in signal to noise ratio or both.

cheers :)
 
You know what, I mis read your last question. Sorry. No If you have new reels that you haven't used leave them alone. But the first time you do go to use them you should do something called the "Virgin Flip." Great name, I know.

What you do is place the reel on the take-up side (the right) upside down (so you cant see the numbers on the reel). Next cut off the first 3 - 6 feet of tape and throw it away. This gets rid of any contaminated tape. Rewind the tape onto a reel faced numbers up on the supply side. Flip your take-up reel over(the one on the right). Thread it the way you normally would and record.

This has been the MO for every studio I have been in (capitol, sony, the village recorder . . .) I understand getting rid of the first few feet and re-spooling the tape but if anyone knows why they filp it over I'd love to hear about it.

best of luck,
j
 
That's a good question. I think that they used to ship analog tape without the plastic around the reel. If that were the case, humidity and dust. That would also be the part of the tape that was touched so maybe the oils from peoples fingers. I don't actually know. I guess that is why we must question everything. I will try to find out.
j
 
Reply to Jamiecer

Hi Jamiecer,

My MS-16 is a 1" machine with DBX units. I paid
$ 2500 for the unit with both snakes. The heads have
never been lapped. I love it.

Chuck
 
regebro -

I asked around the studio and the only other reason I could get for throwing away the first few feet is that there are sometimes wrinkles or creases on the edge tracks of the tape.
j
 
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