Open Reel Anyone?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by mstcraig, Jul 10, 2003.

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  1. avelino

    avelino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brazil
    Reel tapes of recent Steve Hoffman's work

    Dear Steve,
    I have bought almost every open reel tapes 2 or 4-track 71/2 or 15ips that I can find on the net. I love their sound and listen to them in two Revoxes, one 2-track the other 4-track, both PR99 MkII that were modified for reproducing alone, using the free space of the recording part for a general improvement in the audio and power supply circuits. However, buying only old tapes, although quite fun and instructive - I found a 2-track 15ips tape of Thelonius Monk that is stunning - leaves something out, the recent remastering work that you have been doing for DCC and recently for Analog Productions. My question is: would it be possible to buy titles of your remastering work, maybe 2-track 71/2ips or better still, 15ips? I know that they can cost quite a bit more than an LP or SACD, but this should not be a problem. Maybe you could ask the open reel lovers who would be interested and run some batch production of pre-recorded tapes using the latest technology. They should be fantastic, probably much better than any LP's out there. For SACD there should be no comparison. Thanks for the attention.
    Avelino
     
  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Avelino,

    Welcome to the Forum.

    Sorry though, we can't make open reel copies for sale. Too many bad boy bootleggers out there!
     
  3. JonUrban

    JonUrban SHF Member #497

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Steve,

    Would a commercially available 15ips reel have a better audio delivery than an SACD?
     
  4. avelino

    avelino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brazil
    Thanks, Steve, this really a pitty but I suspected something like that. But why then a good LP is not considered also a danger for the bootleggers out there? Would the sound be much worst than a 15ips? And why tapes were not considered a danger in the past when 71/2ips pre-recorded tapes were sold?
    Avelino
     
  5. Sckott

    Sckott Hand Tighten Only.

    Location:
    South Plymouth, Ma
    Reel decks haven't died. In fact, they ARE a fettish with audiophiles.

    Some prerecorded reels (not ALL) sound downright dandy at 7 1/2 IPS.
     
  6. Bob Lovely

    Bob Lovely Super Gort In Memoriam

    Sckott,

    The few pre-recorded 7.5 ips tapes that I have sound pretty good but, I get even better results recording at 7.5 ips from well-mastered CD's. I suspect there are many reasons including the use of better tape stock available today versus what was used years ago. Recording in 'real-time' versus high speed dubbing is also a factor.

    I have an old Motown pre-recorded tape that sounds pretty good although it has deteriorated over the years...

    Bob:)
     
  7. Sckott

    Sckott Hand Tighten Only.

    Location:
    South Plymouth, Ma
    Same here. I actually took a copy of Jethro Tulls' "Stand Up", I got from eBay. Literally, the tape looked like old chocolate. It was stretched, dirty to the touch, gummy and sounded Naaasty!

    So I took down some BASF and re-recorded the reel from a MFSL CD at the original 3 3/4. Even recording at THAT speed, there was a HUGE difference.

    The cover was really neat. So was the reel.

    Like Bob, although I've since parted with my Pioneer RT707, I found some really neat results in recording well mastered CDs or Lps, played from reel.
     
  8. sgraham

    sgraham New Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    That'd be me. I can't help myself.

    It's actually:

    >>Side 1 L>>
    <<R 2 ediS<<
    >>Side 1 R>>
    <<L 2 ediS<<

    So to speak. The point is, the left track is at the top of the tape, the right track is about 3/4 of the way down the tape. Flip the tape over and you interleave a new pair of tracks.

    On a 1/4" four track, to maintain some semblance of compatibility with quarter-track stereo tapes they are generally paired as track 1&3 with 2&4:

    1. front L
    2. rear L
    3. front R
    4. rear R

    That way when you play back a 1/4-track tape you just turn off the back channels.

    And if we want to be an.... er Compulsive about things, quarter-track is not equal to four track, half track is not equal to 2-track. The track widths are actually very slightly different between half-track and two track, and between quarter-track and 4-track. So all those Ampex (and other) reels that are marked as "4-track" strictly speaking aren't - unless Ampex used the wrong heads to record them. (Not impossible.) So we have:

    Full track mono - single signal recorded across the entire tape width
    Two-track stereo - two signals, one on the upper 1/3 (approx) and one on the lower 1/3 (approx) with a "guard band" that is not recorded down the middle of the tape.
    Half-track mono - one signal on the upper 1/3 (approx, but slightly different) of the tape, then the tape is flipped and a second track is laid down on the bottom (now the top) third, again with a blank guard band down the middle.

    "Stereo Format". This is a newer format developed in Germany, which records the left channel on the upper half and the right channel on the lower half without any appreciable guard band at all. They had figured out by this time how to design playback heads that could minimize the cross talk, so this way they get slightly better performance and also "compatibility" with quarter track tapes (*)

    Quarter-track stereo, as described above, with suitable guard bands between all tracks,

    Four-track quad or multitrack, also as described above, and finally

    8-track multi-track. Fostex made a machine for recording eight tracks on standard 1/4-inch tape. Since the tracks were so narrow they used Dolby-C on some versions, and I think dbx on others.
    ---
    *Normally if you play a two-track stereo tape on a quarter track deck, the right channel head is riding along the very edge of the track, so the volume is low, and may vary a bit. Stereo format tapes can be played on quarter track machines with equal volume on the left and right tracks.

    Having said all that, of course the slight track width differences between half-track and two-track are small enough to make them "compatible", ditto between quarter-track and 4-track.

    Playing "stereo format" tapes on a quarter-track machine (or full track tapes on a half-track machine, or any other format with a narrower playback head track width than was intended) gives rise to one slight problem: Fringing. This is an effect caused by the fact that at low frequencies the head will pick up sound from an area outside its normal pickup area, which effects a bass boost. Something you may be able to live with.


    Whew. Give a boy a keyboard and this happens!
     
  9. JonUrban

    JonUrban SHF Member #497

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Thanks Steve, great job!
     
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