Reel to Reel tape question
We don't seem to have a tape forum here, but analog is analog, so I'll try it here: Does anyone know why it is that my fully refurbished Revox A77 makes my four-track, 7.5 ips tapes sound better after I flip them over? Meaning, on side ll? There is a greater clarity, more dynamics - just a better sound after it plays through side l, and I flip it over. I thought that it might be the tape deck warming up, and so it sounds better because it has been on longer for side ll. I then turned it on, let it sit for an hour, and then played it, with the same result.
Is it a matter of alignment, perhaps? Any other thoughts?
Thanks,
David
This makes no sense to me, everything ought to be physically the same, alignment, positioning of heads and tracks, reel tables height, electronics also identical, hmmmm Any clues from the VU meters when playing? Any error, wear, alignment, bias, ought to be the same for either pair of tracks, it's the same heads in same position reading them. Maybe talk to, or write to Jim, asking him what he thinks it could be. |
@dtorc depending your location, I would drop Curt Palmer an email he runs Reel to Reel Tech in Vancouver BC. Easily the best R2R tech out there, he will probably give you an answer or ideas on "fixing" if need. Unless you have the bench gear I would advise against making any adjustments to azimuth, you need an oscope and calibration tape. |
I agree that it doesn't make sense - but it is most definitely happening. I'm Boston based, and I do have a couple of repair folks who are very capable with vintage gear. They both declined to work on the deck because they didn't have the calibration tapes. I think I will get the tapes from MRL so that isn't an issue. I don't have a lot of tapes - maybe 50 7.5 ips 4 track tapes, and a couple of 15 ips tapes - but some of them sound really good, and I occasionally stumble into another good sounding tape once in a while. In other words, it is worth investing in the calibration tapes, and having my repair folks try to see what is happening.
I appreciate the thinking and sharing.
David |
When flipped, your Revox reads Track 3+4 sit in different parts of the tape coating.The reverse side tracks may be better aligned to your A77 Also, if your tapes were recorded on another machine, or one with misaligned head azimuth the original recorder’s Track 1+2 alignment maybe off, but Track 3+4 happened to align better with the A77 standards, those tracks will sound clearer when flipped. |
