Hi, Stephen,
I agree with Tom for the most part, although I do have a 1.88 in/s MRL
test tape and I often run 1.88 in/s tapes at real time using -50%
varispeed on a Sony APR-5000. For each head assembly and each speed for
that machine, there are three presets. I keep the third one calibrated
for 1.88 and the other two for 3.75 in/s. If I have a big 1.88 project,
I may use preset two for that as preset 1 is the MRL for 3.75 and preset
3 is the MRL for 1.88.
To do it right, you want 50 µin gap length heads, which I don't have for
all formats, but still, getting 8 kHz or better at 1.88 off a reel isn't
bad.
For 15/16, I do what Tom did, using 1.88 as my starting point.
Another option I have, but it only works for four-track, as if it's a
two track tape, I'd rather use a two track head, is the four-track Racal
Store 4DS. It has 15/16 to 60 in/s, but requires re-equalization as it's
constant flux IRIG EQ.
The slow-speed Revox B77 and C270 machines are probably the best choice
if you don't want to do it the way Tom and I do <smile>.
Cheers,
Richard
On 2012-04-13 3:31 PM, Tom Fine wrote:
> Hi Stephen:
>
> I had a small pile of slow-speed reels a while back. Same thing as
> you, amateur-made oral history material. I decided, rather than find
> some lousy old slow-speed machine to play them, I'd transfer them at
> 3.75IPS on my Technics 1520 machine (perfect to handle the tiny reels
> without over-tensioning and stretching the tape). I transferred them a
> 96/24, and then lowered the pitch accordingly. It worked just fine,
> even the stuff recorded at 15/16IPS (which was fascinating, it was the
> person's full-blood Navajo grandmother talking about the early 1900's
> and growing up on an Indian Reservation). The key thing was that both
> the client and I realized these were not high-fidelity items, so
> losing some digital resolution to get to the proper speed (pitch) was
> OK, in fact there were no digital artifacts. We were both somewhat
> surprised how well the audio turned out, you could clearly hear
> crickets and birds behind people's voices, old 1960's cars starting up
> and going by, propeller and older jet airplanes passing overhead, etc.
> It was a true time capsule.
>
> In fact, the worst reel in the bunch was a 3.75IPS that had been
> recorded on a Uher with failing batteries. It ended up easiest to ramp
> up the speed adjust knob on the Technics, using me ears to keep voice
> pitches in a reasonable range. It was tricky but it worked on the
> third try. I also transferred at exactly 3.75IPS and tried to get
> better results with DSP pitch. It was time-consuming and the "steps"
> were more audible. Once again, ears trump gadgets.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Bolech"
> <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, April 13, 2012 2:57 PM
> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Slow Reel-to-reels
>
>
> Hi everyone, I'm hoping some of you could give me recommendations for
> good options to play back 1 7/8 ips and even the occasional 15/16
> tapes. We have a large oral history collection, and though the
> majority are at 3.75 ips, there are some at these slower speeds. What
> are you guys using for these speeds, and what do you recommend?
>
> Thank you,
> Stephen Bolech
>
--
Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask]
Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.
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