Mark,
(I also was not at the session in question)
Playing Devil's Advocate on this first question: if using a 2-track head is
better than a fulltrack head, why stop there? Why not a 4-track head and
test 1 vs. 2, 2 vs. 3, 3 vs. 4, 1 vs. 3, 2 vs. 3, and so on in the scope
when setting azimuth?
A more serious note:
A scope is an independent indicator of azimuth, sure, but--if the goal is
independent analysis--why not use a spectrum analyzer on a full track head
and adjust for maximum high-frequency reproduction?
Finally, a practical note:
The transfer process is not an island in the work anyone on this list
does. Using a multitrack head for fulltrack tapes behooves the engineer to
save both channels, which in digitization work instantly doubles your
storage space. That might not be a big deal for a small collection, but if
you're working on any kind of medium to large scale, that's an essential
issue to consider.
That's also not an academic thought either. My organization had to make a
similar choice in sampling rates. We digitize tapes at 48k as our content
is overwhelmingly voice recordings at 7.5ips and the extra cost in doubling
our storage requirements doesn't make financial sense weighted against any
sonic benefit 96k would allow.
Jim Sam
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
On Thu, Aug 20, 2015 at 8:53 AM, Hood, Mark <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> This was a topic that came up during the Ask the TC session at the last
> ARSC conference, and I¹d like to refresh my memory of the discussion.
>
> The question was asked (more or less): does using a two track headstack to
> playback a full track mono tape allow for a more precise adjustment of the
> head azimuth, by allowing for comparison of the two head outputs with an
> oscilloscope or by polarity inversion/summing monitoring for the best
> null? My memory is that many practitioners answered in the affirmative,
> that a more accurate azimuth adjustment was possible using a two track
> headstack.
>
> The next question was: after using such a scheme to adjust the playback
> azimuth, how do you capture the audio into the workstation to make your
> digital preservation master file? Do you select just one channel in the
> headstack (the best sounding one), do you capture both channels separately
> (and make a two-channel preservation master file representing what was
> originally a one-channel original), or do you sum the two channels in the
> analog domain and then digitize as a monaural source? It seems like there
> would be technical advantage and disadvantages to each method.
>
> I would appreciate hearing your experiences and opinions on this workflow
> option.
>
> Thanks,
> Mark
>
> Mark Hood
> Associate Professor of Music
> Department of Recording Arts
> IU Jacobs School of Music
>
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