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Next challenge Richard: tackling the 15/32 in/s projects I'm working on! Regards, Mark Durenberger -------------------------------------------------- From: "Richard L. Hess" <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, April 13, 2012 3:11 PM To: <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Slow Reel-to-reels > 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.