joshnich Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Hello tape gurus! Based on a recent thread on the forum I have upped my reel to reel game having found an Otari mx5050 BII. It’s a half track machine so I will be able to indulge on some of the audiophile ½ track tapes. The Otari is more of a pro machine than the decks that I am used to, and being so is also way more complicated than what I am used to – and that is the reason for this post. I am hoping that some of the tape o philes can help me understand some of the settings and features of this machine. I have a copy of the owners manual and have read it over and over. The problem is that the owners manual assumes a knowledge base that I don’t have! I have searched you tube and tape specific forums but those also assume knowledge that I do not have. Here are a couple of questions that I am hoping someone here can help me with. What is the difference between NAD and IEC Equalization? I can set the machine to either one. Which is the standard that I am used to with my old decks (teac 3340, pioneer RT 1020) ? There is a built in test oscillator that produces tones of 1KHz and 10KHz. I am not sure how and why I would use that! It's classic that the owners manual points out where the buttons are for this but gives no information on when and how to use it! I can select “Reference Flux” levels. High Medium and Low. I’m not exactly sure what that is either! Again the owners manual points out the switch but doesn’t say why you would use one setting over the other! There are also bias pots that allow you to adjust the bias for different tape brands. Does anyone know if this is for recording only or does it also matter for playback? I think that is all for now. Looks like it will be a lot of fun to screw around with albeit pretty far above my recording engineer level! Thanks for any info that you can provide! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 At least some information here. My guess is that tape decks sent to the US used NAB and thus if you're playing back tapes made on a US recorder you should set to NAB. My guess is that this is somewhat like the emphases / de-emphases used in vinyl records. On record certain freqs are boosted and then on play back they are de-boosted, or reduced. In each scheme they (record and playback must be complementary). http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=13373 Don't worry about the usec (microsecond) unit. It is not delay or time. It is just that when the slope of the filters are calculated the units come out in "seconds". WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 More background info here. Note the short discussion of comparing the output of the tape at 1 kHz and 10 kHz to set bias. http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/may97/analysinganalogue.html But how to set bias for the best it does not say. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted November 5, 2015 Moderators Share Posted November 5, 2015 Canyonman has that same deck and can tell you what his specific thoughts are on what setting is nest for which brand and type of tape. That deck has NAB and IEC EQ, tape project tapes are done with IEC so you select that setting for playback with those tapes. As Gil mentioned, US stuff is typically recorded with NAB eq. The flix settings are for which type of tape you are using, like +9,.+6 (Ampex 456 for example), or standard. The pots are for setting the azmuth (calibrating the deck). I wouldn't mess with those at this point. You need a calabratoon tape, and other equipment to use those. The are for both playback and recording. If Jay is unavailable to answer right away, I can chime in with more info. I would also suggest that you join tapeheads forum, there are a lot of Otari owners over there. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Josh, Send me a PM, I will be glad to help!!! Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 The oscillator is to lay down a reference tone. The mastering house will adjust their machine's azimuth to match your tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted November 5, 2015 Author Share Posted November 5, 2015 Thanks everyone! Helps a lot. I have joined the tapeheads forum and it has been helpful! I will send jay a pm for more follow up. DJK : your answer on the test tones was great - and so obvious. Proof of the reading I need to do! Another quick one... I purchased a pre recorded tape from an italian company. They tapes come tail out meaning that I need to put the tape on the right spindle and I believe rewind it to the take up reel in order to play. Are the ones from the tape project that way as well? Thx Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Yes Josh, They are. All of or just about all of your 2 track tapes are gonna be stored tails out and need to be rewound to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Old tape needs to be baked at 150°F in a pre-heated oven for one hour, then cooled before playing. This softens the back-coating to reduce damage from oxide shedding due to micro-sticking. Transfer to new media (tape or digital). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted November 6, 2015 Moderators Share Posted November 6, 2015 Old tape needs to be baked at 150°F in a pre-heated oven for one hour, then cooled before playing. This softens the back-coating to reduce damage from oxide shedding due to micro-sticking. Transfer to new media (tape or digital). It depends on what you mean by "old" and it also depends on which brand and type of tape as to whether it will require baking. Hoever, if a tape does need baking, 150F is too hot and an hour isn't long enough. The heat isn't to soften the back-coating, it is to dry the tape out. The problem with SSS tapes is that they absorb excessive moisture by hydrolysis. The brands and types of tapes are well documented as well as the reccomended baking procedures from Ampex, Library of Congress, and the National Media Lab. The oldest tapes are mylar and acetate and you dont want to be baking those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent T Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 NAB is the USA standard tape equalization curve. CCIR/DIN is the European curve used for tape recording. Technically speaking the latter is superior with modern tapes and recording technique. Only tape which should be baked is a select few backcoated formulas known for sticky shed syndrome. The tone oscillator is for test tones for level and azimuth to facilitate playback on other machines. Do you have a manual for your machine? If you do not I have a PDF scanned manual I can email you. I own one of these fine machines and know them well from using them at home and in broadcasting work as operator and engineer. And happy to assist you on learning your machine's features. You have a superb tape machine, one of the finest made and a broadcasting standard for many years. And reliable and very well built. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkytype Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Josh, Congratulations on your purchase. Back in the late '80s to mid '90s when I was a real radio injuneer, we had a half dozen of the Otari MX-5050 of different model releases. Most of the decks were used for production and we used Ampex 456 Grand Master for the critical stuff and maybe a 1 mil Ampex tape for the air check machines. All in all, great reliability and a stable tape path. Not an Ampex, Studer or MCI of the day, but they were good workhorses. Your Reference Flux switch will set the output level of your deck based upon the reference fluxivity (don't you just love that word?) used to record your pre-recorded tapes. Back in the day, we had 180, 250 and later 355 nanowebers/meter reference levels which represented VU levels of 0, +3 and +6 dB as read on a true VU meter. The "0 dB reference tape" was (I believe) Scotch 203. So, with Ampex 456 Grand Master, you could safely use a 355 nW/m record level (+6 dB) to maximize signal-to-noise ratio. The Reference Flux switch will work bassackwards to what you'd probably think; changing from Low to High will drop your playback level, not raise it. In order to record a 6 dB hotter signal on the tape, you have to lower your playback level 6 dB. If you are gonna get serious with this machine and perhaps record live music, you need to invest in a reference test tape which will insure your playback mode from the head to the output connector is at "reference". You'll also need an R. B. Annis Han-D-Mag demagnetizer. This is still the most powerful handheld degausser out there and you can use the large end to demagnetize your headblock in one pass! It will also bulk erase you open reel tape to near virgin noise level. Then with outboard test gear or with the two built-in tones, you can setup the record side of your deck from input connector to record head. An oscilloscope is the only way to see your head alignment--the meters are just too broad to "see" 0 degrees phase. If you haven't inspected your heads, get a magnifying glass and give them a look see. There are plenty of web sources to show you if your heads have little wear, keystone wear pattern or just worn to the gap. We'll assume your tape path and tape tensions are set properly--too much tape tension will prematurely wear your heads. Since I haven't bought pre-recorded tape since the '60s, I don't know what the length of current commercially recorded tape is. If you know the tape length in feet and the thickness (1.0-1.5 mil), you might consider transferring the tape to a large hub 7" reel instead of using the small hub. Obviously, the tape has to fit length-wise. You're saying, "But Lee, I've got this nifty LARGE REEL SMALL REEL switch on my Otari". Yeah, but the Otari like most all semi-pro decks don't have constant tension to insure the tape has good head contact. It has variable tension; that is, the takeup reel tension is at maximum with the takeup reel empty and is minimum when the reel is full. Tension is set with a variable power resistor. The main reason for using a large hub reel is that there will be less stretching of the tape especially at the beginning of a reel. You are increasing the wind radius and lowering the torque. If your head wear has a pronounced keystone wear pattern, you won't get the optimum head-to-tape contact. Adjusting the head to compensate is an exercise in futility--you'll find the tape path will not be true from head to head to guides. The Otari heads are good for at least one good relapping--maybe two. The place I used in the '80s and '90s for all my relapping was JRF Magnetic Sciences. John R. French is strill around has the expertise to relap everything from a 1/4" 1/2 track head stack to a 24-track 2" head stack. A Tascam 80-8 (8-track 1/2" tape) I serviced for 20+ years got three head lappings before I bought new heads from him. If you have him do an optical alignment (extra cost) it will be so close to correct azimuth that just a touchup will be required. http://www.jrfmagnetics.com/ http://www.rbannis.com/products/handmags.html Lee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 Lee, Thank you so much for the detailed information. This is awesome and helps me understand the vairious setting etc. Th heads have actually been relapped by John French pretty recently. Some time ago I purchased a stash of Ampex 256 Grand Master at a garage sale. I listened a to a few of them and they appeared to be radio station recordings. Unfortunately that tape is all pretty much garbage having suffered that sticky tape issue. The only recording i will be doing will be of me or friends playing and quite honestly its a little bit of overkill for that because a digital recorder works fine for working out songs. But this is way cooler! The playback on the professional pre-recorded tapes that I have purchased is incredible. Its certainly fun messing around with it. Thanks again for the valuable information! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkytype Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Josh, Glad some of the info was of use. As for the "sticktion" issue, it seems Ampex 456 was not the only tape type that suffers(ed) this problem. I had to recover a dozen Ampex 456 1/2" 8 track masters from the '80s that had been stored in a pristine environment. All had oxide shedding and rather than risk baking the reels, I opted to clean the heads and tape guides after every song until each tape was dubbed to digital. BTW, the best head cleaning solution is Xylene which you can get at any hardware store. It's what was in the $20.00/4 oz. can of Ampex head cleaner. It will dissolve any oxide buildup on the heads and guides. Xylene and plastics don't mix! I once tried cleaning a VU meter "glass" only to find out it was plastic. Glued that Q-tip right to the meter face! . Also get yourself some unwaxed dental floss to clean the flanges of the tape guides---a Q tip won't get in there. Just moisten the floss with Xylene and floss those guides. The best cleaner/rejuvenator for your pinch roller is Rogersol Rejuvenator #184, a product the printing industry uses to clean their rubber printing rollers. Alcohol will dry out the rubber/neoprene. It looks like the smallest quantity you can purchase is a gallon for about $30.00 + shipping. For you, that will be a lifetime supply but it is probably cheaper than buying a new pinch roller if you can still get them. Get yourself 1000 6" wooden handled Q-tips--beats the flimsy paper ones. http://www.uline.com/BL_34/Cotton-Tipped-Applicators?pricode=WU907&AdKeyword=wood%20q%20tips&AdMatchtype=p&gclid=COn3hv3zz8kCFQ6SaQodAIoCSw&gclsrc=aw.ds Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bracurrie Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Thanks everyone! Helps a lot. I have joined the tapeheads forum and it has been helpful! I will send jay a pm for more follow up. DJK : your answer on the test tones was great - and so obvious. Proof of the reading I need to do! Another quick one... I purchased a pre recorded tape from an italian company. They tapes come tail out meaning that I need to put the tape on the right spindle and I believe rewind it to the take up reel in order to play. Are the ones from the tape project that way as well? Thx Josh Josh, I have recently taken the plunge as well. I also bought an Otari MX 5050 II2. It's being serviced now but my Revox B77 has enabled me to start collecting old pre-recorded titles. Some are 50 years old! The quality is all over the place but about a third of the 30 I have acquired have been really eye-opening good. I am using my Pure Vinyl setup to listen most of the time as my primary speakers rely on an active crossover control in Pure Vinyl. But I also have an all analog setup with KEF speakers, while they lack in low end, the imaging is stunning. Always looking for titles that either not found in the digital domain or if they do the mastering for CD was not too great. How are things going for you since you started this thread? Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) Interesting thread. Didn't know that about you Lee. Good stuff. By the way.......anyone know of a good R2R tech on the east coast? NC preferably? The gent who was working on mine died unexpectedly (59). Going to retrieve it next week. Edited March 25, 2016 by Tarheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted March 25, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2016 Interesting thread. Didn't know that about you Lee. Good stuff. By the way.......anyone know of a good R2R tech on the east coast? NC preferably? The gent who was working on mine died unexpectedly (59). Going to retrieve it next week. What brand of deck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Thanks everyone! Helps a lot. I have joined the tapeheads forum and it has been helpful! I will send jay a pm for more follow up. DJK : your answer on the test tones was great - and so obvious. Proof of the reading I need to do! Another quick one... I purchased a pre recorded tape from an italian company. They tapes come tail out meaning that I need to put the tape on the right spindle and I believe rewind it to the take up reel in order to play. Are the ones from the tape project that way as well? Thx Josh Josh, I have recently taken the plunge as well. I also bought an Otari MX 5050 II2. It's being serviced now but my Revox B77 has enabled me to start collecting old pre-recorded titles. Some are 50 years old! The quality is all over the place but about a third of the 30 I have acquired have been really eye-opening good. I am using my Pure Vinyl setup to listen most of the time as my primary speakers rely on an active crossover control in Pure Vinyl. But I also have an all analog setup with KEF speakers, while they lack in low end, the imaging is stunning. Always looking for titles that either not found in the digital domain or if they do the mastering for CD was not too great. How are things going for you since you started this thread? Brad I do not listen to it all that often but when I do I am amazed at the quality of the half track tapes. Where are you buying your pre recorded tapes? Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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