1/2 inch tape question

[Rick Ruskin]

On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 18:55:22 -0700, "Neil Rutman"
> wrote:

>I recently inherited a Tascam TSR 8 that I was planning to incorporate into
>my digital setup. Scott Fraser just happened to be unloading several reels
>of 1/2 inch tape which has prompted me to make this all happen sooner rather
>than later. He gave me several reels of Ampex 456 which is what I was
>planning on using. He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
>little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
>recalibration need to occur?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Neil R
>


The closest thing 3M made to 456 was their 226. I'm pretty sure that
a machine set up for 456 would be way over-biased for 806.


Rick Ruskin
Lion Dog Music - Seattle WA
http://liondogmusic.com

[Rick Ruskin]

On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 18:55:22 -0700, "Neil Rutman"
> wrote:

>I recently inherited a Tascam TSR 8 that I was planning to incorporate into
>my digital setup. Scott Fraser just happened to be unloading several reels
>of 1/2 inch tape which has prompted me to make this all happen sooner rather
>than later. He gave me several reels of Ampex 456 which is what I was
>planning on using. He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
>little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
>recalibration need to occur?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Neil R
>


The closest thing 3M made to 456 was their 226. I'm pretty sure that
a machine set up for 456 would be way over-biased for 806.


Rick Ruskin
Lion Dog Music - Seattle WA
http://liondogmusic.com

[Neil Rutman]

I recently inherited a Tascam TSR 8 that I was planning to incorporate into
my digital setup. Scott Fraser just happened to be unloading several reels
of 1/2 inch tape which has prompted me to make this all happen sooner rather
than later. He gave me several reels of Ampex 456 which is what I was
planning on using. He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
recalibration need to occur?

Thanks,

Neil R

[Scott Dorsey]

Neil Rutman > wrote:
>I recently inherited a Tascam TSR 8 that I was planning to incorporate into
>my digital setup. Scott Fraser just happened to be unloading several reels
>of 1/2 inch tape which has prompted me to make this all happen sooner rather
>than later. He gave me several reels of Ampex 456 which is what I was
>planning on using. He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
>little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
>recalibration need to occur?

You need to recalibrate every time you use a different type of tape, every
time you use a reel from a new batch of the same tape, or every week, whichever
comes first.

The narrowtrack machines aren't as touchy about azimuth errors as regular
format machines, which helps a lot about the weekly alignment.

Both 806 and 456 went through a few years of backcoating problems, so if
you find a reel or two that is squealey, pitch it.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Scott Dorsey]

Neil Rutman > wrote:
>I recently inherited a Tascam TSR 8 that I was planning to incorporate into
>my digital setup. Scott Fraser just happened to be unloading several reels
>of 1/2 inch tape which has prompted me to make this all happen sooner rather
>than later. He gave me several reels of Ampex 456 which is what I was
>planning on using. He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
>little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
>recalibration need to occur?

You need to recalibrate every time you use a different type of tape, every
time you use a reel from a new batch of the same tape, or every week, whichever
comes first.

The narrowtrack machines aren't as touchy about azimuth errors as regular
format machines, which helps a lot about the weekly alignment.

Both 806 and 456 went through a few years of backcoating problems, so if
you find a reel or two that is squealey, pitch it.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Mike Caffrey]

(Scott Dorsey) wrote in message >...
> Neil Rutman > wrote:
> >I recently inherited a Tascam TSR 8 that I was planning to incorporate into
> >my digital setup. Scott Fraser just happened to be unloading several reels
> >of 1/2 inch tape which has prompted me to make this all happen sooner rather
> >than later. He gave me several reels of Ampex 456 which is what I was
> >planning on using. He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
> >little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
> >recalibration need to occur?
>
> You need to recalibrate every time you use a different type of tape, every
> time you use a reel from a new batch of the same tape, or every week, whichever
> comes first.
>
> The narrowtrack machines aren't as touchy about azimuth errors as regular
> format machines, which helps a lot about the weekly alignment.
>
> Both 806 and 456 went through a few years of backcoating problems, so if
> you find a reel or two that is squealey, pitch it.
> --scott

I disagree about the weekly aligning. I can go months with essentially
no drift if I leave the machine and room at a constant temperature.
Two techs suggested this was a better approach for machin maintainence
in the long run adn they've been right.

[Mike Caffrey]

(Scott Dorsey) wrote in message >...
> Neil Rutman > wrote:
> >I recently inherited a Tascam TSR 8 that I was planning to incorporate into
> >my digital setup. Scott Fraser just happened to be unloading several reels
> >of 1/2 inch tape which has prompted me to make this all happen sooner rather
> >than later. He gave me several reels of Ampex 456 which is what I was
> >planning on using. He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
> >little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
> >recalibration need to occur?
>
> You need to recalibrate every time you use a different type of tape, every
> time you use a reel from a new batch of the same tape, or every week, whichever
> comes first.
>
> The narrowtrack machines aren't as touchy about azimuth errors as regular
> format machines, which helps a lot about the weekly alignment.
>
> Both 806 and 456 went through a few years of backcoating problems, so if
> you find a reel or two that is squealey, pitch it.
> --scott

I disagree about the weekly aligning. I can go months with essentially
no drift if I leave the machine and room at a constant temperature.
Two techs suggested this was a better approach for machin maintainence
in the long run adn they've been right.

[ScotFraser]

>He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
>> >little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
>> >recalibration need to occur?

It's my recollection that 806 is a latter day version of 208, the low print
tape that 3M intended primarily for dialog recording with reduced print
through, but I have no documentation on it now. Hopefully someone who has used
806 can help Neil out on this.

Scott Fraser

[ScotFraser]

>He also gave me many reels of 3M 806 which we were both a
>> >little foggy on. Can I use 456 and 806 interchangeably or does some
>> >recalibration need to occur?

It's my recollection that 806 is a latter day version of 208, the low print
tape that 3M intended primarily for dialog recording with reduced print
through, but I have no documentation on it now. Hopefully someone who has used
806 can help Neil out on this.

Scott Fraser