Re: arsclist reel to reel player/recorder

["Doug Pomeroy" <pomeroyaudio@xxxxxxx>]

The last series of recorders made by Ampex
(the ATR-100 series), had servo control over
tape speed, as ALL the best pro machines did
by the late 70's. This reduced flutter & wow,
as well as the equally insidious problem of
gradual pitch fluctuation related to the diameter
of the tape wound on the feed and takeup reels.
Unfortunately, a tape recorded on a recorder
without servo control cannot be pitch-rectified
by being played on one which has; it may even
make matters worse.

Doug Pomeroy   pomeroyaudio@xxxxxxx
Audio Restoration [CEDAR] & Remastering
----------
>From: Mwcpc6@xxxxxxx
>To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: arsclist reel to reel player/recorder
>Date: Thu, Jun 14, 2001, 10:03 AM
>

> I have been following this discussion with great interest since I have been
> working semiprofessionally with tape transfers for over 40 years. The
> emphasis on proper alignment, equalization, and audio levels is well taken.
> One thing that has not been mentioned in the recommendations is the
> importance of speed stability (wow and flutter).
>
> In the late 1960s when I was attending AES conventions a major topic of
> discussion was wow and flutter in mastering tape recorders and cutting
> lathes.  Accurate and stable flutter meters had just become available and
> engineers were dismayed at the poor performance of their beloved equipment.
>
> The effects of speed instability are subtle and not easily noticed as such. I
> was unaware of them myself until I started working with professional
> equipment and even knew an audio engineer that didn't think an off-center
> record hole affected the sound of the music. Nevertheless even a small amount
> of flutter in a recording will make it "just not sound right."
>
> If one is using older equipment for transfers, even professional decks, it is
> unlikely that they meet their original wow and flutter specs. Dual-capstan
> systems had the best performance at the time but aging of bearing lubricants
> and rubber drive components quickly degrade performance.
>
>  The best approach was the closed-loop servo driven system used in mastering
> recorders by 3M and incorporated in the Technics 1500 series recommended
> elsewhere in this thread. When I checked my 1500 against an older Ampex
> professional deck I had a hard time convincing myself I was looking at the
> playback, the signal was so stable compared to what I was used to from
> conventional transports.
>
> I would strongly recommended this deck, from Ebay or elsewhere as mentioned
> earlier.  I also would hope that people making professional transfers have
> and regularly use a high quality flutter meter to regularly check the
> performance of their analog playback equipment.
>
> Mike Csontos