arsclist Hum (formerly tubes)

["Steven Smolian" <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>]

With any professional audio preservation system, I strongly believe there
are two foundation steps:  a clean power source and a clear grounding
system.  Everything else comes later.

The power source is up to you and your electrician.    Much depends on how
much power you expect to be using.  Thirty amps is reasonable, with
dedicated outlets that bypass everything else electric in your building and
go directly to the box.  Of course, your electrician will suggest ways of
dealing with such incidental events as lighting strikes.  The ideal
situation is to run all grounds to a ground spike but being able to
legitimately do so depends on local building codes.  There are adequate, if
slighty less ideal, compromises.

If he can't supply clean power due to the way the building is
wired/constructed,  then there are various devices that come close.  They
run from c. $ 1,000 to $ 5,000 and are among the best insurance you'll ever
buy.

There are studio grounding experts in every city.  I found mine through my
pro audio shop.  Manny's can probably put you in touch with one.  These guys
are slow and careful, and the hours can mount up, but you'll have a sense of
assurace operating your studio thereafter, like driving after a new tune-up.
Standard rate down here in the DC/Baltimore area is $ 35 or so per hour.

These are the two most important corners not to cut.

If you then have hum, you'll know for sure that it comes from a piece of
your equipment.

Steve Smolian


=========================
Steven Smolian    301-694-5134
Smolian Sound Studios
---------------------------------------------------
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Five or one or lifetime hoardings,
Made at home or concert hall,
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at www.soundsaver.com
=========================
----- Original Message -----
From: "matt Sohn" <mahatma@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 10:40 PM
Subject: arsclist Re: (I surely hope) Tubes will not die


> >----- Since I wrote that piece I have been increasingly forgiving when
> >it comes to choose between a bad copy or no copy at all. If a bad
> >copy is all that is left, then the bad copy is the preservation copy of
> >the sonic event in question. The Brahms cylinder is a prime
> >example of a very crippled recording still serving as a glimpse of a
> >performance.
>
> I am doing my best not to make bad copies. I am curious about how to
adjust
> azimuth for optimum playback. Is this an issue with mono 1/2 track tapes?
> how do I know if the azimuth is correct for the tape I'm playing? I'm very
> leery of changing the azimuth of the machine, which sounds fine to me. I
> mostly am dealing with 1/2 track mono material, but there is a portion of
> the collection which is (mostly) mono tapes re-recorded to stereo. Should
I
> adjust each tape's azimuth or shold I just take the best-recorded channel
> and mult it to both recording channels..
>     Also I would welcome some discussion of power conditioners. I am
unhappy
> with the noise floor of my system, and would welcome any recommendations
on
> providing clean power on a limited budget. I work with what I've got and
try
> to do the best I can. I would love to have better converters, but it just
> ain't in the budget.
>
> -Matt Sohn
> Audio Preservationist
> Louis Armstrong House and Archives
> www.satchmo.net
>
>
>
> -
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