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Re: [ARSCLIST] Tape transport gentleness was delicacy WAS reel choices was help in fair pricing of reel to reel machines
Hi --
Unfortunately, I can't divulge the nature of the project or the name of
the client.
If it was one or two reels of tape with 25-45 splices each, and the
material was worthy, we probably could have taken the hit of fixing the
splices uncompensated. But, it was over 70 such tapes. It simply wasn't
feasible given the budget.
And, frankly, it really wasn't necessary. We proceeded with great care,
stopped when we had to and were indeed successful at producing an
excellent product on time and within the budget.
Now, the client will be able to make the material available instead of
leaving it trapped on the tapes for lack of financial resources. As I
understand it, the plan is to put the recordings in the public domain
where they can be studied and enjoyed -- and they will be.
Given different circumstances, I might not take the same course of
action. But in this case, it seemed to be the right decision.
Best,
-- Steve
========================================================
Steve Puntolillo
Sonicraft A2DX Lab - Ultimate A_nalog 2 D_igital X_fers
http://www.sonicraft.com/a2dx
========================================================
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Steven Smolian
> Sent: January 29, 2007 10:48 PM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Tape transport gentleness was
> delicacy WAS reel choices was help in fair pricing of reel to
> reel machines
>
>
> Not only do I agree, but I consider it as essential as
> getting a blood test
> before an operation. I suspect many of us have compiled many
> unrecompensed
> studio hours because, though the client may not be wiling to
> pay for this
> phase of the work, that which follows it cannot be
> successfully accomplished
> otherwise.
>
> Steve Smolian
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kiwi O'Connell" <kiwioconnell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 9:52 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Tape transport gentleness was
> delicacy WAS reel
> choices was help in fair pricing of reel to reel machines
>
>
> Hi -
>
> To me, it is well worth the effort for the benefit of the clients and
> expensive head stacks, to take the time and effort to triage the tapes
> first, especially when it IS obvious that there are splices,
> and possibly
> SSS.
>
> I had a tape the other day which I knew had a potential of 34
> splices, but
> in actual fact it turned out to have 49 badly done splices
> and 3 pieces of
> splicing tape which had ripped off the oxide layer leaving
> holes in the tape
> itself. Some of these splices snapped during the triage
> process, which I
> knew they would do, others were just plan stubborn! Not to
> mention the
> gooey glue residue. Plus, this tape required baking.
>
> Is it not cheaper in the long run for the client to have the
> triage process
> done before the attempted transfer rather than have to stop
> and start the
> load-in every time a splice lets go during the transfer process?
>
> Can you charge the client for the damage done to the heads
> (i.e. Head Clogs)
> or the cost of replacement heads if the tape has not been
> properly triaged
> and repaired in the first place?
>
> I realize some clients may not have a lot of money, but I
> also know that all
> clients "claim" their audio is very important to them and
> invaluable but at
> the end of the day, they couldn't give damn about the actual
> asset itself. I
> hear "I don't care about the tape, just what's on it" too many times.
>
> I find that very sad, as that is the original treasure.
>
> Cheers
>
> Marie
>
>
>
> Marie O'Connell
> Sound Archivist/Audio Engineer/Sound Consultant
> 3017 Nebraska Avenue
> Santa Monica, CA, 90404
> Ph: 310-453-1615
> Fax: 310-453-1715
> Mobile: 601-329-6911
> www.cupsnstrings.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Steve Puntolillo
> Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 6:46 PM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Tape transport gentleness was
> delicacy WAS reel
> choices was help in fair pricing of reel to reel machines
>
> Hi --
>
> I had written:
>
> > >I should mention that the truly lovely Studer A820 1/4 and
> > 1/2" machine
> > >(which is the *other* darling of mastering decks) can also
> > lose control
> > >of its tension sensing mechanism and "lose it's mind". I have not
> > >experienced this first hand, but have heard so from reliable
> > sources who
> > >own and love these machines.
> > >
> > >A possible advantage of the Studer is that it has a pinch
> > roller and so
> > >at least will power its way through tapes with little bits
> > of residual
> > >SSS without changing pitch. The ATR100 has no mechanism to combat
> > >temporary speed fluctuations due to tape that sticks or drags.
>
> And Richard Hess answered:
>
> > I think Parker Dinkens might be able to shed further light on this
> > particular item (see I keep bringing everyone into this
> thread) as he
> > has now owned two A820s. One, sadly, was damaged beyond repair by
> > Katrina, but he has located a replacement and now has it.
> > Fortunately, all of his head blocks were saved.
>
> See a later post for Parker's enlightening answer as well as
> a very nice
> testimonial to Studer and the A820.
>
> Richard continued:
>
> > Also, this _may_ be the reason that Mark Donahue uses A80 transports
> > for his work--Steve, I know that you are very pleased with yours for
> > tapes with bad splices.
>
> Mark has indeed been kind enough to encourage me to put an
> A80RC here to
> good use. ( http://www.sonicraft.com/a2dx.html#2T -- scroll down a bit
> ).
>
> Not everyone has the budget to properly repair tapes with sticky
> splices. Especially, when there are upwards of (70) 15 ips 10.5" reels
> literally *riddled* with them. We had such a job come in and
> we ended up
> evaluating a few machines to decide which to use.
>
> In another post Scott Phillips wrote:
>
> > I would think the APR series would behave themselves pretty
> well under
> > these conditions...
>
> We tried this job on an APR-5000 first. As expected, this machine got
> very high marks for its gentleness. The jog shuttle allowed
> us to FF and
> RW at a low speed, which is a big plus with challenged tapes. It also
> sounds very nice. However, splices snagging on static surfaces in the
> tape path were audible.
>
> The Technics RS1500 (same model that Tom Fine likes) is really a
> terrific little machine for anyone on a budget. It did the
> absolute best
> job of playing the tapes without dropouts from the splices. This, we
> felt, was an advantage of its IsoLoop tape path. We could see
> the supply
> reel bounce as sticky splices let go of the layer of tape underneath.
> Yet never did we *hear* the bounce in the transfer. And, its constant
> tension FF & RW was gentle enough that we felt relatively
> (although not
> completely) comfortable. We didn't feel that it sounded
> outstanding, but
> certainly very respectable.
>
> The Studer A80RC is very gentle on tape, although perhaps not quite as
> gentle as the APR-5000. We were pleasantly surprised at how well it
> handled the sticky splices -- almost as well as the Technics. It has
> adjustable FF/RW speed and we felt very secure slowly shuttling tapes
> whenever necessary. And, this particular model of A80, with
> it's second
> generation class A discrete transistor playback amps, sounds
> very nice.
>
> Using the Studer meant that we'd have to eat the cost of fixing the
> occasional splice-related glitch that made it past the machine's
> transport. But, great sound wins out here and we decided to use the
> Studer instead of the Technics for this particular job.
>
> Hope this info helps someone.
>
> Best,
>
> -- Steve
>
> ========================================================
> Steve Puntolillo
> Sonicraft A2DX Lab - Ultimate A_nalog 2 D_igital X_fers
> http://www.sonicraft.com/a2dx
> ========================================================
>
>
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