Masterlink inconsistent record levels

Tom C · 15th April 2006, 01:30 AM

My 3+ year old Masterlink's hard drive crashed recently. I considered replacing it myself, and had actually bought a new drive (Seagate/40GB/7200RPM), but got cold feet when I looked inside, and decided to have it replaced by a music repair shop in L.A. They sounded like they knew the product when I talked to them on the phone, and even mentioned that they resolder the power supply connection when replacing drives, as a preventative measure.

When I got it back with the new drive installed (and OS updated to 2.20), I immediately began having problems with inconsistent record levels. In a nutshell: record level led peaks can vary by 3 db or more in the same section of a song, making it impossible to reliably set levels. However, once something is recorded. playback levels ARE consistent, though often "overs" that didn't happen during record, appear on playback. The inconsistent record levels happen at both the XLR & rca analog inputs, and the coax digital input, and with different sources (my HD24XR, a simple drum machine loop, and a commercial CD). Reloading the older OS 2.14 made no difference. This was never a problem before they replaced the hard drive.

I sent it back and they had it for 3 weeks. They said the problem showed up when they first received it and then didn't happen again. Their best guess was that it was a ground issue. They "tightened up" the grounds and sent it back. (It arrived missing 6 of the screws that hold down the cover, and the headphone volume knob, which they subsequently mailed to me.) The record level problem is exactly as it was before.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem with the Masterlink, or have any idea what on earth could be causing this? My e-mails with Alesis tech support shed no light on it (they were "stumped"), and the shop said they'd never encountered this problem before.

Bottom line, I've spent close to $200 in repair costs and shipping, and I have a unit I can't use.

Jim Williams · 15th April 2006, 03:04 AM

Maybe it's the 7200 rpm hard drive. The Alesis notes I've seen specify a 5400 rpm hard drive.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

ShamansDream · 15th April 2006, 04:31 AM

I think these units have a "Tamper Sensor" inside that causes them to start freaking out the minute the cover is removed. Other slutz have had similar nightmare experiences 'out of the blue' after a repair that just couldn't be explained.

Knowing your service shop and highly recommended shops on the equipment you plan to have repaired is a MUST at this level of technology. Do a search on masterlink and you will find a few success stories.

Once things are screwed up when you were not involved in the process makes cleaning up the mess a real challange. I doubt that this is in the hard drive chain but rather in the audio chain itself.

If you have problems on the digital input side as well, I would suggest that removing some of the internal cables will likely cause data transfer problems. It truly becomes a "black box" nightmare to chase this down.

When I rebuild something, I verify the critical grounding paths and the conditions of any terminations. You might just have to dig into this thing and clean up the mess others have made.

H-Rezz · 15th April 2006, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom C

My 3+ year old Masterlink's hard drive crashed recently. I considered replacing it myself, and had actually bought a new drive (Seagate/40GB/7200RPM), but got cold feet when I looked inside, and decided to have it replaced by a music repair shop in L.A. They sounded like they knew the product when I talked to them on the phone, and even mentioned that they resolder the power supply connection when replacing drives, as a preventative measure.

When I got it back with the new drive installed (and OS updated to 2.20), I immediately began having problems with inconsistent record levels. In a nutshell: record level led peaks can vary by 3 db or more in the same section of a song, making it impossible to reliably set levels. However, once something is recorded. playback levels ARE consistent, though often "overs" that didn't happen during record, appear on playback. The inconsistent record levels happen at both the XLR & rca analog inputs, and the coax digital input, and with different sources (my HD24XR, a simple drum machine loop, and a commercial CD). Reloading the older OS 2.14 made no difference. This was never a problem before they replaced the hard drive.

I sent it back and they had it for 3 weeks. They said the problem showed up when they first received it and then didn't happen again. Their best guess was that it was a ground issue. They "tightened up" the grounds and sent it back. (It arrived missing 6 of the screws that hold down the cover, and the headphone volume knob, which they subsequently mailed to me.) The record level problem is exactly as it was before.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem with the Masterlink, or have any idea what on earth could be causing this? My e-mails with Alesis tech support shed no light on it (they were "stumped"), and the shop said they'd never encountered this problem before.

Bottom line, I've spent close to $200 in repair costs and shipping, and I have a unit I can't use.

Tom C , you should have sort help for the Alesis site , you can down load a step by step pdf that show yous how to change a drive , i followed their instructions and did it myself , it was not hard at all ! I think their recommodation was a 5400rpm drive,i do not know if is the cause of your problem but you might want to send them an e-mail with the problem you are having .

BTW, make sure you have the lastest o.s. for the Masterlink as this might by chance include 7200rpm drives , they have had a few revisions since i bought mine over 3 years ago.

Good luck

Tom C · 15th April 2006, 06:35 AM

Thank you for your replies, everyone.

I did contact Alesis and was told the 7200 RPM drive should work fine. (In fact, aren't 5400 RPM drives getting almost impossible to find? Though I do think they run quiter.)

I still don't understand why the rpm of the drive would affect this? Or am I missing something?

Dave Peck · 15th April 2006, 07:32 AM

Another possibility - It may not be inconsistent record levels, but inconsistent METER behavior during recording. The fact that you are seeing these inconsistencies when using the digital ins would perhaps point to something like this.

DP

Screws · 15th April 2006, 02:32 PM

Send it back to Alesis. Their repair facility in Rhode Island was awesome. They replaced my disk and the burner and it works perfectly.

Tom C · 15th April 2006, 08:05 PM

Unfortunately, I don't know enough about electronics, and wouldn't know what to look for if I did open the Masterlink back up (the whole reason I sent it to the shop in the first place). I guess at this point, I'm looking at sending it to the Alesis repair facility in Rhode Island - thanks for the suggestion. Any idea what the cost might be for something like this?

On the one hand, I feel the shop should make this right; on the other hand, I don't know if I trust them at this point. They sent it to me twice with the same problem. Funny thing, I remember them telling me not to listen to Alesis, when I relayed some of tech support's suggestions; the shop claimed that they knew the machine better than Alesis did.

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15th April 2006, 01:30 AM	#1
Tom C Gear interested Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 28	Masterlink inconsistent record levels My 3+ year old Masterlink's hard drive crashed recently. I considered replacing it myself, and had actually bought a new drive (Seagate/40GB/7200RPM), but got cold feet when I looked inside, and decided to have it replaced by a music repair shop in L.A. They sounded like they knew the product when I talked to them on the phone, and even mentioned that they resolder the power supply connection when replacing drives, as a preventative measure. When I got it back with the new drive installed (and OS updated to 2.20), I immediately began having problems with inconsistent record levels. In a nutshell: record level led peaks can vary by 3 db or more in the same section of a song, making it impossible to reliably set levels. However, once something is recorded. playback levels ARE consistent, though often "overs" that didn't happen during record, appear on playback. The inconsistent record levels happen at both the XLR & rca analog inputs, and the coax digital input, and with different sources (my HD24XR, a simple drum machine loop, and a commercial CD). Reloading the older OS 2.14 made no difference. This was never a problem before they replaced the hard drive. I sent it back and they had it for 3 weeks. They said the problem showed up when they first received it and then didn't happen again. Their best guess was that it was a ground issue. They "tightened up" the grounds and sent it back. (It arrived missing 6 of the screws that hold down the cover, and the headphone volume knob, which they subsequently mailed to me.) The record level problem is exactly as it was before. Has anyone experienced a similar problem with the Masterlink, or have any idea what on earth could be causing this? My e-mails with Alesis tech support shed no light on it (they were "stumped"), and the shop said they'd never encountered this problem before. Bottom line, I've spent close to $200 in repair costs and shipping, and I have a unit I can't use.

15th April 2006, 02:32 PM	#7
Screws Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 570	Send it back to Alesis. Their repair facility in Rhode Island was awesome. They replaced my disk and the burner and it works perfectly. __________________ Steve Cruz Cruzified Music Florida http://www.songramp.com/homepage.php?userid=3788

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15th April 2006, 03:04 AM	#2
Jim Williams Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: beautiful Carlsbad, CA Posts: 4,258	Maybe it's the 7200 rpm hard drive. The Alesis notes I've seen specify a 5400 rpm hard drive. Jim Williams Audio Upgrades

15th April 2006, 04:31 AM	#3
ShamansDream Gear addict Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 376	I think these units have a "Tamper Sensor" inside that causes them to start freaking out the minute the cover is removed. Other slutz have had similar nightmare experiences 'out of the blue' after a repair that just couldn't be explained. Knowing your service shop and highly recommended shops on the equipment you plan to have repaired is a MUST at this level of technology. Do a search on masterlink and you will find a few success stories. Once things are screwed up when you were not involved in the process makes cleaning up the mess a real challange. I doubt that this is in the hard drive chain but rather in the audio chain itself. If you have problems on the digital input side as well, I would suggest that removing some of the internal cables will likely cause data transfer problems. It truly becomes a "black box" nightmare to chase this down. When I rebuild something, I verify the critical grounding paths and the conditions of any terminations. You might just have to dig into this thing and clean up the mess others have made.

15th April 2006, 06:35 AM	#5
Tom C Gear interested Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 28	Thank you for your replies, everyone. I did contact Alesis and was told the 7200 RPM drive should work fine. (In fact, aren't 5400 RPM drives getting almost impossible to find? Though I do think they run quiter.) I still don't understand why the rpm of the drive would affect this? Or am I missing something?

15th April 2006, 07:32 AM	#6
Dave Peck Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: S.F bay area Posts: 1,354	Another possibility - It may not be inconsistent record levels, but inconsistent METER behavior during recording. The fact that you are seeing these inconsistencies when using the digital ins would perhaps point to something like this. DP

15th April 2006, 08:05 PM	#8
Tom C Gear interested Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 28	Unfortunately, I don't know enough about electronics, and wouldn't know what to look for if I did open the Masterlink back up (the whole reason I sent it to the shop in the first place). I guess at this point, I'm looking at sending it to the Alesis repair facility in Rhode Island - thanks for the suggestion. Any idea what the cost might be for something like this? On the one hand, I feel the shop should make this right; on the other hand, I don't know if I trust them at this point. They sent it to me twice with the same problem. Funny thing, I remember them telling me not to listen to Alesis, when I relayed some of tech support's suggestions; the shop claimed that they knew the machine better than Alesis did.