Just getting into analog tape

[reclude]

Until last week I have only worked with hard disk recording, dats, adats, etc. I convinced the studio owner to repair an old Tascam 42 (1/4" mastering reel to reel) and purchased some lovely gp9 to experiment with. The sound is amazing, even when I push it way into the red (not suitable for some types of music, but for industrial, electronica, it sounds wonderful), but when I played the recording back the 3rd and 4th times it had nasty clicks randomly in different places of the song. The heads were recently cleaned by a pro (after the repair) and I have only used it to record about 6 minutes of audio on a new reel of tape. So my question would be to you fine people, what would cause random pops and clicks by playing back a tape?

[JonCraig]

what are you clocking the tape machine to?














(ha!)

--jon

[jamesp]

Are the clicks in places where you stopped the tape previously? It could possibly be down to magnetized heads/guides.

Cheers

James.

[reclude]

Well, I don't have it clocked to anything just yet, I am just running audio back and forth, but when I get serious with it I have an apogee unit I will use. I dont think the clicks have to do with where i stopped the tape previously, I just get them at random places. and know that the system soundcard (motu) is not making the clicks. Thanks for your quick responses.....

[ed littman]

Originally Posted by reclude

Until last week I have only worked with hard disk recording, dats, adats, etc. I convinced the studio owner to repair an old Tascam 42 (1/4" mastering reel to reel) and purchased some lovely gp9 to experiment with. The sound is amazing, even when I push it way into the red (not suitable for some types of music, but for industrial, electronica, it sounds wonderful), but when I played the recording back the 3rd and 4th times it had nasty clicks randomly in different places of the song. The heads were recently cleaned by a pro (after the repair) and I have only used it to record about 6 minutes of audio on a new reel of tape. So my question would be to you fine people, what would cause random pops and clicks by playing back a tape?

I don't know that machine but a couple of qestion come to mind.

Is the machine calibrated for record & repro(playback)?
is there a noise reduction unit in the chain or deck?
do you hear this when recording & monitoring with both the record or playback heads?(if this deck allows it)
does this happen at all speeds?
Think of other things you can isolate to locate the problem.
good luck,
Ed

[reclude]

Is the machine calibrated for record & repro(playback)?
is there a noise reduction unit in the chain or deck?
do you hear this when recording & monitoring with both the record or playback heads?(if this deck allows it)
does this happen at all speeds?
Think of other things you can isolate to locate the problem.
good luck,
Ed

Let me experiment with your suggestions and see how they work

thanks,

j

[stellar]

are the clicks/pops always in the same place on the tape?

i.e., are they on the tape, or are they on playback?

it could be that you were hitting the tape too hard and overloading the electronics and didn't notice it at the time. also, you might be clipping something else downstream. it could be something as simple as cleaning the heads.....

[bob katz]

Originally Posted by reclude

Until last week I have only worked with hard disk recording, dats, adats, etc. I convinced the studio owner to repair an old Tascam 42 (1/4" mastering reel to reel) and purchased some lovely gp9 to experiment with. The sound is amazing, even when I push it way into the red (not suitable for some types of music, but for industrial, electronica, it sounds wonderful), but when I played the recording back the 3rd and 4th times it had nasty clicks randomly in different places of the song. The heads were recently cleaned by a pro (after the repair) and I have only used it to record about 6 minutes of audio on a new reel of tape. So my question would be to you fine people, what would cause random pops and clicks by playing back a tape?

It's possible that the bias oscillator is flakey or some other component in the machine. Do the clicks now appear in the same place on the tape each time you play it back? If so, then possibly some intermittent in the electronics is putting a rogue signal onto the tape. Or a DC offset in one of the electronics may have magnetized one of the heads. But normally a continuous DC offset will permanently magnetize the head, which causes a click when the tape is stopped and every time it is restarted stopped and also reduce the high frequency response.

You really need a technician right away before one of your precious tapes gets wrecked. But while you're waiting, get an Annis (brand name) Han-D-Mag (model) demagnetizer and follow the instructions carefully and demagnetize all components that come in contact with the tape. Accept no substitutes, there is no other demagnetizer with the strength of a Han-D-Mag. Make sure all credit cards, and tapes are far away from the demag, and if the instructions do not describe the etiquette of moving slowly away from the heads and guides, then please get a good technician to do this and show you how to do it. And power OFF the machine before demagging!

Good luck. It sounds more like an electronics fault may have caused these clicks, but the head itself may be magnetized.

[reclude]

Well, the clicks just happen randomly, and the level wasn't clipping at the time, it was actually around -10db. I talked to the guy who fixed it, he said that he demagnatized and cleaned the heads (www.abellaudio.com). I am going to try different outlets and if that doesn't work, I am going to send it back to the shop. Also, there is no noise reduction, but I am going to try to find one somewhere........

thanks again for everyone's help

J

[reclude]

As little as I know about tape machines, I have the sneaking suspicion that the problem has to do with some sort of electrical irregularity, possibly more specifically in the playback chain. I am going to try other power options and if that doesn't work, I am going to send it back to the shop. By the way, if anyone hasn't picked up the mastering book by Bob Katz, that thing is an ear opener!

thanks,

J