I found the schematics, they are quite clever and complicated, due to many EQ options. If I decide to embark on that project, I would buy a beater machine and just to shoot for one EQ format.
Out of sheer curiosity I decided to make it. I bought several sheets of carbon fiber, five, to be exact, but 4 of them are too thin and they do not hold their shape well. The last one, 1/16" thick, seem to be just what the doctor ordered.
So I went into my basement and first shaped it roughly...
Adrian, that is very interesting, and perhaps when/if I retire, I will look into that. So far with all the Nagras that I had/have I have never taken apart their electronics. I worked on the tape transport, but those tightly packed modules make me claustrophobic from just looking at them.
Do...
The result of playing narrow tracks with wide heads will be more noise and more crosstalk - both negative effects. Whether this is harmless or not will depend on the user's sensitivity and perspective, but the real question is why do it? The only benefit of wide heads is a bit better S/N on...
Well, they shoot for low cost...
Many of them are assembled that way, with the flanges not centered... these can sometimes be made better by loosening their screws and making the flanges more centered.
dcc, it is not my intention to hijack the thread, so I agree, if someone feels like debating that subject we can do so in a separate one. Charles did not challenge me, he asked for my reason and I gave him part of it.
I am not surprised at your impression on the Nagra - it is a fine and very...
dcc, a question for you... I presume your Studer has butterfly heads - correct? So does your new one, but the commercial tapes are typically recorded with narrow heads. That incompatibility is something to keep in mind.
All correct, and this is a very, very typical vicious circle: the prices are high so few people can afford the product... so the production is small... so the prices stay high.
There is only one way to break that cycle and it is by drastically lowering the prices to what the public can and is...
As they say: "Pay once... cry once..." Yes, recording at 7.5ips will save you a few bucks today, but you will end up with a result that could be better. So sometime later you look at all those good, but not great, recordings, and think: "I should have done 15ips!"
The only reason to do 7.5ips...