WTB: Inexpensive 1/2 inch 16 track

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I can't remember the name, but there's a place in Glendale, I believe,
somewhere here in L.A., which specializes in transferring analog tape
of all types to the digital type of your choice. Rhino Records does
all its transfers there.
They've got great analog gear as well as A/D convertors, and I'm
sure it would be cheaper than buying a machine, repairing it, etc.
Plus, if your tapes need to be baked, re-spliced, etc. they're set up
for all of that restoration stuff. If you're out of town, just ship
it by mail.
Anyone know what that studio is called? They're nice people,
too, as I recall.
Cheers, Rick Novak.

"Ethan Winer" wrote ...
> A good friend is looking to buy a Fostex or Tascam 1/2 inch 16-track machine
> so he can transfer a bunch of old tapes. This is for a one-time use so the
> cheaper the better. It doesn't even have to be able to record, just play
> back. Reply to me through the Email Ethan link on my web site
> www.ethanwiner.com. Thanks.

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On 4 Dec 2004 12:17:58 -0800, snovak2@earthlink.net (rickymix) wrote:

>I can't remember the name, but there's a place in Glendale, I believe,
>somewhere here in L.A., which specializes in transferring analog tape
>of all types to the digital type of your choice. Rhino Records does
>all its transfers there.


This sounds like a good idea especially since the Tascam and Fostex
half inchers are not compatable.


Frank /~ http://newmex.com/f10
@/

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1/2 " 16 analog decks are going up in value right now. I don't think you are
going to find the el cheapo one you are looking for. People are parting out
broken ones, as its hard to get parts.
I have a Fostex G16, and its a pretty sweet little deck. I don't use it much,
but I'm hanging on to it just the same...

good luck!

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BLCKOUT420 wrote:

> 1/2 " 16 analog decks are going up in value right now. I don't think you are
> going to find the el cheapo one you are looking for. People are parting out
> broken ones, as its hard to get parts.
> I have a Fostex G16, and its a pretty sweet little deck. I don't use it much,
> but I'm hanging on to it just the same...
>
> good luck!

i'd hand deliver those tapes if i were you.

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Ethan Winer <ethanw at ethanwiner dot com> wrote:
>Thanks for all the replies. I'm forwarding them to my friend.
>
>Mike: I'm not sure how many tapes there are, but it's probably a few dozen
>or more 10" reels. He has been looking on eBay, and so far has lost several
>bids at up to $450 which is about all he's willing to spend. I agree with
>those that say he should hire someone to do it, and I've told him that. Even
>if he finds a machine for $450, he's still looking at *many* hours of his
>own time to do the work.

Not to mention that, after buying the machine for $450, he's going to be
spending a couple hundred bucks to replace the pinch roller, disassemble
the motor to clean and lube the bearings, sweep-test everything and make
sure it can be aligned for flat response, and clean all the contacts. And
that is assuming it's not full of bad caps and the heads are new.

Buying a machine that has sat in storage for years, like most of these
machines have, and then expecting to put it into service without a substantial
investment, is going to result in some real surprises.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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"Scott Dorsey" <kludge@panix.com> wrote in message
news:cov5vc$d0i$1@panix2.panix.com...
> Ethan Winer <ethanw at ethanwiner dot com> wrote:
> >Thanks for all the replies. I'm forwarding them to my friend.
> >
> >Mike: I'm not sure how many tapes there are, but it's probably a few
dozen
> >or more 10" reels. He has been looking on eBay, and so far has lost
several
> >bids at up to $450 which is about all he's willing to spend. I agree with
> >those that say he should hire someone to do it, and I've told him that.
Even
> >if he finds a machine for $450, he's still looking at *many* hours of his
> >own time to do the work.
>
> Not to mention that, after buying the machine for $450, he's going to be
> spending a couple hundred bucks to replace the pinch roller, disassemble
> the motor to clean and lube the bearings, sweep-test everything and make
> sure it can be aligned for flat response, and clean all the contacts. And
> that is assuming it's not full of bad caps and the heads are new.
>
> Buying a machine that has sat in storage for years, like most of these
> machines have, and then expecting to put it into service without a
substantial
> investment, is going to result in some real surprises.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I guess I got lucky then: I recently transferred six reels on a Tascam
16-track 1" machine that had been in storage for 13 years and it came out
beautifully. I did BAKE the tapes beforehand, however, and thoroughly
cleaned the machine. (The tapes were Ampex 456 and also around 13 years
old).

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<< I can't remember the name, but there's a place in Glendale, I believe,
somewhere here in L.A., which specializes in transferring analog tape
of all types to the digital type of your choice. >>

Are you thinking of Penguin Recorders, which is actually in Eagle Rock? The
guy's name is John Strother & he seems to have one of every format in the known
analog world. Tell him I sent you. His number is 323-259-8612.

Scott Fraser

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Predrag Trpkov <predrag.trpkovNeSpamu@ri.htnet.hr> wrote:
>
>And I'm selling two N.O.S. pinch rollers for the Fostex B16 machine. Cheap.
>
>Anyone knows if they would fit other Fostex 1/2" machines (E and G series)?

Don't know, but I am as paranoid about NOS rubber parts as I am about
NOS electrolytics....
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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Bingo! That's it, John Strother at Penguin Recorders. Thanks Scott!
Penguin did an interesting thing with their drum booth, too.
Instead of raising the ceiling, they lowered the floor about eight
feet! Dug a hole right into the dirt under the house. Pretty clever,
and it sounded good when I clapped my hands down in there. Has anyone
here actually recorded in it? Given the intoxication level of a lot of
the bands I tend to work with, I was always too worried that someone
would stumble into the drum pit. That would have been a unique way to
ruin a take! :> ) Funny if it happened in a movie, but not in real
life. Cheers, Rick.

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Oops, sorry for the double-posts y'all. What the hell is going on with
Google? "Improvements" that make things worse? Classic! Rick.

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"Scott Dorsey" <kludge@panix.com> wrote in message
news:cp1t2d$k1v$1@panix2.panix.com...
> Predrag Trpkov <predrag.trpkovNeSpamu@ri.htnet.hr> wrote:
> >
> >And I'm selling two N.O.S. pinch rollers for the Fostex B16 machine.
Cheap.
> >
> >Anyone knows if they would fit other Fostex 1/2" machines (E and G
series)?
>
> Don't know, but I am as paranoid about NOS rubber parts as I am about
> NOS electrolytics....

Fair enough, but they've been left in the small plastic bag that they came
in, stored in a dry place and still look and feel sound to me. Anyway, I
have no problem sending them to the interested party first and getting the
money after they prove to be functioning well. I'm only asking $30 including
shipping anywhere in the world. OK, make it $25, let's put them to use
somewhere.

If I understand well, how they hold up over time greatly varies from one
type of rubber to another. Some of them decay very little or not at all.
Some of them decompose spectacularily. If they look good now and function
well at first, do you think it's possible that they start rapidly failing
all of the sudden, after a month or so?

Predrag

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On 2004-12-06, snovak2@earthlink.net <snovak2@earthlink.net> wrote:

> ruin a take! :> ) Funny if it happened in a movie, but not in real
> life. Cheers, Rick.

Ow, the top of a drum kit tends to be pointy.

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Predrag Trpkov <predrag.trpkovNeSpamu@ri.htnet.hr> wrote:
>"Scott Dorsey" <kludge@panix.com> wrote in message
>news:cp1t2d$k1v$1@panix2.panix.com...
>>
>> Don't know, but I am as paranoid about NOS rubber parts as I am about
>> NOS electrolytics....
>
>Fair enough, but they've been left in the small plastic bag that they came
>in, stored in a dry place and still look and feel sound to me. Anyway, I
>have no problem sending them to the interested party first and getting the
>money after they prove to be functioning well. I'm only asking $30 including
>shipping anywhere in the world. OK, make it $25, let's put them to use
>somewhere.

Hell, for that price it's worth the money to buy them even if they are
decayed. Bad rollers can be recapped and if the bearings are fine (which
they should be if they are NOS), for $25 plus the cost of recapping you
would still come out ahead.

>If I understand well, how they hold up over time greatly varies from one
>type of rubber to another. Some of them decay very little or not at all.
>Some of them decompose spectacularily. If they look good now and function
>well at first, do you think it's possible that they start rapidly failing
>all of the sudden, after a month or so?

I don't really understand rubber deterioration. I know that most of the
natural rubbers crosslink and become hard and slippery. This is what happens
to old Ampex rollers and Sono-Mag rollers. Most of the urethanes do the
opposite, and the links between the long chain molecules break down, causing
them to get soft and mushy. But thee are also a bunch of other kinds of
rubbers too, and I don't know how they fail or what the speed of failure is.
--scott
>
>


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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James Perrett <James.R.Perrett@soc.soton.ac.uk> wrote:
>Scott Dorsey wrote:
>>
>> >Fair enough, but they've been left in the small plastic bag that they came
>> >in, stored in a dry place and still look and feel sound to me. Anyway, I
>> >have no problem sending them to the interested party first and getting the
>> >money after they prove to be functioning well. I'm only asking $30 including
>> >shipping anywhere in the world. OK, make it $25, let's put them to use
>> >somewhere.
>>
>> Hell, for that price it's worth the money to buy them even if they are
>> decayed. Bad rollers can be recapped and if the bearings are fine (which
>> they should be if they are NOS), for $25 plus the cost of recapping you
>> would still come out ahead.
>
>Would that apply to MTR90 rollers too? I've just replaced mine with new
>rollers from Precision Motor Works and I was about to dispose of the old
>ones (the rubber totally melted in just a few weeks). Do you have any
>idea who might be able to recap the old ones?

Yes, and I think Precision Motor Works will do recapping! So will Athan!

There's probably someone in the UK that will do it. Ask your local offset
printing house who they use for rebuilding press rollers.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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Predrag Trpkov wrote:
>
> > >
> >
> > Would that apply to MTR90 rollers too? I've just replaced mine with new
> > rollers from Precision Motor Works and I was about to dispose of the old
> > ones (the rubber totally melted in just a few weeks). Do you have any
> > idea who might be able to recap the old ones?
>
> Check this: http://www.TerrysRubberRollers.com
>
> Predrag

Thanks Scott and Predrag for those ideas - I'll certainly hang on to
them and look into having them rebuilt for spares.

Cheers.

James.