I've got an MCI tape recorder 24 track, I think my erase head is not align properly, theres an erase peak knob on the control card of each track, but I dont really know how to do it, does anybody knows?
How to adjust erase head alignment
There are numerous factors in adjusting for greatest depth of erasure. You must first determine what is not getting erased and how many tracks the erase is not functioning correctly.
If it is an alignment issue, then it could also be part deterioration on some of the bias cards?
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There are numerous factors in adjusting for greatest depth of er
There are numerous factors in adjusting for greatest depth of erasure. I wouldn't start twidling any of the erase controls on your circuit cards first! You must first determine what is not getting erased and on how many tracks is the erase not functioning correctly? Many times it is the head " wrap" and not so much a circuit board adjustment. It can also be the recorder and which type of tape you are using. There were numerous brands of different manufacturers that all had a series of HOT TAPE. Some of those superior hot tapes could not fully be erased by some of the earlier built machines. THERE WAS NO GOOD FIX FOR THOSE MACHINES WITH THOSE KINDS OF TAPES! You may be running into just that problem? Poor depth of erasure was a problem for many which necessitated a need to an earlier formulation tape product.
If it is an alignment issue, then it could also be part deterioration on some of the bias cards? Generally, one would print a 1kHz tone at approximately + 10 DB. You would remove tone, rewind, drop the machine into record again while monitoring (with the game cranked substantially high) the playback head (preferably with headphones to avoid bias leakage into your studio monitor tweeters) and start to trim the variable capacitor adjustment for a null of the erased tone. If you can determine that you have reached the null and have properly adjusted the wrap, height and azimuth of the erase head and can still hear the tone lightly in the background, then you have the hot tape problem with the earlier of machine and nothing can be done about it except for changing tape formulations.
Erased but not forgotten
Ms. Remy Ann David
Two people to speak with (but be warned, it might cost you, thes
Two people to speak with (but be warned, it might cost you, these guys are busy pros):
Steve at Sonicraft.com (He probably doesn't have an MCI Machine, but I'm sure he's got some idea of what you're dealing with.)
Eddie Ciletti at Tangible-technology.com Ditto for Eddie, but I know he usd to work on them at MCI in Florida many years ago. If anyone knows about these things, he probably does.
No offense, but it sounds like you've got a long way to go and a lot to learn about analog recording in general. If you don't have one yet, you'll probably want to scour the web or elsewhere to find an MCI service manual. (I'm guessing you've got an MCI JH series machine, and they're out there, but you have to look around a bit for them.)
Good luck!