MSR-16 slow/high speed help

[Zachary sterman]

Is it possible to calibrate 7.5 AND 15 IPS to work properly with DBX on the MSR-16 at the same time? It seems there’s only 1 bias trimmer, and 1 REP lvl for both speeds. I can get either one to work, but then I have to recalibrate to switch speeds, so DBX won’t breathe/act up.

I don’t own an MRL tape, but my friend does. I hate to pay/bring him down here every time I wanna switch speeds on a certain project.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[wkrbee]

Hey Zack. You cannot optimize for both speeds. You can buy a MRL and learn to do it yourself-it's not hard.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

I Concur, There are many decks that could have been made better with a few more controls added to the PCB so that further adjustments could have been done. The B77 I just worked on had separate bias adjustments for the two speeds. While this is not the altogether best answer it is a lot closer than having to work off the high speed bias only. Why did they do such a wonderful job with cassette decks like the 122 Mk II but leave the reel decks suffering from lack of adjustments? I don't know.
Remember the MSR16 is the cheaper version of the MS16 just as the TSR8 is a lesser version of the Tascam 38.

 

[Evgeny]

Is it possible to calibrate 7.5 AND 15 IPS to work properly with DBX on the MSR-16 at the same time?

Yes, if you can solder, and not only turn potentiometers.

It seems there’s only 1 bias trimmer,

MSR16 and MSR24 reduce BIAS on lower speed by resistor R82 (22K). This step is fixed and usually is very good if you use the same tape for both speeds, nevertheless one can change it by chosing another value R82 (soldering skill is neccessary!).

and 1 REP lvl for both speeds.

It's enough because both 7.5 and 15 assumes the same recording level.

I don’t own an MRL tape, but my friend does. I hate to pay/bring him down here every time

You need a calibration tape the only time! After you'd calibrate repro-channels, you need not repeat this action every time. All you need is blank tape to calibrate record-channels for this tape. And then don't touch R301...R304 more! Mark them by red permanent marker!

 

[wkrbee]

Record level cal. and Hi. Freq. EQ cal. needs to be done anytime you re-adjust the bias. Unless you're deliberately wanting 7.5 ips recording artifacts/ freq. response- or reduced tape cost- I can't see much reason running that slow. You will need that MRL more than once, depending on how long you have the MSR, and how much you use it. Head wear necessitates periodic Repro. cal. I think Tascam was chasing Fostex and probably a marketing mandated price point at the time.