Electrical Audio How-To: Ampex ATR-102 Alignment and Calibration

[@-Muad-dib]

Me and my family gather around to watch this video every christmas eve

[@steelcantuna]

Give this man an Academy Reward for "best dramatical role" in a tape alignment picture.

[@pete5534]

Those machines are beasts - (almost) enough torque to haul a load of ____ up a very steep grade. Oh, and they sound like nothing else. I worked many years in a studio which used an ATR 100 at mix down. Great machines, great video - thanks.

[@Broyale26]

My wife and I make love to these videos. Thank you, Electrical Audio for enhancing our marriage!

[@thefuzzyfelt]

4:37 lol. Nice intensity. For a second I thought it was going to be a seque into the roulette scene in Deer Hunter.

[@JeffersonDD]

Funkytonk Records I know!! I thought he’d been working out prior to that!

[@scumballer6656]

It seriously looked like a scene from 24, lol

[@Soulpuddinghtx]

Me at home anxiously trying this on my old ass Otari MX7800 4:35

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

We made these videos for the yous of the world.

[@Soulpuddinghtx]

@@ElectricalAudioOfficial I couldn’t thank y’all enough 🥂

[@kungstenstudios3242]

In the ATR124 manual they calibrate Hi Frequency with a square wave using both EQ and Shelf pots to "imitate" the square as near as possible. Works very well should be the same for the 102.

[@faober3594]

I wonder why ATR or Studer do not re issue a machine like this...I d buy one the next day.

[@edaudio]

Well done, Laddie!

[@HB92647]

This is genuinely very helpful for a very special few of us. Thanks.

[@snarfusmaximus]

The beads of sweat as you adjust the record head azimuth will be quadrupled on my forehead when I calibrate my tape machines. I have calibration tapes on the way and figured this will be a worthwhile skill to learn to do myself to maintain the upkeep of my hobby studio in my bungalow. I love tape,

[@ghostdrums]

I can't imagine I'll ever in my life need the knowledge which is given here. Nevertheless watching this is exciting af.

[@JeffersonDD]

Great video, explained well and easy to understand. Also interesting to see that it’s pretty common for the “red” part of the VU meters to be faded. Last machine I looked at showed the same thing

[@gregnorman1489]

They get bleached out when brighter lamps are installed. It's always good to stick with the 327 ones...

[@LEFUQUAIRE]

Thank you

[@JeffersonDD]

One thing I didn’t catch; approximately how often do you do the alignment? Picking up my first ATR-102 tomorrow and having a tech refurbish it, but am trying to learn as much as I can before it’s ready. I’ll primarily be using it for audiophile playback and simple dubbing.

[@gregnorman870]

Hey, We check the alignment before every mixing session. This is way more often than you'd need to for home enjoyment. If you're a stickler, check your playback levels with an MRL or some other tape with reference tones (maybe ask your tech to make you a reel if you don't have one), then check your record calibration by recording different tones and seeing if anything deviates from the norm. If you intend to record on different formulations of tape, you'll need to calibrate the machine for the new tape every time you change. Sorry for the late reply.

[@JeffersonDD]

Greg Norman no worries thanks! Between this video and others I think I have the alignment down.

[@indieric]

Thank you Greg and Electrical Audio for this. Master craftsmen!

[@phairam3054]

Hi, I'm looking for an used complete head block of the ATR 102 or 104, if any one have it do let me know. bests, tran dai

[@vibrantsmilesdentistry5905]

Great video! Is there a good reason why you calibrate repro gain and repro HF, but not repro LF? TIA

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

That's a good question! On the ATR-102 (and our Studer-820s) you don't have a repro LF adjustment and a record LF adjustment, just the repro LF adjustment. Meaning, you are kinda "stuck with" the record head's low frequency response. Because of that, we align repro electronics, then record electronics, and circle back to bass repro to kinda offset the record path's low frequency response. However, if you aren't recording anything, and are just transferring to digital or another tape or listening, you certainly should align the repro path's low frequency response from the recorded tones. Hope that makes sense.

[@vibrantsmilesdentistry5905]

@@ElectricalAudioOfficial thanks for the response!

[@TheRealNewBlackMusic]

Omg drool drool drool. Gotta hit that lottery😉

[@frankrotthier4392]

which tape type and speeds do you guys use most at Electrical Audio? Both on the Studer and Ampex? thanks!

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

Our house standards are 15 ips IEC / CCIR EQ for all 2" recordings, and 30 ips (which is necessarily AES EQ) for 1/2" mixdown. We use ATR Master Tape and Recording The Masters SM900 2" and ATR Master Tape and RTM SM911 1/2".

[@frankrotthier4392]

@@ElectricalAudioOfficial thank you so much!

[@gregnorman1489]

@@frankrotthier4392 Our ATRs are typically set for NAB @15 IPS...

[@frankrotthier4392]

Greg Norman thanks a lot!

[@antigen4]

looks to me like you 'went down' TWO dB rather than one - don't forget it's a logarithmic scale ...

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

That's one dB, I promise. The red ink on our meters is just faded. You can see the slightest hint of the "+1" on the meter if you look closely after the needle falls away. Generally VU meters have more resolution (needle travel) between 0 and +1dB VU than they do at 0 and -1 dB.

[@greg1030]

If only there was a cost effective "tape lifterless" upgrade for Ampex decks like this, and especially the ATR-102, for minimizing oxide shed, inherent in some of the Studer transport designs.

[@greg1030]

@Ellis Burman No problems ever with the servos getting falling out of sync? Now if only someone could find a genuine cure for SSS. For some years it looked like Mr. Richardson had one. www.aes.org/events/139/presenters/?ID=4294 Unfortunately, there was clearly no way he could have made it affordable for many commercial users; far less so for even the wealthiest audiophiles.

[@burmansound]

@@greg1030 No problems. It doesn't affect the servos. It's just a low friction alternative to dragging the tape over the fixed lifters.

[@eduardoandreoli3118]

how often is this needed? planning to get a revox b77 and i wonder how often will it need this kind of mantainance

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

We calibrate our machines afresh for every session.

[@princetonaudio]

Thank you so much!!!

[@jn3750]

Is it better than the Studer equivalent?

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

Studer made A820 2-tracks, and we had one for a while. It was a great machine. One advantage of the ATRs is that there is a company that actively services, refurbishes, and supports them (ATR in York, PA). Our 102s can also easily be swapped between any 1/4" and 1/2" formats (stereo, mono, quarter-track, 3-track, and 4-track).

[@jn3750]

@@ElectricalAudioOfficial are they equal in terms of sound quality and overall quality?

[@gregnorman870]

@@jn3750 Both machines, the ATR and the A820 2-track, if they're in great repair, are comparable. Broadly speaking, the A820 is more transparent, or clinical than the ATR. The majority of the sonic character, I've noticed with any late era, fancy pants machine is determined by what heads are it. Our ATRs are fitted with the Flux Magnetics mastering extended low frequency response heads, which makes a world of difference at 30 IPS (flat between 20Hz -to 20kHz ±1dB). The ATR has much less going on in the audio signal path. It's largely '70s tech, vs. the '80s op amp, coupling cap, and fet switch-heavy design of the A820. I would be surprised if you could tell the difference between recordings made on either machine today with those mastering heads fitted.