Electrical Audio How-To: Studer A820 Multitrack Alignment and Calibration

[@wolfgangbachschwelloe1wbs905]

Thanks Greg for this video. I was Studer technician in the early 80th in Vienna / Austria. That was the time of the A80 machines with 2, 16 and 24 tracks. Makes me philosophical to think we can record more tracks with a cellphone today. Btw: Studers first digital tape machine’s weight was nearly 1000 kg and consumed 1000w from the grid. Greetings Wolfgang

[@deanrinehart]

Used to manually calibrate the A800s at Power Station. You did it so much it became trivial and you got really fast...especially with two techs. We wouldn’t even talk about what we were doing, just did it like nothing. Good stuff.

[@outsider6475]

Wow, thank you for this! Although I have an Otari MTR90 MKII and have to use the screwdriver adjustment method, your o-scope demonstration for azimuth is what I've been needing to understand. That automation alignment with this Studer is super cool!.

[@bjbeardse]

HOLY SHIT! A ST. WHERINHELLDIDTHESNAREGO ORIGINAL MASTER TAPE!!!!

[@searchiemusic]

that is so unbelievably cool, i've got a fostex 16 track, and while sturdy it is nowhere near this level obviously, watching that auto calibrate is incredible tbh

[@joelonsdale]

If someone can 'look' like an audio engineer, Greg does.

[@betterunderstandingstudios8746]

This is why you pay audio engineers! Thank you :D

[@GoLongboardBroseph]

I just came to watch the elegant machine

[@lactea937]

nice one, Greg! thanks a lot guys. saludos para todos from Buenos Aires, Argentina (especially to Steve)

[@dunscap]

Great video. I have the same machine. Such a breeze to align!

[@B1LHooper]

Mast R32 "St. Anger" -- Leftover Gash? :)

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

Ha, you found the easter egg.

[@SteveHartmanVideos]

that is a beautiful machine!

[@jfmax2000]

God What a Beauty... You Sir are The Man ☺😎👊💯 Great Instructional Video.. Thanx for The Upload ☺😎💯

[@MELONenSURPRISE]

Thanks Greg...

[@jdrodi]

Awesome video! What kind of Oscilloscope do you have to use for such a calibration?

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

Any dual trace oscilloscope would do. Oscilloscopes can generally handle way wider ranges of input voltage and frequency than you need for audio, but might be a good idea to make sure it can handle the levels and frequencies you're sending it.

[@8068]

Greg, excellent video. Quick question, do you recommend demagnetizing the allen wrench before you use it to adjust the azimuth on the heads?

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

We don't demag them on a session-by-session basis, but they're stored away from anything that would cause a permanent magnetic charge. It's a good idea to do that periodically.

[@GisellePadilla-jt6qh]

Side Monster Studer A820 Calibration M7300 Tascam Teac Zoom Casio Kurzweil Privia PX 5S Custom

[@perryplatypus101]

How do I adjust the azimuth on the Studer A807? Thanks

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

Do you have a copy of the manual? The azimuth procedure for that machine is certainly detailed there. You can probably find it online if you don't have a hard copy.

[@coffeehigh420]

why would you decide to switch off the Dolby HX Pro ? I would think that would enhance the overall recording production quality by virtually eliminating tape hiss. ? - only reason I can think of why you'd disable it, is if someone came in with a reel of tape that was not recorded using Dolby HX Pro in which case you would have no choice but to disable. your response would be greatly appreciated!

[@duncan-rmi]

dolby hx pro isn't a noise reduction system, it's a servo acting on the bias levels based on the HF content of the audio signal. essentially, if there's a lot of HF in the signal, it can have the same effect as a slight over-bias, & the signal can self-erase itself a bit, attenuating the high end. with dolby hx pro, the signal is analysed (by the same sort of technique that dolby noise reduction uses, which is why bang & olufsen had to 'credit' dolby- they used some of the same patented circuit techniques) & the bias is adjusted on the fly to avoid this self-erasure. when you are calibrating the machine using tones, you don't want to be fighting this bias servo, so you disable it temporarily. it's a record-side process; doesn't have any bearing on how you play the tapes back. some high-end 1/4" machines have dolby hx-pro, but no noise reduction. you can get a lot more high end onto the tape than on a regular machine. I have a lyrec frida & a studer 807 both with hx-pro.

[@duncan-rmi]

were you thinking of dolby-SR?

[@gregnorman870]

duncan rmi is correct. HX Pro isn't noise reduction, but a circuit that modulates the bias strength to improve high frequency headroom in the recording process. I encourage you to check it out. It's an interesting process that solves an interesting challenge. As a side note, that maybe I should have included in the video, It's important that you bypass any noise reduction system when aligning a tape machine.

[@coffeehigh420]

@@duncan-rmi yes, I was actually... thinks for clarification!

[@coffeehigh420]

@@gregnorman870 just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you want to use that system if it does in fact what you say, in improving high frequency headroom ? more headroom is a good thing, no?

[@CarstenGoeke]

Shit. I am old cause i know Missile Command... #sigh 6:03

[@livelikeus4980]

Store start! This channel lol 🎸

[@johnkaplun9619]

Is the same auto align feature present on the a827?

[@gregnorman1489]

Unfortunately not.

[@jonathanreddish8590]

so............was the drummer any good? will we ever know?

[@joannitulopez5583]

PLEASE! THE WORLD NEED INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDER A80 !!!! (A80 IV, for exemple) PLEASE , PLEASE , PLEASE.... ;)

[@LinkWrayisGod]

Scrap piece of tape " St Anger". LMFAO

[@helmanfrow]

Why is azimuth adjusted using tracks 2 & 23 and not 1 & 24?

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

Just as a matter of habit because edge tracks are most susceptible to damage and degradation, and eventually curling slightly.

[@helmanfrow]

@@ElectricalAudioOfficial Aha! I should have guessed that. It's been 25 years since I've calibrated a tape machine... 😳

[@n123v]

​@@helmanfrow well, then you wouldn't ask such simple questions...

[@helmanfrow]

@@n123v?

[@duncan-rmi]

straight to cal tape from cleaning- what are your feelings on degaussing?

[@ElectricalAudioOfficial]

Do it regularly, but you don't need to do it before every session/ use.

[@-commandz-1467]

Wait whaaaaaat?! This have auto calibration? 0.0

[@sK3LeTvM1]

That is where I started back in the 80's. With a MCI 24-track... Never, and I mean NEVER want to go back. No matter what, these machines DO NOT record better than Pro Tools. In contrary.

[@n123v]

Of course, NOT better, but WORSE. But, I personally like to use magnetic sound to give sound distortions to individual instruments (e.g. guitars, etc.) 😉

[@jakal1591]

I missed the 10khz tone completely 😂