[MPA] Pitch & Quarter Inch Tape

[Jay Shaffer]

Yikes, If you're bouncing back to analog you could seriously multiply 
noise. I would set your 2-track machine to 15IPS and then record it 
digitally at 96khz and then downsample to 48 or 24khz to get the speed 
right. The other issue with playing back a 1/4 track tape on a half 
track deck is that (besides the backward 2 and 4 tracks thing, if they 
recorded both directions) you are recording a lot of noise from the 
empty tracks 2 and 4 off of the quarter track. Back in the day I would 
screw around with the head alignment of the half track to get it 
vertically aligned with track 1 and 3 off of the quarter track.
I've still got an old Akai quarter track deck in my garage but it is so 
unstable speed wise that it would still make your task difficult. I 
don't envy you man.
I hate it when favors turn into nightmares.
--
Jay Shaffer

On Nov 20, 2005, at 3:42 PM, Williams' Mastering wrote:

> Your task would be much easier if you work with the analog sound - 
> here's
> why. The open reel tape speeds are doubled for each standard in inches 
> per
> second.
>
> The common speeds were - 1 7/8 ips, 3 3/4 ips, 7.5 ips, 15 ips, 30 ips.
>
> The playback deck you are using likely has 2 or 3 speeds, just not the 
> one
> you need. Make sure the pitch control is at its detent position, then 
> dub to
> a digital format. Then switch the open reel deck to its highest speed 
> and
> record back from your dub. I'll bet you can then cycle down to the 
> "correct"
> playback and use that pitch control to zero in on the perfect tuning.
>
> Good Luck -
>
> Robert
>
> Paul Christy wrote:
>
>> Hate to change the subject, but my only interest in pitch shifting is
>> in creating weird, warped sounds for commercials.  In that process I
>> know what sounds "right" and what doesn't, but otherwise....  I will
>> say that Digidesign's built-in pitch plugin is as good (to me) as
>> Pure Pitch and the Waves stuff.
>>
>> But my question:  I foolishly offered to dub a friend's old precious
>> quarter inch tape into Pro Tools & make him a CD.  I should have
>> realized that the tape wasn't a standard 2-track, but an old consumer
>> quarter-track ultra slow speed production.  It sure sounds
>> horrible--but before I can apply any noise reduction, I need to
>> isolate the tracks and get them slowed down to true speed.
>>
>> Speaking of Pitch Control, I have tried playing them back with the
>> pitch knob on my 2-track cranked as low as it will go, and then
>> doctoring away with Speed, etc.  Can't seem to get it right.  (Not to
>> mention the horror of having to split the channels via left/right
>> into a stereo channel in Pro Tools.  It is a mess.)  Does anyone have
>> an idea?  Aside from borrowing an old consumer tape machine, that is.
>> I had one, but it has long since departed the garage.
>>
>> PC
>> --
>> Paul Christy/XM Satellite Radio
>> Paul Christy Productions
>> Voicework & Audio Production
>> Houston, Texas
>> Visit:  http://www.LoveStreetGallery.com
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