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Tape for Otari Deck

65.38.43.56
Posted on November 3, 2009 at 17:46:18
Braxus
Audiophile

Posts: 619
Location: Fraser Valley
Joined: February 11, 2006
 I was reading elsewhere that tapes like RMGI 900, GP9, 499, and ATR- aren't really compatible with Otari decks like the 5050. ATR is a stiffer tape which is harder to pull through the deck then regular tapes, plus being it is a +9db tape, it is also harder to erase with decks like the 5050. Plus ATR tape is very hard to bias on consumer decks. Plus someone commented on using ATR on a consumer deck and the results weren't as good as with tapes like 456, 911, and so on.

Can anyone comment on high end tapes being used on the 5050 deck? I know this deck is mainly to be used with tapes like 456 and 911, but I would wonder how the top flight tapes are in your results. I'd really like to use ATR tape since I hear so much good about it, but if the deck can't even bias for it, then there is no point in using it. Plus the erasure part has me concerned. Even 900 I'd like to try, but again can my deck use it? Im not concerned about the fact my deck will distort before the tape does- being that tape too is a plus 9db tape. I will be under recording in levels anyway, so Im not worried on not using the full saturation level of the tape.

RE: Tape for Otari Deck, posted on November 3, 2009 at 23:43:46
astrotoy
Audiophile

Posts: 40
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: June 15, 2008
 I think the problem you are having is calling the ATR tape "top flight" and implying that the others are not "top flight." For me, the ATR is high output and high bias, but has yet to show itself to be "top flight." It is so new that it doesn't have a track record about its longevity - does it shed after five years, etc. - so I would be very cautious about using it for any critical recording. My experience is that the RGMI tapes like the SM468 and 911 are "top flight" but not as high output. I have used other high output tapes on my Otari 5050 B3 and they bias just fine. So I would think the ATR should also work fine. Getting a 1200 foot reel is not that expensive to do the manual biasing on the Otari. I can set the adjustments for different tapes in a couple of minutes. Good luck.

Larry, don't confuse "High Bias", posted on November 5, 2009 at 10:00:46
Bodyslam
Industry Professional

Posts: 20
Joined: May 15, 2001
 with "high output" or "high performance" or high anything else. I think this confusion started with cassettes, where the high performance tapes, CRO2, were also the high bias tapes, so naturally people used the terms interchangeably. But in terms of R2R tapes, there's no direct connection. The correct amount of bias to use is the amount that makes the tape behave best...simple as that. At one time in the development of tape formulations, the amount of bias required went up, culminating in Scotch 250. That tape actually required a level of bias current that some older professional machines couldn't provide, and there was quite a bit of discussion about that in professional circles at the time.

In any case, none of the R2R tapes now made are "high bias." All current RMG formulations, as well as ATR, require a bias current that's comparable with 456.

RE: Tape for Otari Deck, posted on November 3, 2009 at 21:52:36
Bodyslam
Industry Professional

Posts: 20
Joined: May 15, 2001
 Where have you been reading all that? It's a bunch of bollocks. The amount of bias you need for ATR tape is right in the same ballpark as 456 and 911. In truth there hasn't been a tape that requires a higher bias since Scotch 250. You will have absolutely no trouble biasing your MX5050 for ATR, or any of the RMG formulations. And it isn't any harder to erase either.

And too stiff for a 5050 to pull through the transport? Please tell me that's intentional comedy.

The only "problem" with using a +10 tape and aligning your machine at +3 or +6 is that you'll have to put up with the extra headroom, the lower distortion, less tape compression...you get the picture.

I have no comment on problems someone else may have had with some unnamed "consumer" machine. But with a 5050 you've got it made in the shade with ATR or any of the current RMG tapes.

RE: Tape for Otari Deck, posted on November 3, 2009 at 18:17:38
joeljoel1947
Audiophile

Posts: 920
Location: MICHIGAN
Joined: October 16, 2004
 900, 911, and 468 have ALL worked great here on numerous Otari's! Plus, I would consider all three of those tape types "top flight". ;)

And that's specifically biased for them, or not! All 3 can handle all you can throw at them, and sound GREAT.....
Regards,
Joel
RE: Tape for Otari Deck, posted on November 3, 2009 at 19:03:44
Braxus
Audiophile

Posts: 619
Location: Fraser Valley
Joined: February 11, 2006
 Joel,

How about ATR tape? DesLab was able to use that tape on his X2000R deck with great results. Is this doable on the 5050?

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