Problem: quiet track disease on a cassette multitracker

[specialreport]

I'm now dealing with the 4th cassette multitracker close to me afflicted with the deadly quiet track disease... what gives? I'm demagnetizing, cleaning the heads thoroughly, but it doesn't make any difference... anyone successfully cure a tape machine of "quiet track?"

I mean: you record signal at +3dB (I and it'll play back at +1 or so on 3 tracks but at -3 on one track, & that track will consistently have that problem... the tape hiss on a quiet track sounds different, too -- dirtier somehow, as if it has different EQ. different machines w/ Quiet Track have it on different tracks...

let me be clear that I am not making any ridiculous mistakes and I am not using NR. this is definitely a real phenomenon. I have seen it on a Tascam Portastudio that was new out of the box. I am testing using various line level signals coming from synthesizers. I have also flipped the tape and the quiet track remains the same (i.e. it's definitely not the tape). finally, I have made sure that the problem is not only visible on the mixer but audible when using the line outs on the various machines afflicted with Quiet Track.

any ideas? and don't say stop using these machines, I like them!

[LimpyLoo]

what are you using for mics, etc?


if you're using something like a Shure SM7b, then...

[specialreport]

i'm not talking mics here.... i'm talking identical line level input (a monosynth on "hold") recording on track 1 via the same input, track 2 via the same input, track 3 via the same input, track 4 via the same input, and so on, and the problem track always remains the same... this has happened on multiple machines, including one that had never been used before, and has been verified by multiple people! not a mic issue.

[dfuruta]

Open it up and see if that channel is broken? Could be a bad solder joint or something.

[specialreport]

have opened it up. nothing wrong with the connection.

surprised nobody around here has had this experience on a portastudio-style machine.

I think I mentioned this already but I recently got a friend a tascam portastudio NEW in the box and track 1 was not recording properly on any tape -- quiet track disease!

[lefthanddoes]

What kind of part are you recording? Back in the day it was recommended to me that bass-heavy tracks be recorded on tracks 2 or 3, and if they are recorded on 1 and 4 they are likely to "fall off." Obviously that's not a technical term. I always heeded the advice without question or experimenting myself, and never had a problem, so I don't know if it's a load of crock or what.

[specialreport]

interesting, but no, it does not matter whether the recording is bass heavy or treble heavy with this issue. I am talking about significantly more dropoff in level on one problem track of the recorder. it doesn't matter what the sound being recorded is -- the issue is pretty clear to understand, I'm just trying to figure out how to fix it. is it an alignment issue? the heads need replacement? then why is cleaning and demagnetization ineffective, and why did a machine that was new out of the box have this issue?

[Gregg Juke]

Actually, I believe bass was kept on track one for that reason; high-end frequency loss on edge tracks wouldn't affect the bass (like an "automatic hi-cut/lo-pass").

GJ

[specialreport]

in any case, although as I have said the hiss on the "quiet track" does typically sound degraded and different in the EQ, the loss of level applies to all frequencies equally, not just the bass.