Studer 827 sync help please

[Heath]

I am having some problems syncing my studer 827's to smpte from nuendo. Here's the setup I am dealing with, and problem...

Nuendo Timecode Generator is the master in the setup.

Adams Smith Zeta 3 is the syncronizer I am using.

24 track 2" Tape with smpte on track 24 is the slave (I tried this on 2 of my 3 studers with the result).

When I start recording in Nuendo, my 827 starts up, as it should, but no audio is put out by the machine for close to 30 seconds... There IS audio on this section of tape, but nothing comes out of the studer (ie the meters aren't even moving, but the machine is in "play"). I have used this setup successfully many times in the past, but have never run into this type of problem. It's VERY troubling. Wondering if it's something in a menu of the studer, or possibly the zeta three (since it happened with 2 different studers).

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Heath

[joel hamilton]

I have never had that speciofic problem, but I would first suggest an MPU reset maybe?

Why cant you have the DAW chase the studer? I have always found that to be much faster and simpler, especially when shuttling around a bit.

Just some thoughts. I was having a sync/input thing happening with mine and the MPU reset cleared up the problem immediately.

[Heath]

Thanks Joel, I appreciate the reply. Surprised more people didn't jump in...are we the only ones running 2" on this board??

I found the problem. A option buried deep in the zeta three's submenus is a "auto muting" feautre that someone must have inadvertently turned on. That Zeta three is a pain to play with, but is very reliable. After the past few days, I now consider myself an expert on it's use and menu structure (I read the manual close to 2 times).

Heath

[Tim Farrant]

Heh heh heh, sorry, this made me laugh because it's suprising how many people never read manuals when the answer you need is in there! Glad to hear it's working, but I have to agree, getting the DAW to chase the 2" would be faster - this brings back horrible memories of syncing 2" machines to video in year gone by, namely the 3M M79 - what a nightmare!

Cheers
Tim.

[Heath]

thanks, but I read the manual several times. this option was hidden in the appendix. If you've ever tried to use a zeta three, you would understand that the interface is not very user friendly, and finding what you need is usually a wild goose chase with the damn box...

To address the DAW chasing the tape, this wouldn't work. I am doing this for playback off old 2" tape (we do restoration and archiving for UMG and BMG). The tape is the slave chasing a steady tc generator so that it plays at the correct speed. Making the playback deck the master would lead to inaccurate transfers.

H

[joel hamilton]

thanks, but I read the manual several times. this option was hidden in the appendix. If you've ever tried to use a zeta three, you would understand that the interface is not very user friendly, and finding what you need is usually a wild goose chase with the damn box...

To address the DAW chasing the tape, this wouldn't work. I am doing this for playback off old 2" tape (we do restoration and archiving for UMG and BMG). The tape is the slave chasing a steady tc generator so that it plays at the correct speed. Making the playback deck the master would lead to inaccurate transfers.

H

Weird. I dont get why the DAW chasing a solid tape machine would be "inaccurate."

You know more than me about archiving, as I know almost nothing, but that just seems weird. Out of curiosity, why is this so?

The A827 is the only machine I know that really holds its tape speed, even in vari-speed mode. I am curious now...

[Heath]

when i monitor the code off of old tapes that I receive, it typically is not running at the rate that it was supposedly recorded at. For instance, the tapes in question had 30 fps smpte on them. The playback of these tapes on machine led to code that was reading between 29 fps and 31 fps

By syncing the machine to run at a speed that produces a steady 30 fps off tape, I can recreate the original machine speed for my x-fer.

[joel hamilton]

wow,

Transfer places are nuts. I have a pal that manages one here in manhattan, and he is always telling me stuff that freaks me out.

Thanks!

[Heath]

what transfer studio in nyc would that be,out of curiosity?

I checked out the website in your sig...looks like a fun studio! I come by Brooklyn a lot to visit old friends and eat at Luger's...maybe I can stop by sometime??

Heath

[joel hamilton]

The place is called vidipax. The guy is a good pal, and he is great.

Lets go get a steak!

[Heath]

i know of vidipax. they do very good work.

I'll look you up before my next trip out there (probably january)

Heath

[joel hamilton]

Yeah, They did some transfers of these really old radio broadcasts (my great grandmother was the first woman to have a syndicated radio show on NBC radio here in NYC) and I could not believe how well recorded they were!

1/4" mono, spoken word stuff by "rockhill recording" on broadway. In the 50's. Sounded amazing. Vidipax does great work.
Please let me know when you are coming to NYC!

[Heath]

I've been doing some x-fers of recordings from the 50's for BMG, and they sound KILLER! Really great sounding stuff. Better than some of the more recent stuff I've been transferring

[Heath]

Looking at your site, I saw you worked with Hugh Masekela. I recently did a transfer of one of his tapes from '75. Real cool stuff. I beleive the track in question was "The Boys", but I might be mistaken

[joel hamilton]

Yes I recorded hugh on like 6 songs for a crazy project. He is awesome. He is just such a pro, and had really funny stories about James Brown...