Phase 3: Beyond the fostex. The teac.

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ArmyOfQuad

2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Since 2002/2003
Joined
Apr 22, 2002
Messages
2,320
Location
Attleboro, MA
I'm sure most people around these parts are familiar with the fostex Q8 conversions. There's a lot of back story and a lot that's led me to this point, but perhaps that's a story for another time....I might begin a series of quadcast episodes devoted to quadraphonic preservation. Phase 1 was receiving the fostex and playing around with that with software based EQ to compensate for the EQ curve that was off. Phase 2 was bypassing the amplification electronics in the fostex and rigging up methods of external preamplification, which introduced a quiet hum into the process. I was able to NR things adequately enough that no one ever commented on it, but I knew it was there. I was never sure if everyone was being polite and didn't want to be critical, or if it really wasn't as bad as I thought it was. But, I suppose my Journey To The Center Of The Earth conversion making it's way onto official release suggests it wasn't as bad as I thought. But still, it bugged me, and then the screw holes started giving me issues. Anyways....details will come later....point is, finally the issue was forced, and it was time to get back into the Q8 game, and do it right.

I present, phase 3: The Teac.

teac.jpg

I've mounted a pair of matching new old stock nortronics Q8 heads on it, and soldered in 4 switches to easily switch between the 2 heads. I still use the fostex for spooling tapes. The EQ curve is not perfect - the Teac heads didn't have the same curve as these heads, so they're a little midrangy - but it's a much better starting point than the original fostex. Things can be tweaked with software and leave me with results that I feel match or improve on previous EQ results with the 2nd phase fostex or HK deck. I spent my weekend spooling and recording tapes, 10 are in so far, and more are coming....I'll have plenty of files to work on in the upcoming months.

There are many details I'd love to share, but I think I'll present those in a quadcast. Which....I'm not sure of the future of. I've not been having as much fun as I had hoped with the quadcast, which I think comes down to the issue of, I don't do internet streaming all that well solo, I work better with co-hosts. So, if anyone wants to co-host some quadcasts, drop me a line.
 
I'm glad to see this, and that it can be made to work. Back in the seventies, I played around with this idea but the slippery back coating of the 8-track tape caused inconstant tape speed. The idea was unusable for me. I was using a lower end Akai at the time. I guess that a different (better) machine could produce better results. The tape used in 8-tracks especially Quad tapes are very thin, that plus the slippery back coating makes the process a bit iffy.
 
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