Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    Hi Laurie.  Is this a new AKAI or an older model ??  Some years
    back a friend of mine had an AKAI RTR deck, looked great, transport
    very fragile.  Opened it up and it had ONE motor for everything..
    contrasted to TEAC, which had/has one motor for each tape reel plus
    a motor for the capstan drive.  So I have bad feelings for AKAI,
    at least early-1970's vintage.
    
    re 'mastering' :  Most consumer reel - to - reel decks offer two
    speeds, 3.75 inches per second and 7.5 inches per second.. the faster,
    the better for music reproduction.  Also, RTR decks do not offer any 
    form of noise reduction.  So in my mind, 7.5 IPS with no noise
    reduction is marginal at best for music mastering.  
    
    I happen to own a TEAC outboard Dolby 'B' endcode/decode unit, 
    available VERY cheaply, if you still want to get a RTR with no noise 
    reduction.

    karl

    Thanks Karl.
    
    I'm trying to find out what vintage machine this is now.
    
    If I get it, it would come with a Marlux Outboard Dolby system.
    
    Thanks again.
    
    Laurie
    

    
    
    I've got an Akai DX4000DB.  The only difference I'm aware of
    between the 4000D and the 4000DB is the DB has dolby built in.
    (So much for RTR not having built in NR Karl! :^) )
    Mine is about 10 or 11 years old.  I think I paid somewhere
    around $500 new for it.  Its not a bad deck if you can get a
    good deal on it.  The noise reduction will definately help
    (even though I hate dolby)  Mine's seen tons of use and never
    had any major problems.
    
    If you can get a good deal ($150 or so) and its in good shape
    I'd go for it if you want a RTR but can't afford the bux for
    one of the big boys.  I've always had good luck with mine, though
    its been sitting now for a while since I bought a 1/2 track.
    
    I think I still have the manual if you want to see some specs.
    
    Ralph
    
    

    Thank you very much Ralph!!!!!
    I guess I'll go for it.  It's a great deal.  
    Since it's an older model, I'm assuming it is 2-track.  Is this
    correct?
    
    Thanks again Ralph.
    
    Laurie
    

    Differences between 2-track stereo and half-track.. there's actually
    four separate tape tracks on a 2-track stereo deck.  Tracks 1 and 3 
    comprise the left and right signals.  When the reel runs out, what 
    was tracks 2 and 4 become 1 and 3 when the tape is turned around.  
    This is also how regular stereo cassette decks organize the tracks
    and heads.
    
    Half-track RTR is a different matter.  The tape is still 1/4" wide,
    but is now divided in half.. The stereo left channel uses half the
    tape, and the right channel uses half the tape.  Obviously you can't
    turn the tape over unless you're into backwards music.  The advantage,
    just explained so succinctly by len recently is that the signal
    to noise ratio is much much better on a half-track machine, for
    reasons that he explained, and I forgot.
    
    So what you are probably getting is a 2-track stereo deck, that
    really has four tracks, but the other two are used for stereo when
    you turn the reels over/around.
    
    I didn't mention the well-known 4-track 1/4" format popularized
    by TEAC on the 3340 series and used on all multitrack cassette decks, 
    where all tracks are recorded in the same direction.
    
    Jeez.. did I dig myself in deeper just now or what ?  
    
    karl

    
    
    Karl beat me to it!  What you're getting is a 2 *channel* deck
    also known as a 1/4 track.  Works on the same principle as a
    cassette.  Record in stereo in one direction, then flip the
    reels over and record in the other direction.
    
    It all depends on if you're just looking for "better than your
    average cassette" mastering deck, or if you'll need a 1/2
    track deck (two tracks recorded in one direction...no flipping
    the reels over)  Unless you plan on pressing what you're mastering,
    or are doing work for radio stations, the expense (and quality)
    of a 1/2 track isn't totally neccessary.
    
    Ralph