Vintage Gear: Akai MG14D

[ken long]

Who's rockin this? Can't find much info on the web. Is it proprietary ADAT or does it also use normal VHS? What are the converters like and can it be used as a modern expansion unit. This thing is almost as big as my oven.

[Chevytraveller]

Who's rockin this? Can't find much info on the web. Is it proprietary ADAT or does it also use normal VHS? What are the converters like and can it be used as a modern expansion unit. This thing is almost as big as my oven.

These were developed by Akai in the 80's and were basically scaled up cassette machines using a propriortry tape (MK20J I think). It's analogue, not digital, so no converters.
Glass coated heads lasted ages, but spares are only available from a defecating rocking horse.
the all in one 1212 or 1214 was quite nice as it had a mixer was quite unusual if I remember as it had fully parametric mids.

Huge and heavy and not worth the grief

[ken long]

Huge and heavy and not worth the grief

Ah. What's a good ADAT unit I can use as an expansion? Really don't want a behringer jobby.

[Chevytraveller]

Expansion for what?.. are you wanting a recorder?.. does it need to be tape?.. what exactly are you trying to expand?..

[hollowsun]

The MG14D was the rackmount version of the MG1214, a gargantuan and ultimate 'portastudio' from the mid-80s. But that, in itself, is an oxymoron in that the 'porta' bit was somewhat redundant!

It is all analogue so no 'converters'.

They were excellent quality but...

They used proprietary tapes, not quite VHS and not quite Betamax. JVC wouldn't allow them to use VHS because it was an audio recorder and there was some clause in the 'terms of use' which specified that VHS had to be used for video. Sony wouldn't license their Betamax format either.

So Akai were forced to make their own tapes. However, they had a tendency to shed oxide and get a bit 'sticky'. They were also hard to come by and not exactly cheap. Painfully aware of these problem, Akai secured a deal with TDK to make them and the quality and reliability improved but they were still hard to come by (TDK didn't see their Akai client as much of a priority compared with churning out ordinary compact cassettes at the time).

The MG14D had advantages over the MG1214, in particular, the individual outputs.

These issues notwithstanding, they were excellent and I made several albums on MG1212s and MG1214. I had one myself for a good while and it was very good. Lots of high quality TV stuff done on that.

I worked extensively with Holly Johnson on his post-Frankie solo album, 'Blast', which was recorded on his MG1214 at his home studio. His record company considered the recordings as 'demos' but when he went into a 'proper' studio, our home recordings couldn't be improved upon so we hired in an MG14D and transferred the whole lot to 24-track where vocals were redone and bits and pieces added.

I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole now though if only because of the availability (or lack of) the proprietary tapes. Even if it was a bargain and came with a large collection of tapes, I'd be very wary as those tapes would be as much as 25 years old now.

It's shame really - had Akai been able to secure a deal with JVC (or rather, if JVC hadn't been such arses) and they'd used VHS, I reckon the MGs would be quite interesting collector's items now because they were innovative, rugged, well made and sounded good ... but let down by the proprietary tape format.

[ken long]

Expansion for what?.. are you wanting a recorder?.. does it need to be tape?.. what exactly are you trying to expand?..

Nah, just need an 8 channel ADAT expander for my interface. Looking at the Ultragain but read nothing but grief about build quality and also soemhting about the PSU heatsink running too hot.

[ken long]

It's shame really - had Akai been able to secure a deal with JVC (or rather, if JVC hadn't been such arses) and they'd used VHS, I reckon the MGs would be quite interesting collector's items now because they were innovative, rugged, well made and sounded good ... but let down by the proprietary tape format.

Thanks for the history HS.

Wonder why they didn't just incorporate Sony PCM-style digital audio so they could record digitally onto a VHS video track.

[Chevytraveller]

Wonder why they didn't just incorporate Sony PCM-style digital audio so they could record digitally onto a VHS video track.

almost certainly cost.. 14 channels worth of PCM encoders would have pushed the price right up..

how about this as a cheap solution to your problem

Fostex VC-8

[ken long]

That looks perfect. Exactly what I'm after. But must say the half rack design is yucky. Still, sure I can make some space for it.

[tutu13]

So Akai were forced to make their own tapes. However, they had a tendency to shed oxide and get a bit 'sticky'.

Hi Hollowsun,

Is this what makes the difference between the first model MK20 (red and black box) and the last model MK20J (light gray box)??

[Mike Stranks]

So Akai were forced to make their own tapes. However, they had a tendency to shed oxide and get a bit 'sticky'.

Hi Hollowsun,

Is this what makes the difference between the first model MK20 (red and black box) and the last model MK20J (light gray box)??

Welcome to the Forum.

You've posted in a thread that was last updated nearly 12 years ago. Sadly, in the interim, Hollowsun has passed away...

[tutu13]

thank you for warning. RIP