Otari 24 track tape calibration London..

[jimbobbley]

Hi all,

Sincere apologies if this isn't the right place for this post, but I'm about to be reunited with the 24 track Otari tape machine I haven't been in the same county as since 2017.

It was working fine then but hasn't had much love (or been switched on) since so needs some form of calibration at the least, and possibly a more full service if there are any issues.

Does anyone know of any such services in London? What with the weight of the unit they'd need to be able to come to me rather than vice versa (plus I wouldn't really want to move it once it had been set up properly).

Again, sorry if this is the wrong place but any tips gratefully received.

Cheers

[James Perrett]

Chris Notton always used to be the person to go to for Otari servicing but I think he may have retired. Googling him comes up with very little these days.

Is it an MTR-90, MX-80 or something else? Do you have a test tape in good condition and do you have any spares for it? A routine calibration isn't that hard to do if you have a test tape. My MTR-90 survived being in storage for nearly 10 years with very few problems (although I only use it for playback now). I was careful to check the large capacitors before switching it on though.

[jimbobbley]

It's an MTR-90 and to be honest no I don't think it has a calibration tape - I know it came with a box of spare cards and other parts when we bought it but I don't think a tape was part of the deal. I might be wrong though.. I'll see when it arrives I suppose. Thanks for the reply either way

[jimjazzdad]

You might want to ask over at Tapeheads.net. There are definitely a few UK-based members on the reel-to-reel forums who may be able to recommend a service.

[Chris Notton]

Not here very often these days.
Try Paul Leader paul@leadersound.com

[James Perrett]

Not here very often these days.
Try Paul Leader paul@leadersound.com

Hi Chris - In the end I went up to the studio and had a very interesting day checking and calibrating the MTR90. All seemed to work well apart from one little niggle on one channel. It had one of your stickers very prominently displayed on the power supply so I guess you probably know the machine.