Topic: Static Issue

[steve-o]

Ok, need some advice about some nasty static I've been experiencing.    Here's my setup:  

AKG393 > PS2 > AD-20 > D100

I was recording a show at a coffee shop last night when I experienced the static.  The opening act's recording came out crisp and clean.  The second act was the same for about and hour before I noticed some awful static.  I wasn't sure what was going on and checked all my connections, the gain, etc.  (Now let me say that I played around with the setup the night before at my apartment, to basically test out all the equipment and correct any minor problems that might exist.)  I had the same problem with static, but it didn't start until about 10 minutes had passed.  I thought the problem was the mic cables, which were brand new.  I disconnected them (mics and cables), and the static was still there.  Working my way down the chain, I disconnected the 7-pin from the AD-20 and the DAT, and the static disappeared.  So I knew where the problem was, but wasn't sure what was causing it.  Luckily, I have a pair of 7-pins and changed the one I was originally using thinking it might be the problem, but it wasn't.  

Frustrated, I went to get a beer form my fridge and when I came back, the static minimized and then disappeared.    But of course that does me no good since I wasn't sure what the problem was in the first place.

So could the problem be the 7-pins or the DAT?  The DAT has been used several times since I bought it with no problems.  If someone could give me a better check list to pin-poin the cause, I would appreciate it.

Thanks again everyone.

[greenone]

Is the static always in the same place when you play the tape back, or does it migrate? If the static moves, it's likely dirty heads. If it's always in the same place, it could be a bad tape - do other tapes that you've mastered previously play ok?

--Dave

[C.Clark]

try using different tapes, if its not that, check the heads, if not that, then check and see if its the output on the ad-20, hope that helps, may be a little redundant

[steve-o]

Is the static always in the same place when you play the tape back, or does it migrate? If the static moves, it's likely dirty heads. If it's always in the same place, it could be a bad tape - do other tapes that you've mastered previously play ok?

--Dave

Dave,

Well when I tested the setup the night before, I was using a different DAT tape.  All previous mastered tapes played back without a problem.  I just don't understand why it comes and goes, and it's not a consistent issue.  When I noted the static during the recording, it was also there when I played it back.  

I would assume that if the heads were dirty the static would be consistent throughout any and all recordings....?

[greenone]

Sounds like it's just a bad tape to me...I think the fact that it disappeared after switching your 7-pin is just a red herring (unless your taping rig got bumped or jiggled a lot - a faulty connection can introduce static, but if it's a coffeeshop recording, the slam-dancing w00k factor is low ). Sometimes tapes get gunked up and staticky for no good reason, or your heads will get gunked up while recording, and record static, but then mysteriously de-gunk later on (i.e. the gunk gets dragged off the heads by the motion of the tape).

[steve-o]

Actually, it didn't disappear after I changed the 7-pin.  The stand was basically on the stage, about 10 inches away.  But this static happened even with a different a different tape.  

Could this problem be the AD-20?  Is there something I could do to see if indeed it's the problem?

[greenone]

Oh, sorry - misread the part about the 7-pin. I think the best thing you can do is try to reproduce the situation and switch out as many parts as possible in the process. I'm not familiar with any of your gear as I've never run any of it before but I can say pretty safely that static isn't the norm. But in my experience, static comes from two things - faulty connections and dirty heads/tapes. There's actually a difference in the static there, though - bad connections give static that sounds like Velcro ripping. Dirty heads give a totally different sound.

Now that I think of it, have you transferred the tape and looked at the sound wave? Static will show up as spikes, while diginoise usually shows up as squared-off waves or dropouts/flatlines.

--Dave

[F.O.Bean]

one werd, JB3

[steve-o]

I haven't done any transfers yet.  I can say the static sounds like the velcro description you gave.  I know it can't be the DAT itself, I've had it serviced and cleaned as soon as I got it and had no problems with it when I did SBD patches.  Thanks for the help.  I'm narrowed it down to the AD20.  

I've actually been considering selling the D100 for the JB3.  Just not sure if it's really worth the price tag.  Any opinions?