Help! I Have a Tape Machine

Archiving and Restoration

Moderator:
Noah Simon, New York University - New York, NY, USA
Panelists:
John French, JRF Magnetic Sciences Inc - Greendell, NJ, USA
Chris Mara, Mara Machines - Nashville, TN, USA
Bob Shuster, Shuster Sound - Smithtown, NY USA
Dan Zellman, Zeltec Service Labs - New York, NY, USA; Zeltec Research & Development

Analog tape is increasingly becoming a vintage format. As this medium heads towards its twilight, it's crucial to share knowledge of how to maintain, evaluate, and source machines. This panel discussion will cover topics such as assessing the tape path, recognizing issues with motors, calibration techniques, maintaining electronics and mechanics, evaluation of heads and what to look for when purchasing a machine. The panel will consist of highly esteemed maintenance engineers with centuries of analog tape machine knowledge between them, including John French of JRF Magnetics, Bob Shuster, and Dan Zellman, well-known technicians in the New York area, moderated by Noah Simon from the Recorded Music program at New York University.