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From: gibson@unc.UUCP (Bill Gibson)
Newsgroups: net.music.synth
Subject: Re: Fostex Equipment
Message-ID: <78@unc.unc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Sep-85 18:51:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.78
Posted: Thu Sep 26 18:51:38 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 29-Sep-85 07:16:19 EDT
References: <1113@sdcsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: gibson@unc.UUCP (Bill Gibson)
Organization: CS Dept, U. of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Lines: 38
Keywords: personal recording, dbx
Summary: 

(Glenn Little) writes:

>      If anyone is interested, here is how I arrived at my decision to buy the
> Fostex.  I pretty much looked at only three machines:  the Fostex, the new
> Audio Technica, and the Tascam 244 (?) Porta-Studio.  
> ... The Tascam had parametric eq, which I liked, but the Fostex had
> Dolby C noise reduction (as opposed to dbx on the Tascam).  I figured they 
> would all probably sound about the same, except that I had been told that
> the cassette versions of dbx tended to noticeably "pump" with fluctations
> in program volume.  
> ... the dolby vs. dbx issue is what finally decided it for me in the
> end.

These are essentially the machines I am considering (also the TASCAM 234
"syncaset"), and the dolby/dbx issue is one of my main considerations.
However, I will probably decide in the other direction, since I am strongly
in favor of dbx.

Not to rehash the dolby/dbx issue (see net.audio for that), but from my 
experience with noise reduction at home and in 2 college electronic music
studios, the dbx doesn't breathe 'enough' to annoy me. Granted, if I record
a bass line, I'm going to turn down the highs with an equalizer on that track
whenever it's part of the output (since the dbx breathing is mainly an 
effect of tape hiss getting amplified when there's no high frequency to mask
it in the signal). But the stuff I've recorded (all with dbx) doesn't 
exhibit breathing, mainly because it's got plenty of highs in the music.

Besides, *I* hate the constant hiss on a second-generation tape when I
turn up the volume enough to hear the quiet parts.

My only annoyance is that I probably won't get to hear the 14kHz-20kHz
range (at least not in my present price range), since dbx increases 
the high frequency rolloff of the tape, as do all companding systems.
The only thing that will get me my highs is recordable CD's.
I'm still waiting.

Bill Gibson
gibson@unc                   ...[akgua,decvax,philabs]!mcnc!unc!gibson