[QuadList] AMPEX VR-5100 WILL IT PLAY OTHER MACHNESTYPE A TAP...

[Don Norwood]

Hi Steve:

It's important to compare apples to apples.  I have the "privilege" of working with both machines and formats.  Here's what I believe are more accurate observations.....

Yes, they are totally different formats, but when comparing, since the IVC format remained constant while there were changes in the Ampex format, you have to be specific about what you are comparing.  As another list member pointed out, the only "true" Type-A is what was defined by SMPTE, and if we look at recordings from that era, they will easily beat the IVC recordings.  

However, the original Ampex format is essentially the same as the Type-A format, but the first machines, which pre-date the IVC machines, used lower carrier frequencies.  Together with the movable guides, the performance was not as good as the IVC machines when they were introduced.  But by the end of the Type-A era, things had changed and the Ampex format produced essentially the same quality as the Type-C format which it became with a few modifications.

Machines for both formats had their problems.  For Ampex, it was the already mentioned movable guides.  For IVC, it was the design of their servo system which worked fine until there was wear on the pulley which then made it impossible to get the drum up to speed.  The IVC transport was better than the early Ampex models, but the later Ampex models had better transports than the IVC's.  So again, it depends on which models are being evaluated, but I can't agree that the IVC format was far superior, and in the end, they lost the race.

Still, both formats had the ability to produce very good recordings.  Since they were both wideband (direct) recordings, playback today using modern TBC's likely exceeds the quality that was available when they were originally recorded.  We've seen beautiful recordings out of both formats, and terrible recordings out of both formats!

Don Norwood
Digitrak Communications, Inc.
www.digitrakcom.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Steve White 


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  IVC was the far superior machine ... because it was a totally different format.

  You'll notice the Ampex used a moving pinch roller path with resulting omega wrap around the drum, while the IVC used a fixed path and alpha wrap.
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