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This week/month/day/year I’ve mostly been…

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kgallen

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  • 2 weeks later...
14 minutes ago, BearBoy said:

Oooh. I was watching one of those Sony Premium Case with 15 MDs on eBay recently but missed the end of the auction due to a work thing. I wonder if it was the same one 🤔

Nah I’ve had those a year or so…
 

…the last time I ‘needed’ discs. 
 

I’m not yer man 🥸

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35 minutes ago, BearBoy said:

This week I have mostly been noticing that the cables on almost all of my portable power adaptors is perishing quite badly and exposing the wires.

 

Any UK based members come across a decent quality alternative?

Can you post some pics? Maybe start a new thread. 

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  • 1 month later...

This week I have been trying, sadly without success, to fix a C13 error with one of my decks. Tried the obvious (cleaned the laser, reseated the ribbon cables) and, with some very much appreciated help from @kgallen, tried some of the tests available via the Service Menu. Nothing untoward detected but when I tried to run the Auto Check it just stuck at 00 CHECK and got no further.

 

On a more positive note, I've been picking up some more blanks. Nothing exotic, just some "bread and butter" Sony discs that I used to buy back in the day. Examples below:

 

1172770934_SonyMDs(2)-Copy.thumb.jpg.07e54224ec7034fc66a79c9e7419fe74.jpg

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Over the past couple of months, I've been bitten by the MD bug again.  I hadn't visited this forum in a VERY long time.  I've used one of my MZ-NH900s at my work desk on almost a daily basis for 10+ years. It sits it's original cradle, powered from the AC adapter because the battery long since gave up the ghost. I have about 20 disc's (a mix of Hi-MD and standard MD

 

My other NH900 has been broken for years after it fell out of my pocket and a disc got jammed. Was able to get the disc out by disassembling the recorder but when I all went back together the buttons were no longer responsive... So I put it in a storage box with my other MD stuff that wasn't used anymore. FF 1month ago, I was digging thru some things and came across my box MD recorders.  Pulled out the NH900 and took it apart again.  Long story short, it's had been returned to service! While looking for info on repair, I came across this site and an intro to Reddit MD. My interest stoked again, burned some new disc's, reorganized some of my favorites, and am trying my hand at labeling. I've also managed to buy a couple of new Hi-MD blanks and some used standard MDs. It's always fun to go thru used disc's from someone else to see what's on them 🙂

 

My MD arsenal consists of:  MZ-R500, MZ-N707 (eprom nodded), MZ-N920, IM-DR420, MZ-NH600D, 2-MZ-NH900s, 2-MZ-RH10s (both with bad displays), and a MZ-RH910. 150ish standard MDs and 15 Hi-MDs.  Most of my standard disc's are Hi-MD formated and most of the music is burned in ATRAC3plus @256k. I simply LOVE this format!

 

 

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Welcome back @comspec

 

Good work resurrecting your broken NH900 🙂 Does it use the "standard" Sony NiMH gumstick batteries? If so, there are plenty of replacement batteries available now if you want to power it away from its cradle (take a look on your local eBay for "Sony NH-14WM" and you should find Vapex, Double Pow etc options).

 

On 4/9/2022 at 2:16 AM, comspec said:

MZ-N707 (eprom nodded)

 

What does the mod do to the MZ-N707?

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On 4/11/2022 at 5:58 AM, Richard said:

@comspec Welcome back! Fellow NH900 owner here. I need to give mine a bit of a disassemble / clean at some point as it's suffering from the flakey behaviour on the front panel buttons.. 

It's not overly difficult, just take your time and be mindful of the ribbon cable that exists between the two halves, the track mark button and hold switch. The ribbon cable is what had my "broken" NH900 out of service so to speak.  The cable was not fully seated.  The un responsive buttons is an easy fix, but tedious to get to.  Before disassembly, get a can of air and try to blowing it behind the selector wheel a few times. If that doesn't work, you'll have to take it apart and clean the contacts. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Got a new portable today: MZ-E520 🙂

 

It's a reasonably latish (2004) playback only model with Type-S and a digital amp. The remote is white and backlit.

 

Doesn't have the VPT Acoustic Engine that my MZ-N920 and MZ-N910 have but I don't think that's necessarily any great loss (I never use the virtual surround modes).

 

Haven't been able to find a manual yet (I think it might be a Japan only model?) but I'm guessing the equalizer works in the same way as the 920/910?

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57 minutes ago, kgallen said:

And what the heck is this VPT thing you speak of?

 

It's on a couple of my portables (MZ-N920, MZ-N910, MZ-N710 IIRC). It's some sort of virtual surround sound processing thing that is supposed to simulate the sound in a studio, live venue, club or arena. I think I fiddled with it once and never enabled it again 🤔

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Yeah, the player itself is in pretty much mint condition. The remote is a tiny bit grubby looking. Perils of being white, I suppose. It might clean up although I'm not sure how much of it is age related discolouration of the plastic, rather than dirt.

 

Re VPT - yes, that was my view too. I gave it another go this afternoon but felt the same way 🙂

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From today I’ll be setting up for a (community theatre) show where I use MD (MDS-E12 machines). I’ll try and take some photos at an appropriate point and context (probably at the Dress Rehearsal on Monday).

 

This is a production 2 years delayed going to stage due to the pandemic. It’s a musical called ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’.

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Great stuff @kgallen Would be interesting to see some shots of your kit getting a proper work out 🙂

 

My daughters are performing in a local theatre at the weekend. The sound desk's at the rear of the front section of the stalls IIRC so will see if I can get a glimpse of whether any MDs are being used 😉

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On 5/12/2022 at 6:30 PM, BearBoy said:

Great stuff @kgallen Would be interesting to see some shots of your kit getting a proper work out 🙂

 

My daughters are performing in a local theatre at the weekend. The sound desk's at the rear of the front section of the stalls IIRC so will see if I can get a glimpse of whether any MDs are being used 😉

Sorry I don’t have great pictures as it’s a fast-paced show and I have lots of sound and lighting cues (67 lighting and 47 sound cues plus 4 radio mics and 3 stage mics to manage) in a 90 minute show. Here’s what I got worth posting when I could grab my phone at the Dress Rehearsal tonight.

 

I have my rack of two MDS-E12 plus the rack of an MDS-E12 plus the CDP-D12, both of which I’ve posted details before. 
 

In truth on this production I only need one MD machine to run the show as I don’t have any overlapping music/sfx cues. But they’ve all come along for the ride as one rack case has some gooseneck lights on it and I have a backup machine and disc should anything go wrong - but this is just me being chicken as MD has been solid for me for a long time.

 

The CD player is for me to play some background interval must on, I’m not using it during the performance, that’s all MD.
 

 

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10 hours ago, kgallen said:

Sorry I don’t have great pictures as it’s a fast-paced show and I have lots of sound and lighting cues (67 lighting and 47 sound cues plus 4 radio mics and 3 stage mics to manage) in a 90 minute show. Here’s what I got worth posting when I could grab my phone at the Dress Rehearsal tonight.

 

I have my rack of two MDS-E12 plus the rack of an MDS-E12 plus the CDP-D12, both of which I’ve posted details before. 
 

In truth on this production I only need one MD machine to run the show as I don’t have any overlapping music/sfx cues. But they’ve all come along for the ride as one rack case has some gooseneck lights on it and I have a backup machine and disc should anything go wrong - but this is just me being chicken as MD has been solid for me for a long time.

 

The CD player is for me to play some background interval must on, I’m not using it during the performance, that’s all MD.

 

Nice set set up. Is that a Behringer X32 mixer all the Sony decks are connected to?

 

Sounds like you have a lot to manage throughout the show. Pretty critical that you have confidence that your equipment won't let you down!

 

On 5/12/2022 at 6:30 PM, BearBoy said:

My daughters are performing in a local theatre at the weekend. The sound desk's at the rear of the front section of the stalls IIRC so will see if I can get a glimpse of whether any MDs are being used 😉

 

No MiniDiscs. The guy doing the sound was using a Mac Mini and just hit the space bar when the next number started (it was a dance show with 30 ish routines). No extra sound effects etc that I noticed.

 

The guy next to him had some fancy looking mixer things. Googled them when I got home but it turns out the "Sapphire" and "Sapphire Wing" were for the lights and nothing to do with the sound.

 

Sounds like you were doing both their jobs, with a lot more to do, on your own!

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9 hours ago, BearBoy said:

Nice set set up. Is that a Behringer X32 mixer all the Sony decks are connected to?

 

Sounds like you have a lot to manage throughout the show. Pretty critical that you have confidence that your equipment won't let you down!

It's an X32-Compact, same DSP processing power but fewer physical faders - I don't have room for the full-size X32.

 

Equipment reliability is key, indeed! So often I'll buy quality second-hand gear (and refurbish) rather than low-quality new gear.

 

9 hours ago, BearBoy said:

No MiniDiscs. The guy doing the sound was using a Mac Mini and just hit the space bar when the next number started (it was a dance show with 30 ish routines). No extra sound effects etc that I noticed.

MiniDisc was pretty popular in theatre around the heyday, for the same reasons as for me. But like many, the pro's have moved on to the solid state solution. I'd need to go the Mac route if I moved away from MiniDisc.

 

9 hours ago, BearBoy said:

The guy next to him had some fancy looking mixer things. Googled them when I got home but it turns out the "Sapphire" and "Sapphire Wing" were for the lights and nothing to do with the sound.

Probably 30 grand (GBP) right there. Well out of my league!

 

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22 minutes ago, kgallen said:

It's an X32-Compact, same DSP processing power but fewer physical faders - I don't have room for the full-size X32.

 

Equipment reliability is key, indeed! So often I'll buy quality second-hand gear (and refurbish) rather than low-quality new gear.

 

Yeah, much better to get quality gear you can rely on than risk something cheap flaking out on you mid-performance.

 

22 minutes ago, kgallen said:

MiniDisc was pretty popular in theatre around the heyday, for the same reasons as for me. But like many, the pro's have moved on to the solid state solution. I'd need to go the Mac route if I moved away from MiniDisc.

 

I am sure there are many benefits to using a Mac but I think I prefer to see your racks of MDS-E12s 🙂

 

22 minutes ago, kgallen said:

Probably 30 grand (GBP) right there. Well out of my league!

 

Wow 😲 I guess they're programmable or something? There was a lot going on with the lights but he didn't seem to be touching anything a great deal.

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15 minutes ago, BearBoy said:

Wow 😲 I guess they're programmable or something? There was a lot going on with the lights but he didn't seem to be touching anything a great deal.

Yes but so are most lighting consoles above the most basic. Obviously features and capability vary widely, but some element of programmability would be normal for all but the most basic of lighting tasks. In my case, I programme the lighting (into my Zero88 FLX) during our "tech" rehearsal (which was 7 hours on Sunday). This means that during the performances, I concentrate on the timing of the lighting, but much of my focus is on managing the live sound.

 

Due to the nature of your daughter's show, your man there probably has the lighting and sound cues triggered using some show control software on the Mac, probably OSC or MIDI triggers (or both).

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6 minutes ago, BearBoy said:

Forgot to say, good luck with the show @kgallen!

Thanks! A "night off" tonight. Next Dress Rehearsal Thursday night, then we're in to the performance run. By midnight Sunday it will be pretty much over (and I will have a lot of set items sat on my drive ready for me to strip down to reusable materials again...).

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