Thanks for the response, as I suspected, I'll check out those links as well.
Reel to Reel - Half Track - Quarter Track
I currently own a TEAC A3340 and a TEAC A3340S. I purchased one of those analogue productions ultra tapes (I am assuming since its uni-directional its a half track tape.) and noticed that: the right channel volume was lower and the phasing was thrown off toward the left. However, when I played it through tracks 1 (front L) and 4 (rear R) the volume and phasing issue were corrected. The sound was excellent, but I can't help thinking that considering how expensive these tapes are am I getting the full benefit from a 1/4 track machine or does one really need a 1/2 track deck to get the best sound?
Another question is how can a 1/4 track playback head even play a 1/2 track tape? I must be missing something here, any enlightenment would be appreciated.
Thanks
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no, that deck cannot play a half track recording properly as it has 4 heads reading 2 tracks. not sure the spread of the heads so can’t say whether you are reading one track twice, or both tracks partially. in any case it’s never going to work. that deck was intended for the 70’s home recording studio with 4 mics to record ’Quad’, then play it back on the same deck. here are some tape deck basics if you have an interest. https://forum.tapeproject.com/index.php?topic=595.0 there is a forum where there are tape deck experts who hang out. here; https://www.audionirvana.org/forum/the-audio-vault/all-things-reel-to-reel
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