Anybody ever used a Lyrec tape machine?

GroupDIY Audio Forum

Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
T

tubejay

Guest
I might be purchasing one (yes, I'm STILL trying to find a decent machine for cheap). Does anyone have any tech info on these? Are they another nighmare machine, or are they stable. Do they sound good? Are the transformer balanced??

I'm having trouble finding info on them.

To be specific it's a lyrec tr532.
 
Lyrec are good quality - on the easy side to maintain, and most spares are available or can be made. Lyrec still supports most of their old machines.

But they can have trouble syncing up to external signals - the varispeed is a little on the slow side.

btw - it's a Danish company - http://www.lyrec.dk/

Jakob E.
 
[quote author="gyraf"]Lyrec are good quality - on the easy side to maintain, and most spares are available or can be made. Lyrec still supports most of their old machines.

But they can have trouble syncing up to external signals - the varispeed is a little on the slow side.

btw - it's a Danish company - http://www.lyrec.dk/

Jakob E.[/quote]

So then it might not be the best for syncing with ProTools? Are they good at staying locked, once locked? Anybody know what kind of sync device I could use for syncing? Would a microlynx do it? When you say they take a while to lock up, how long are we talking? Do you know, are they transformer balanced? So far I've heard pretty good things about them...
 
If the microlynx supports the Lyrec machine, it should be able to do it. There are a couple of ways to lock the two accurately, and it depends on what your setup is. Are you using ProTools LE or TDM/HD? Depending on which one I can make a couple of recommendations for how to do it.

Zach
 
Hey there,

I'm not sure if the Lyrec is an option on the microlynx or not. I used one quite a lot a few years ago, but I can't remember if it was listed as an option in the menu.

I use ProTools TDM, and I want the tape machine to slave to protools, not the other way around. Ideas? Thanks!!!!
 
In order for the Lyrec to slave to PT, you will need a synchronizer that can control the machine. A microlynx should be able to do it on its own, but if using a Lynx 1 or Lynx 2 you'll need two units. If you want to do this the right way, you'll also need a video reference generator. Basically, you're going to feed the video reference to both PT and your sync unit(I'm assuming you also have a USD for PT. If not, get one). The vid ref will ensure that you have no drift issues, as the Lynx will pull the Lyrec's capstan speed in line with the video and the USD will run at the same speed as well. Now, I'm more familiar with the original lynx units than I am with the Microlynx, so you'll need to set it up for two machines-one to be the 'Master' which will take the generated TC in from the PT, and the other to be the 'Slave' to control the 2". Put 'em online and you should be good to go. Remember to use 29.97(non-drop) frame code to be compatible with the video ref. If you don't use video ref in this setup, you will have drift problems, as the clock speed of the PT and the speed of the capstan motor will be different. Slight as it may be, it will definitely drift out of sync. The setup is basically the same if using two original Lynx 1 or 2 modules, you just use one as a code only master for the PT tc and the other for the 2".

The easy way is to just patch the 2" tc into the USD and set both clock and position to LTC and have the PT chase the Lyrec. With the clock following the LTC you won't have any drift issues, and you can use any frame rate you want (as long as it matches the 2" frame rate).

Let me know if any of this seems convoluted and I can try and be clearer, sometimes I'm not sure if my explanations make sense to anyone but me :oops: . I've been locking up 2" and PT for quite a few years now with absolutely no problems, so I'm more than happy to help you figure it out. It's not as difficult as people make it out to be.

Zach
 
Back
Top