What speed are you working?
-30ips doesn't allow individual biasing, you have to go down to 15ips or slower, and build the 'map' for the head biasing. -Then switching up to 30ips will allow "M-Bias" (Master bias). (the bias 'map' is retained for all speeds, since the head doesn't change when you switch speeds, so the relative bias requirements channel-to-channel, should also remain unchanged. Studer don't let you build a head map at 30ips, because it's nt as accurate as the speed increases, so you have to go down to 15ips or slower. -Don't worry about the lack of a reproduce tape at whatever speed you set the bias map... it doesn't matter what the absolute reference is, so long as you find the bias peak, and set all the channels the same.)
Another tip for biasing the A827... SPECIALLY at high operating levels, which it sounds like you are: If you press the "cursor >" or "cursor <" buttons while in this mode, it adds +10dB to all channels playback and metering. This is so that you can drop the 10kHz level on the way in, and record a lower signal to tape, thereby avoiding tape/head HF saturation, which you are getting seriously close to, at elevated levels. Since you're really recording at -10dB, you move the signal away from it. Pressing the cursor button a second time makes it a 20dB gain instead of 10dB.
The top UK facilities used to bias tape this way in the days of white-coated engineers... think of the Beatles! -Several older Neve consoles had +10dB/+20dB switches on the meterbridge to facilitate this way of calibrating the machines. I reccommend trying it. -On the Sturer however, whenever you press "store" to store the calibration value before switching modes and channels, it also stores the +10/+20 gain... -so when you've done the last channel, make it a habit to 'cursor back' to +0dB gain, and press store one last time. -You may notice that when you get a machine new from Studer, they come with the default biasing level at +10dB, if tha ttells you anything...
Look at the hex numbers when you go down to 15ips. -If the master is set too low, the channel numbers will collectively be set too high, and will tend to start to run out of adjustment range. -The reverse is true, where if the channels are set too low, the master adjustment can run out of adjustment range.
-Oh, if you see Marty today, slap him round the chops and tell him it's from me! :wink:
It would stay @ +3VU for a long time before comming back down and the +^ and +9 light would like up
That tells me that it's not at +3 at all. It's really at plus nine. the basic settings are WAY off. GO back to defaults and start again. I do find that MOST people don't know how to correctly set the master bias relationship, so it's no surprise that it's screwed up before you got it. -You have to 'undo' the damage before you can start to calibrate it.
From what you describe, you may think it's not rising after it stops at +3VU... It is. It's rising a LOT. The needle on the meter just can't tell you, because it's busy having an argument with the endstop.
Drop the incoming level -Drop it a LOT. -VU needles should NEVER be allowed to get to +3VU, because you're WELL into the realms of tape saturation in that region, and you cannot calibrate it accurately when the tape is messing with your readings.
Here is a piece of great advice for calibration that nobody wants to take: Switch the console oscillator down, AWAY from the calibrated position whenever you do the bias. Instead of trying to push the needles up to +2VU to find the peak, drop the signal to -3 or so, and have the needles find the peak somewhere in the +1½ region. It's much better. the "cal" position on the console oscillator is only really there for level, HF and LF alignments... at 15ips, you CANNOT align a machine from 0VU if you need 4 to 4.5dB overdrop and you only have a meter that goes to +3VU...
-And yet I see people trying all the time!
Keith