Tascam MS-16

Name: Tascam MS-16
Brand: Tascam

One inch of tape, sixteen tracks, and a punch-in button for every one of them.

Overview

The MS-16 is a 16-track, 16-channel multitrack tape recorder/reproducer built around 1-inch tape running at 15 ips (38 cm/sec). Sixteen tracks on a one-inch width is the whole argument of the machine. Tascam's own advertising, which ran in the pages of Mix and Recording Engineer through the mid-1980s, pitched the deck at skeptics: engineers who had "heard all the other 16 tracks" and all the other claims. The copy promised that hearing was believing, and that the MS-16 delivered enough audio quality to convince the most critical ears. Take the marketing for what it is, but the pitch was sound. Sixteen tracks on one inch means narrower track widths and less room per channel, and the whole design of the MS-16 reads as an effort to make that compromise survivable in a working studio.

The transport is where that effort shows first. The deck is built on what the manual describes as an extra heavy-duty chassis. A built-in microprocessor commands tape motion, running two direct-drive reel motors under full tension servo control, plus a single PLL servo capstan motor. Tascam's stated reason for the overbuilt transport was professional production: long hours of high-speed, start-stop shuttling, especially when the machine was locked up to time-code-based controller/synchronizers for film or video work. A deck that drifts or loses alignment under that abuse is useless, and the MS-16 was aimed squarely at rooms doing that work.

The head stack has three heads: an erase head and two record/reproduce heads. One record/reproduce head is dedicated to recording and sync playback, the other to playback only. Per the manual, sync response equals repro response, which helps most during alignment because you're not chasing a discrepancy between the two paths. The electronics sit on plug-in printed circuit boards, connected through a mother board so the adjustment points stay accessible. Routine alignment happens through the front of the amplifier unit. The VU meter panel swings out and down, exposing the EQ, bias, and level trimmers so you can tweak while watching the meters. That works whether the machine lives in a vertical rack or a roll-around console.

There are sixteen VU meters, and each one carries a peak-indicating LED alongside it. The meters give the familiar average-level reference for judging loudness, while the LEDs catch brief transients the needle never shows, so an operator can see tape saturation coming before it happens. Bias, level, and EQ trimmers have separate controls for SYNC and REPRO playback, and all of them are metal-glazed for mechanical durability and resistance to environmental drift. There is a master bias oscillator and a separate bias amplifier for each track. The manual credits this with quieter punch-in and punch-out, since the separation avoids interactions through the bias circuit and minimizes the click noise that gives away an edit.

Speed control has three modes. In FIX mode the machine records and reproduces at exactly 15 ips, with the indicator locked at 00.0%. VARI mode hands speed to the pitch control: coarse adjustment of ±15% and fine adjustment of ±0.7%, with a three-digit indicator so a variable pitch setting can be repeated later. EXT mode assigns speed control to external equipment, either the optional RC-65 remote transport control or a SMPTE/EBU synchronizer/controller. The EXT LED stays lit when the capstan is under external control and blinks if that control is interrupted. The display flashes if the speed change falls outside its range of -49.9% to +99.9%.

The counter and locator functions shape how the deck gets used. The digital counter reads elapsed tape time from 00.00 up to 99.59, and from any mode the RTZ button sends the tape fast-winding to a 00.00 readout. A memory register stores any point when you press CUE as that time is displayed, and STC then fast-winds to the memorized cue from any mode. Press RESET and the display returns to 00.00, as does the counter on an RC-65 remote if one is plugged in.

Fast winding pulls the tape lifter arms away from the heads and electrically mutes the line outputs. There are two documented exceptions. One is the manual TAPE LIFTER control, which defeats the muting so you can monitor tape during a high-speed wind to find a slate tone or the end of a program. The other is the INPUT ENABLE switch, which lets a performer talk to the engineer during fast-winding. The manual carries a real warning for the TAPE LIFTER lever: sliding it up during a fast wind puts high-level, very high-frequency audio at the outputs, and monitor levels should be turned down first to protect speaker components.

Outputs are XLR and RCA. The balanced XLR output is nominally +4 dBm (1.23 V) into a minimum load of 200 ohms. A switch on the REC/REPRO amplifier board moves that to +8 dBm. Tascam cautions against shorting pin 1 to pin 2 or 3, and notes that running the balanced output into an unbalanced cable costs roughly 6 dB of level. The RCA jacks are unbalanced, -10 dBV (0.3 V), with a minimum load of 10 k ohms.

The power supply has multiple rails. A regulated bipolar ±15 V DC supply feeds the audio amplification circuitry, with an exclusive tracking filter to kill AC ripple. A regulated bipolar ±20 V DC supply feeds the status indicators. +5 V DC runs the microprocessor and logic, +24 V DC runs the reel motors, and a separate +24 V DC runs the capstan motor and the amplifier-switching relay. The capstan servo gets +5 V and +24 V DC. The pinch roller solenoid has a two-stage feed: +24 V to actuate it firmly, dropping to +12 V to hold it without generating excessive heat. Both solenoid supplies carry ripple filters to prevent mechanical buzz and keep hum out of the audio path. The power transformer was factory-set for line voltage by market: 220 V/50 Hz for European models, 240 V/50 Hz for U.K. and Australia, 120 V/60 Hz for U.S. and Canadian units, and a switchable 100/120/220/240 V, 50/60 Hz configuration for general export.

The MS-16 was designed as a system, and the optional equipment list is deep. The RC-65 remote control allows operation from as far as 8 meters and handles all transport controls except EDIT, including RTZ/STC, counter readout, and pitch control. It ships with an 8-meter, 51-core shielded cable and a 60-pin Hirose connector, and weighs 4.0 kg including the cable. The AQ-65 auto locator is a step up. It is a programmable multipoint unit with ten digit keys for writing cue times into memory, pre-roll of up to 20 seconds, two-point repeat between tape-time and locate-time points, and its own duplication of the transport controls, with two five-digit counters reading hours, minutes, and seconds. The CS-63 mount kit lets the record function control panel be separated from the transport and installed in a CS-64 roll-around stand or a standard 19-inch EIA rack, and it can be combined with the AQ-65 to build something close to a multi-function control center. There's also the T-0865 panel and cable kit for remote-mounting the meter panel, the CS-61 overbridge meter mount for the optional CS-65 console, and the TZ-65 metal clamper. The manual warns that the TZ-65 requires special precautions and adjustments and should be fitted by a Tascam dealer or service center.

Noise reduction was handled by the DX-8DS, an 8-channel dbx unit. It processes eight channels at a time, so a 16-track MS-16 needs two of them. The unit is universal, with every channel identical and no required connection order. Each channel has a DBX/BYPASS switch, and the channel indicators light to show which channels the unit is connected to. The DX-8DS is a dual-process design capable of simultaneous encode and decode of eight channels, with 40 Hz - 15 kHz ±1 dB back-to-back frequency response (30 Hz - 20 kHz ±2 dB), 0.2% distortion at 1 kHz back-to-back, more than 30 dB of noise reduction, and 100 dB of dynamic range. It draws power from the MS-16 rather than having its own supply, and it has no power switch of its own. When the MS-16 powers up, an LED on the DX-8DS lights to confirm it's on. Tascam's manual is explicit that the DX-8DS only functions when connected to a Tascam unit. Once connected, no record or reproduce calibration or level adjustment is needed. There is one operational adjustment, though: with dbx engaged, the meters read at a lower level because they're displaying the encoded signal after compression. The manual warns in plain terms not to compensate by raising input and output levels to hit 0 VU with dbx engaged, because that elevated level induces decoding errors.

The most important thing to know before buying or powering up an MS-16 is buried in the manual's warnings, and it catches people out. When the DX-8DS units are not in use, the bridging connectors shipped with the MS-16 must be installed in the CH 1-8 and CH 9-16 sockets on the rear of the amplifier unit. Without them, the machine will not operate. No audio. It's the first thing to check when a newly acquired deck appears dead.

The TO-122A test tone oscillator is a compact battery-powered unit with an RCA output, switchable levels of -10 dBV (line) or -40 dBV (mic/instrument), and switchable frequencies at 40 Hz, 400 Hz, 1 kHz, 4 kHz, 10 kHz, or 15 kHz. It is intended for checking input/output levels, channel balance, and electronic alignment calibration, and is useful for troubleshooting whole recording systems. There's also the E-3 head demagnetizer and the RE-1050 Tascam metal reel, a 10-1/2 inch reel for 1-inch tape.

Period advertising in Mix (1985, p.21) and Recording Engineer (June 1985, p.31) leaned as hard on the ergonomics as on the sound: record/function switches for each track allowing one-button punch-ins, and Input Enable providing instant talkback during rewinds. The same campaign turned up again in Recording Engineer (June 1986, p.25) and Mix (March 1986, p.57).