Thought you guys might like some tape machine circuit guts.

[lincolnic]

While aligning my studio's 2" machine for a session last week, I discovered a problem with one of the record cards. Yesterday I walked in and found the problematic card on the workbench, and thought it looked cool - figured you guys might like it too. So here's a record card from our 3M M56 - the finest 16-track 2" machine 1971 had to offer.



Fun fact: this tape machine used to belong to Eddie Van Halen!

[drezdn]

Awesome!

[chromesphere]

Harvest! (joke) lol

[raulduke]

Really cool. They don't make them like they used too!

What are the two big silver components (labelled Arco).

Transformers, inductors?

[drezdn]

From googling Arco 464, I wonder if they're trim caps?

[gtr2]

I like looking at all the old PCB layouts.  Always very artsy 

[lincolnic]

Really cool. They don't make them like they used too!

What are the two big silver components (labelled Arco).

Transformers, inductors?

They're trimmers for adjusting the high frequency record level (that is, the 10k response) - the top one (right-most) adjusts for 30 IPS, the bottom one for 15 IPS. We work at 15, so that top one may not have been touched in a few years!

[Maple Larynx]

I like the fact that you can still identify the component identity (R22 or C11 for example) even on the populated board.  I guess that would work for pedals as long as everything was going into a BB size enclosure or we didn't mind using microscopes to read the circuit board.