Restored my dads R2R but no tape loop on integrated

jvonoldershausen

The channel imbalance that you notice is due to the cartridge. I have seven carts that range from -.6 to +1.1 dB.(left) If you can’t balance it in the phono preamp (like I can) you will have to do it with the record settings. (Unless your goal is to preserve imperfection) Take a test record with stereo balanced pink noise or a mono LP to get a feel for the offset required. I used to record LPs setting max levels for the loudest part of the side (some search required) and then just let her rip.
Do you have peak LEDs with your VUs? If so it’s easier to set max level. Try some recording some acoustic like guitar or piano and see how much flashing (saturation) your ears can handle. Remember that loud signals also cause "print through." There is always a trade off between tape noise on the floor and distortion on the ceiling. Your job is maximize the fit in between, balanced. You can mitigate this with a dBx compander or dBx ll but this is a trade off also.
If you use dBx ll you ALWAYS need it for playback which is a p.i.t.a. because they used cheap ass switches that often fail for one or more channels.
I also used to record the needle drop and go back and record mute over it up to the start of the program.
Make sure you hand demag the heads often or you will end up with DC "bias" on your tapes. Either routinely or upon checking with a magnetometer. DO NOT lay tapes on speakers (same thing) A splicer is recommended for maintenance (leaders etc.)
If you do much recording I recommend you become familiar with setup, and acquiring test tapes - setup is dynamic. My deck has test tones built in.

https://rsdacademy.net/textbooks/AnalogCircuits/Part6/PageSetup.php?Page=41&FileName=AnalogAudio....

Have fun.

Even when everything is perfect, many a track, analog or digital, is slightly off and a very small balance tweak can make a surprising improvement, to both imaging and individual instrument/voice distinctions.

I love my Chase Remote Line Controller RLC-1, it's remote volume and remote balance a wonderful thing! None for low price now it seems.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234035488157?hash=item367d9a259d:g:FOsAAOSwhNlgmIqc

S/N 120 db, no one can tell if it is in or out, I just went thru the same in/out listening process when I bought my Oppo CD player, and it just invisibly does it's thing. Intellectually, I want the simplest chain, but functionally, at no detriment, I'd be crazy to deny myself remote balance.
.........................................

It's good you know the system, the problem is only somewhere in the TT path.

It might be anti-skate as you suspect,

doubt it's VTA causing balance issue no matter what thickness LP is.

Could be a cartridge pin wire, DIN pin, rca jack, cable. Tedious, but get a piece of paper, draw the path, check/change only one thing at a time, 

..........................

buy one of these, helps with cartridge alignments,

and, for left/right balance: is it my anti-skate???? the smooth side will definitely let you SEE the effect of anti-skate adjustments as you make it. Spin manually, watch, adjust, spin, couldn't be easier.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333319932993?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&...

After a week, re-check, is the arm holding it's tracking and anti-skate settings? That's why I prefer the dangling weight, pure gravity.
..................................

this LP (get the CD also) side 2, tracks 2 and 3, (you hear all 3 guitarists on those 2 tracks), it is my final anti-skate tweak, very revealing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_Night_in_San_Francisco

If your integrated has a processor loop, that will work the same as a tape loop.   To think that I gave away both a Teac and Sony R to R and a Sony ES DAT recorder 10 years ago kills me to this day.  I never thought tape would make a comeback. 

oldhvymec  
As usual you make little sense.  
The OP expressed interest in recording vinyl not remastering it.
Period.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I know, that's when you spouted off and said

" A "true" tape loop has nothing to do with EQ."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Of course you took it out of context. I said EQ down stream before the recorder/tape. You can master a tape that's the whole point. To what DEGREE do you want to record?

A Remix is considered a master cut IF you wind up with an original when you're done.. Isn't it? I thought that was the point..

No matter the reason I wish the OP the best results, I was just offering what a TAPE LOOP was for. Not what you use it for.. There is more than one way to create a loop.. In this case for Tape recordings.. No different than for a CD. A dozen ways to spit those out too..

Most Macs still have tape loops, my C2500 does "Record in" and "Record out". Has onboard EQ for three types of tape EQs to..

@fuzztone Test mono record is a good idea for understanding offset but again, the imbalance is never consistent across records so i think finding a baseline adjustment on R2R wouldn’t work in my case.

The reason for suspecting something other than cartridge is how often the imbalance appears on thicker records. I do have older LPs from my dad that sit pretty much direct center. Newer, remastered LPs are usually the disappointing ones - Led Zepplin I remastered by Jimmy Page is awful, Robert Plant sounds like hes singing from 2 o’clock and incredibly bright at a suitable listening volume. Sometimes i wondering if my left speaker was even working when i listed to that album initially.

Not ruling out cartridge or any other issue but I’ve done quite a bit of reading and its a never ending deep dive into misinformation, this method vs that method, etc and in the end I don’t want to get lost in all that...It seems that no matter what info you find on any topic there will always be someone in opposition. I purchased a USB mic (miniDSP) and using REW to try out some testing but again, so much conflicting info online and I’d rather not blow $700 on Adjust+ or something else.

Thanks for tips on setting levels, I picked up the restored R2R yesterday and the technician gave me some info as well. Did not think about speakers having an effect on the tape!! So I probably would’ve made that mistake early on

@elliottbnewcombjr That RLC-1 looks interesting. In hindsight, i would happily trade the built in DAC on my integrated for a simple tape loop and basic balance/tone controls, a much simpler fix than trying to meet many different parameters for an audio format that’s inherently flawed. Getting exact azimuth/vta/vtf/anti-skate/etc is great until the record is slightly warped, slightly thicker, slightly dirty, etc. Why chase such exacting parameters when most cartridges do not have perfect azimuth when received, do not have perfect balance between channels? Its fruitless and in the end I really just wanted to enjoy listening to records not make it my whole life pursuit.

I’ve used a blank test record and had to add extra weight to the fishline antiskate system on my Pro-ject just to keep it from pulling towards the center. Only to find it did not correct the error and possibly made it worse. Then i took anti-skate completely off and couldn’t notice much of a difference but it sounded as if the balance had improved!? Maybe VTF needs to be adjusted accordingly? Some people don’t even believe antiskate is needed and a heavier VTF yields better results. I’ve watched the azimuth of the cartridge during playback but again, records are so imperfect that it’ll tilt to the left, then to the right on each revolution so I can’t understand the logic of trying to get those parameters somehow “perfect”. Even finding the “right” test record that has a properly centered spindle hole, etc is hopeless - any recommendation you find there will always be a conflicting one.

I don’t expect my ears to be very discerning, not much experience with hifi up until a few months ago but channel imbalance is something thats definitely distracting. Having a balance control somewhere in my chain would allow me to fix that quickly for each record i listen to and avoid wasting hours and hours on the TT adjustments.

@oldhvymec Thanks for the info on EQ, i will probably stick with the adjustments available on my R2R for the time being. If I can correct for channel imbalance that alone would make the tape an improvement over LP.