Making the step up from 16 tracks to 24 is often an expensive business. But is buying the cheapest model a viable solution? Dave Simpson gives us a user report on the Aces MT24HS.

A few long standing readers of H&SR may remember that last year I wrote a couple of articles on the purchase of a small thatched cottage in rural Bedfordshire and the establishing of a B16-based recording studio in two tiny rooms.

Over a period of some 20 months, my studio reached the point where the limited amount of space (recording area 10ft x 8½ft and control room 6ft x 10ft) became ridiculously unworkable. Yet like many small studios I couldn't afford to run the business on rented premises. The customers were coming in thick and fast, but my prices were always restricted by the lack of floorspace. Where could I go?

About this time I started selling the odd bit of studio gear, and after a few weeks it occurred to me that rather than just selling random items, maybe I could put my expertise to some use, and with this in mind I advertised a service to other would-be small studio owners. Instead of just selling them the equipment I began to help in more practical ways: VAT, accountants, trade tape supplies and advice on what to buy and pitfalls they may encounter. Although other shops could sell studio gear at the same prices I did (but rarely better!) they could not provide a potential studio owner with the experience I could; my knowledge was gained from practical experience, and could prove the difference between a small studio making it or going broke. I started to generate a lot of business. Because of the extra revenue I decided to take a gamble and build a large double garage in my garden, to double as offices and studio (I still wanted to record bands, and I felt that to get too far away from my roots would be fatal as far as the selling was concerned). Eight months later, my building was complete and I was ready to move in the studio.

I was quite prepared to do this until the day I finished the last of the new studio's fittings and then, as I looked around my new edifice, I decided that maybe 16-track wasn't enough after all.

Now in my previous articles I made a statement to the effect that I would never consider going 24-track. During the last stages of the building of Thatched Cottage Mk2 I had designed the control room around a TAC Matchless desk, this being the best quality mixer with the requisite features I could afford. This beauty really stretched the budget. It was a 24-channel desk though, no 16-channel models came close to the quality.

So there I was with a 24-track building, and a 24-channel desk, and a Fostex B16 tape deck. Despite this I still would have used the B16, had it not been for some nifty mental arithmetic one night. As I added up the cost of the building and the equipment already installed (I had over £25,000 worth of outboard gear!) I realised I had to go 24-track. I could not begin to cover the costs any other way. I hoped that my previous rash statement would be forgotten.

The Choice

But which should I buy? My budget was still severely limited, and the only options, apart from something second hand and invariably hammered, was a Soundcraft or an Aces.

I met Peter Keeling, Aces Managing Director and discussed with him the possibility of reviewing a high spec version of the Aces 24-track, the MT24HS. I decided then that if the Aces was good enough I'd buy it, the unit being substantially cheaper than the Soundcraft. If it wasn't, I would send it back and buy a Soundcraft.

I awaited the arrival of the unit with some trepidation. Pete would be the first to admit that Aces have had a somewhat chequered career. Their early 24-tracks were a little like Minis: some owners swore by them and others swore at them. I was to get the new revamped model.

Reviewing or evaluating a multitrack is not like reviewing a mixing desk; you cannot write reams and reams about all its features, good or bad because it doesn't actually do much, other than record and play back... and one recorder is configured much like another.

The Aces machine is a stand alone 2", 24-track machine (offering both 15ips and 30ips) complete with a 9-position autolocate and full function remote control though a cheaper model without remote control and with less sophisticated line-up facilities is also available.

The MT24HS looks both smart and business-like and it is easy to use; the remote is fitted with a good length of cable and everything worked as it should with the recorder giving about the same level of tape noise as a B16 with the Dolby C in. There was, though, noticeably better top end detail than I was used to with my old B16 and the cross-talk between tracks was minimal. I have never been in a position to evaluate it directly against the competition though at the price, it could be argued that there is none; I had always been happy with the sound quality of the B16, and the Aces was better.

Constructionally, the Aces is tough and basic with good access for servicing and all the line up controls are presented on the front panel in the traditional manner. The heavy motor plate which houses the transport hinges up for access and all the channel electronics are in the form of plug-in modules.

"...the tape counter did not always return to zero at the same spot that it left it; the tape slipped."

One curious design feature is the tape lifter system. There is only one lifter arm and this means that the tape runs on the erase head in fast wind. This doesn't seem to cause any problems by way of tape or head wear but it is worth mentioning.

Inside the 3-week review period, one of the brake pads lost contact with the metal bonding strip to which it was glued, causing one of the spools to jam and that, unfortunately, burned out a solenoid. I duly rang Aces, and they arrived the next day to fix it.

The only other grouse was the fact that the tape counter did not always return to zero at the same spot that it left it; the tape slipped. A different roller helped a bit but the problem wasn't completely solved.

Nevertheless, after the probation period I decided to keep it. I couldn't imagine that a more expensive machine would sound all that much better unless I went up a good few brackets into the Otari class. I obviously wasn't ready for that yet.

Six Months Later...

The point about a user report as opposed to a review is that a fairly long evaluation period is usually involved, allowing time for faults and bad design points to emerge. How has it fared some six months later?

Well, perhaps the greatest compliment that I can pay is that I've stopped thinking about it. Down-time is the bane of every studio owner's life. I had experienced a few problems with the B16 and knew what it was like to lose sessions, so for the first few weeks I was forever wondering what would happen if it went wrong.

Well, in fact the machine did go wrong twice, though it was nothing serious. Both times an engineer from Aces was out within 16 hours of my call to fix it. Both times the charge has been what I would consider normal, considering they are based 2½ hours drive away.

Running at 30ips the machine is quiet enough to use for serious work without the need for noise reduction and the only compromise that seems to be obvious is that the transport control is not very sophisticated: the slow braking and the inaccurate zero return.

And beefs? Well, a cure for the tape counter problem is apparently to lightly sandpaper the main left hand roller, but to tell you the truth I can't be bothered (which is probably some indication of how much it matters to me)! A few of the front VU meter back-lights have also gone down and I haven't replaced them either. They're easy to change and one day I'll remember to ask Aces for some new ones.

Conclusions

Quite honestly, if all you need is a basic 24-track machine then you should at least give the Aces MT24HS serious consideration, especially if your budget is tight. I'm sure that on paper Otaris and Lyrecs have better spec and in practice are almost certainly more reliable. However, the Aces machine does the job and at the price there's nothing to compete with it. I remember that when I was about to buy the B16 many people thought that the tape was too narrow, the transport too cheap, the quality suspect and the reliability in doubt. I agreed. However, I only had £3000. The same situation occurred when buying the Aces but I took a gamble and it payed off. While you're all saving up for Otari MTR90s, I'm busy earning money with my 24-track. See you at the bank chaps!

The Aces MT24HS costs £11,585 including VAT.

Further information is available from: Aces (UK) Ltd, (Contact Details).