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GS 1200 OPERATING TIP VERSION 2 OR GREATER
Ever wonder why optical films often run sounding terrible? Given the age of all three things in question the age of film prints, machines and projectionists, it’s no wonder why problems exist.
My optical prints are lubricated & have good splices and leads and the machines have been recently serviced. Yet, optical sound is low, it’s not beefy at all. And I’m pushing through a powerful Marantz processor with dedicated channel power amplifiers (via pre out of the Marantz).
When a splice goes through, it can get worse for a few seconds before it settles down again. It’s enough to be very frustrating especially when you demand the very best of each presentation even though you know there are limits.
Through trial and error I announce a neat little hat trick that generally gives a big improvement. But it only works with GS models version 2 or greater. Because it has to have the bottom loop that points to the take up reel and NOT the screen.
1. Auto load your leader.
2. Press stop before you attach to the take up reel.
3. Press the still button with the lamp off.
4. Drop the main cover to expose the film path.
5. Below left of the focus knob locate the loop restorer. This is a triangle shaped piece of black plastic with a stem sticking out. The stem is contacted with the outside loop restore lever.
6. With the film in stop & still mode push down on the stem.
7. You will see the top loop get smaller by about two frames.
8. Press the stem gently until it stops and do not force it.
9. Let go when it stops.
10. Now press play mode and slow frame advance is activated.
11. Watch to see there is no film jamming or malfunction otherwise.
12. This way you run only a few inches rather than a few feet and save valuable leader.
13. Now release still mode and continue auto loading by attaching to take up reel and running down to your starting point.
14. Begin the reel when ready.
What you have done is reset the loops for optical presentation. The film is now tighter around the sound drum and closer to the rear slit lens and photo cell. Only when it is not tight does the sound weaken and seem sluggish. Doing this during auto load avoids the ugly loop skipping distraction when the reel is playing.
During stop mode I noticed the film claw was retracted from the gate. That is not sticking out of the gate. Which means like a 16mm slot load – when you press auto load the film path is open so the film glides through from start to finish. Only when auto load is released do the claw pins lock into the perforations and projection begins. Which is why pulling down on the stem of the loop restore assembly works so well.
Regarding optical sound it is a known fact that Elmo added a restrictor somewhere to optical to avoid over modulation. I don’t quite know what that means but I do know that yes, you DO have to turn up the volume more to hear optical then compared to magnetic.
Obviously this problem with optical is a red flag that a machine needs servicing for optical operation. Tell your tech to reset to factory specs. Including, but not limited to optical problems.
I’ve had a stellar month of viewing films. The month of March has come down to 20 screenings. Most of these have been optical. Some I have merely threaded and the sound was low end…not very good. Others whereas I did the steps I describe here were much better.
Trusting that some of you will give this a try.
For machines with the forward bottom loop (to the screen) you need to find a way to tackle this but you should be able to do it. Remember to use junk test reels so if film does get damaged it’s not a major loss…….
CG
Ever wonder why optical films often run sounding terrible? Given the age of all three things in question the age of film prints, machines and projectionists, it’s no wonder why problems exist.
My optical prints are lubricated & have good splices and leads and the machines have been recently serviced. Yet, optical sound is low, it’s not beefy at all. And I’m pushing through a powerful Marantz processor with dedicated channel power amplifiers (via pre out of the Marantz).
When a splice goes through, it can get worse for a few seconds before it settles down again. It’s enough to be very frustrating especially when you demand the very best of each presentation even though you know there are limits.
Through trial and error I announce a neat little hat trick that generally gives a big improvement. But it only works with GS models version 2 or greater. Because it has to have the bottom loop that points to the take up reel and NOT the screen.
1. Auto load your leader.
2. Press stop before you attach to the take up reel.
3. Press the still button with the lamp off.
4. Drop the main cover to expose the film path.
5. Below left of the focus knob locate the loop restorer. This is a triangle shaped piece of black plastic with a stem sticking out. The stem is contacted with the outside loop restore lever.
6. With the film in stop & still mode push down on the stem.
7. You will see the top loop get smaller by about two frames.
8. Press the stem gently until it stops and do not force it.
9. Let go when it stops.
10. Now press play mode and slow frame advance is activated.
11. Watch to see there is no film jamming or malfunction otherwise.
12. This way you run only a few inches rather than a few feet and save valuable leader.
13. Now release still mode and continue auto loading by attaching to take up reel and running down to your starting point.
14. Begin the reel when ready.
What you have done is reset the loops for optical presentation. The film is now tighter around the sound drum and closer to the rear slit lens and photo cell. Only when it is not tight does the sound weaken and seem sluggish. Doing this during auto load avoids the ugly loop skipping distraction when the reel is playing.
During stop mode I noticed the film claw was retracted from the gate. That is not sticking out of the gate. Which means like a 16mm slot load – when you press auto load the film path is open so the film glides through from start to finish. Only when auto load is released do the claw pins lock into the perforations and projection begins. Which is why pulling down on the stem of the loop restore assembly works so well.
Regarding optical sound it is a known fact that Elmo added a restrictor somewhere to optical to avoid over modulation. I don’t quite know what that means but I do know that yes, you DO have to turn up the volume more to hear optical then compared to magnetic.
Obviously this problem with optical is a red flag that a machine needs servicing for optical operation. Tell your tech to reset to factory specs. Including, but not limited to optical problems.
I’ve had a stellar month of viewing films. The month of March has come down to 20 screenings. Most of these have been optical. Some I have merely threaded and the sound was low end…not very good. Others whereas I did the steps I describe here were much better.
Trusting that some of you will give this a try.
For machines with the forward bottom loop (to the screen) you need to find a way to tackle this but you should be able to do it. Remember to use junk test reels so if film does get damaged it’s not a major loss…….
CG
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