Notes from September 2008

Steenbeck 1901 arrives

Last week the massive crate containing my new Steenbeck 1901 arrived on the loading dock. The crating company did a remarkable job of getting the machine to Portland unscathed, very impressed with the work that went into packing this delicate, albeit heavy film editor. The 1901 is a late-model 01 machine having been manufactured in 1992, and it will replace my KEM Rapid. The 01 machines have a brilliant prism design which allows for a brighter, flicker-free image that rivals the generation of KEM machine I have. I'm really impressed by the image quality of the 01 machines. I'm still going over the machine and cleaning things up, mostly dust from having been sitting for so long unused, otherwise the machine is in almost pristine condition. I am currently waiting for a modified PCB to output bi-phase to Digi USD. The Steenbeck's sound tracks I'll likely use to check accuracy of sync, rather than for real editorial work, but I still have enough mag to allow some editorial use. I still enjoy cutting mag, and the way I work with simple location sound, the process is pretty straight forward, no D-M-E tracks, no complicated cutting of dialogue scenes.

September 06, 2008  –  permalink