Systems and techniques relating to writing servo information on a machine-readable medium. A technique includes forming servo information using a band of ramp-tracks generated based on a mechanical characteristic of a storage device. This can involve writing the band of ramp-tracks, including an embedded timing reference, to a machine-readable medium, and writing the servo information to the machine-readable medium using the band of ramp-tracks, including the embedded timing reference. An apparatus can include a self-servo-write (SSW) controller configured to direct writing of a band of ramp-tracks to a machine-readable medium based on a given rotational relationship between the machine-readable medium and a transducer. The SSW controller includes an SSWCLK generator, an angular position generator, a ramp-track pattern generator, and a servo wedge window period generator. The apparatus can be implemented as an integrated circuit device (e.g., a silicon device), a read/write channel, a disk drive, or combinations of these.