So, now that I will soon be the proud owner of a new (To me.) deck,
can anyone suggest a good source for tape? I've googled up a few places on the 'net. But I would appreciate it if you tape fans could offer some advice, before I spend my monies.:scratch2:

Dave

EMTEC/RMGI. That's it for new tape.

Yard sales and thrift shops. Not nearly as common as records but if you're a serious crate digger you'll find some.

The problem with used tapes is you don't know the quality you are buying.

There are two separate issues I have identified with old tapes:

first, the tape might be of the batches that suffered from shedding. These tapes are practically useless and may cause problems to the decks requiring thorough cleaning after their use.

The second problem that I have seen with very old tapes that are otherwise working well is that they suffer from severe dropout. I have digitized some reels for a friend and the reels - being 25+ years old - appear to suffer from dropout, especially in the ends of the tape length.

On the other hand, new tape is not really very expensive and you get a much much better result.

I have bought a box of 20x 1200ft Quantegy 475 reels for about $50, and the audio quality is really excellent. Works well even on my low speed 1 7/8 Revox B77 with no dropout and excellent frequency response and low noise.

On the other hand, I tried a NOS BASF LPR35 tape and although it was not used and I unsealed the box, the recording quality is not at all comparable to new tape.

Same with a reel of new RMG tape that I bought for testing. Excellent audio quality and absolutely no issues with it.

I would only look into the thrift shops and ebay auctions for pre-recorded tapes with historical value, recordings that cannot be found anywhere else. Mainly a collectors excercise.

In the UK, I have found an online source at http://www.stanleysonline.co.uk/category-59.htm
The prices appear to be similar (or lower) than ebay prices I checked.

I am sure that there must be several online sources in the US for reel tapes.

Thanks Guys!

I was pretty much interested in new tape.
Will be checking out RGMI, and Quantegy.

I may grab an old tape if I see some in a thrift, or garage sale
that look interesting.

Ahhhhhhhhh, I was in your shoes not to long ago...

Ya know, the whole reason I went to R-t-R is for sound quality. You'll need to understand that tape today is $$$. I use RMGI SM900 in 7" plastic and 10.5" metal reels and it is just AWESOME. Its spendy, but I don't put stuff on tape that I don't intend to keep a while so... US RECORDING have a great selection of FRESH TAPE and they are GREAT to deal with.

As far as USED tape, if you are looking for some pre-recorded material, ebay is a GREAT source, just educate yourself. I have found that 3 3/4 ips stuff sucked when it was NEW and is even worse now after 25 - 35 years. Stick with the 7 1/2 ips stuff. I always go to sellers that will take a return if there are problems with the tape. The only tapes I have had any issues with were the 3 3/4 ips stuff. I even had some sealed stuff that was bad. 7 1/2 ips tape, all great stuff so far (knock on wood).

Blank Tape, stick to the NEW Production stuff and you can't go wrong. No doubt you can find GREAT deals on NOS tape on the web, but I know that after playing tapes that are 25 - 30 years old, my machine needs to have the guides and heads as well as the pinch roller cleaned of old tape shed... I fear the older blank tape.

Anyway, that's what I would recommend...Not the gospel or anything, just one point-of-view. More importantly, just have fun and enjoy your music.

Joey

www.splicit.com

I managed to find Quantegy 499 Studio Gold 1/4" x 10.5" 2500' metal reels--$38 a piece. Shipping was free on orders over $100, so I bought three. You're right, tape is getting expensive.

Got it at www.musiciansfriend.com, I was told that "the supply is extremely limited."
But I considered this a lucky find,------ Quantegy no longer makes tape.

I managed to find Quantegy 499 Studio Gold 1/4" x 10.5" 2500' metal reels--$38 a piece. Shipping was free on orders over $100, so I bought three. You're right, tape is getting expensive.

Got it at www.musiciansfriend.com, I was told that "the supply is extremely limited."
But I considered this a lucky find,------ Quantegy no longer makes tape.

Not to bad a deal! However, that is old stock tape...just keep that in mind.

Yes, tape is VERY expensive. However, CD's did not get popular because they sounded better than open reel tape or vinyl. The recored companies could make more money on them as the cost to make a CD is dirt cheep AND they can sell it for more. We were in a sense FORCED into the digital medium which is now responsable for hurting the industry that tried to capitolize on it. Gotta love Karma I guess.

Joey

Not to bad a deal! However, that is old stock tape...just keep that in mind.

Yes, tape is VERY expensive. However, CD's did not get popular because they sounded better than open reel tape or vinyl. The recored companies could make more money on them as the cost to make a CD is dirt cheep AND they can sell it for more. We were in a sense FORCED into the digital medium which is now responsable for hurting the industry that tried to capitolize on it. Gotta love Karma I guess.

Joey

That I did not know. Well, hopefully not too old.:D

Yep, interesting how things have turned out for the industry.
Twenty years ago we though we be using our lps for placemats.

Thanks, Joey.

Dave

I bought some too and don't think it's old stock tape. As far as I can tell, it's from the end of the Quantegy production run from 2007 which is similar to the vintage of RMGI tape out there I think until more of it shows up sometime soon.






Not to bad a deal! However, that is old stock tape...just keep that in mind.

Yes, tape is VERY expensive. However, CD's did not get popular because they sounded better than open reel tape or vinyl. The recored companies could make more money on them as the cost to make a CD is dirt cheep AND they can sell it for more. We were in a sense FORCED into the digital medium which is now responsable for hurting the industry that tried to capitolize on it. Gotta love Karma I guess.

Joey

I managed to find Quantegy 499 Studio Gold 1/4" x 10.5" 2500' metal reels--$38 a piece. Shipping was free on orders over $100, so I bought three. You're right, tape is getting expensive.

Got it at www.musiciansfriend.com, I was told that "the supply is extremely limited."
But I considered this a lucky find,------ Quantegy no longer makes tape.
You can still get RMGI tape for around that price on a plastic reel. I really wish that you had asked before buying the 499 though, as it is unfortunately very likely to have too high of a bias requirements for the revox, and so the performance is likely to not be at its best. :sigh:

You can still get RMGI tape for around that price on a plastic reel. I really wish that you had asked before buying the 499 though, as it is unfortunately very likely to have too high of a bias requirements for the revox, and so the performance is likely to not be its best. :sigh:


Well, hopefully, it'll still be good 'nough anyways. If not, it'll go up for sale.

Thanks for the tip, goldear. Better late than never. If you had never told me that, I may have assumed there was something wrong with the deck. So,
I thank you for the heads up!

So, what tape would you recommend?

Dave

Well, hopefully, it'll still be good 'nough anyways. If not, it'll go up for sale.

Thanks for the tip, goldear. Better late than never. If you had never told me that, I may have assumed there was something wrong with the deck. So,
I thank you for the heads up!

So, what tape would you recommend?

Dave
Quantegy 456 or 457 would be my first choice, but the new stock tape is getting seriously hard to find (I know of one source that still had a small supply a couple of weeks ago, PM me if you're interested).

But the RMGI 911 might be a reasonably close match too.

http://www.usrecordingmedia.com.

As noted, tape isn't cheap. But the folks at USR will take care of you.


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DL-Too bad you missed out on the free tape contests. Even worse that the next one planned was cancelled

Hey Guys,

Did some more digging and found a case (20 reels) of RMGI 911 10.5 inch on plastic reels,------new. Not NOS, but new from the factory.
Perseverence is the key.

Should be set up for a good while.

Dave

Well, RMG is so new company that I guess one could not find NOS RMG tapes even if they wanted to.

I think I read in some thread that this is an excellent grade.

Well, RMG is so new company that I guess one could not find NOS RMG tapes even if they wanted to.

I think I read in some thread that this is an excellent grade.


Yes this is correct, they are a new company, located here in Pennsylvania.
I find it funny someone would think this was a NOS tape. The tape is as new as it gets. Hopefully they continue to get a good response from buyer's and stick around.

I believe RMGI manufactures the tape in Holland though US operations may be in PN.

I believe RMGI manufactures the tape in Holland though US operations may be in PN.

Yes your right figman. I was thinking of this company, http://www.usrecordingmedia.com/ located here in Pa, when I think of Reel tape I think of us recording. Time for a nap, LOL.

My bad. At some point someone admonished me to beware of NOS tape, as it is sometimes so old it sheds terribly. And I wasn't aware of how long RMGI has been around.

I've been out of the (cassette) tape game for a very long time. Just now getting into RTR.

And, your right; Based in Holland.

Dave

The eternal NOS debate is definitely a double-edged sword that we all have a love-hate relationship with. Here's why.

1. Buying a roll of NOS means that that's one roll NOT being bought new. That takes away business from the new guys and thus that much more reason to not continue offering them. Or at least offering them at the prices they do.

2. By virtue of having our reel to reel decks, every one of us (myself included) are, to some degree, 'living in the past'. Whether it's holding on to an age where we were younger or simply prefer things 'the way they were' is kind of beside the point. What matters is that we are 'there'. So there is some intuitive appeal to rounding out the whole experience. Not just with the deck, but the accessorial items as well: the reels, the specialty leader tapes, the boxes with the graphics of the period. All of it adds to the experience. So naturally, there is some desire to add that to the system.

2A. Because of the above, and the limited quantities of the vintage tapes and reels available, particularly the virgin grades, it's not hard to figure out why NOS prices can match or even exceed that of new tape, even if the quality of the actual tape isn't as good.

3. Not "all" NOS is bad per se. Some tapes such as Maxell (any grade) and TDK (LX and GX) have proven long shelf lives. Given proper storage and handling, these tapes can and do perform flawlessly with excellent sound regardless of age. The folks peddling new tape will dispute this point to the death, but I'll believe my own ears before believing that "neutral" argument. This isn't to say that some of the newer tapes aren't better sonically, I'm simply saying that NOS isn't "unusable" as some folks would like you to think. You just need to do apples-to-apples comparisons. For example, take Maxell XLI, Quantegy #407, and RMGI LPR-35. All are more or less the same in terms of physical characteristics and sonic performance. Even though the Maxell is the oldest, it still holds its own. So at that point, it all boils down to personal preference, availability, and affordability. This is assuming that the intended application is home recording of LP's and CD's. On the other hand, if you are in a critical listening environment, then yes, I would have to say go with the newest and best you can find. And even then only if you are set up for it with the proper decks. For instance, it would be a waste of money to try and record RMGI 911 on a Teac A3300-S. It's not that it won't work, it's just that the tape is far more than the deck is capable of handling. You will get equally good results using a lesser tape. Think squashing a fly with a wrecking ball.

4. Just as there are some NOS tapes out there that WILL work, there are also some NOS tapes that should be avoided at all costs. Not because the tapes were bad for recording (I don't think that tapes go bad the same way that milk spoils after two weeks), but rather, as noted, because of the so-called 'sticky shed' issue.

So the warning isn't without merit. The important thing is knowing the difference. In this case, do not buy anything that says Ampex (particularly the 406/407, 456/457 and '2020' series), Sony (ULH, SLH, FeCr), and some Scotch/3M (206/207, 226/227, Classic). Buy these tapes for the reels and boxes (see above #2). But for these ones, you would be well advised to dump the tape and replace with a fresh roll (such as a pancake) prior to using.

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DL-If I knew when it was new

I'd like to add to this that someone on ebay is selling Quantegy 406 pancakes in lots of 10 for $99. I tried this tape, it's 2004 datecode, and works perfectly for "non-critical" use. That means, I use it to record Jazz off the radio and also to test other decks. Nothing wrong with the tape, it's cheap if you have the metal reels, and save the mint stuff for archival recordings.

Yep, I am expecting a box of those 406 pancakes on Monday from Total Media. They are 2500-ft, not 3600, good general-purpose recording tapes.

Plastic reels work fine too if you can't find metal. With prices the way they are, now's not the time to be proud :D

C.

Quantegy #406 is nothing to be ashamed of. It's roughly equivalent to Maxell XLI 50-120B (just as the 407, the 1.0 mil version, is on par with XLI 35-180B). Granted, it's not the more desirable 3600' length. But for the price, this is no time to be picky. Especially if you are just starting out. This one is not likely to be beaten any time soon. Those auctions were mentioned on AA and I wholheartedly encouraged anyone who could to buy some.

Now Quantegy #642, that's another story. Definitely nothing to brag about even at that price.

As I also went on to say...if you are interested...buy these pancakes now. This deal might not happen again. Then sit on them. You can then take your time to shop and pick-and-choose reels and boxes based on your preferences and cost. They can be loaded onto reels at any time on an as-needed basis. The only thing I strongly encourage is that if you plan to work with pancakes, you WILL need one metal reel where you can remove the flanges in order to load the tape. Quantegy or Ampex style reels work best. But any reel will do.

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DL-For oh trix

I posted this about a week ago. I think these folks have 1/4 reel tape from various MFGs.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=146285

I'll be buying some to add to my stock too :)

Makes me wish I'd never sold my Colgems two-fer of the Monkees "Headquarters" and "PAC&J". Their two best albums on one tape.

Wait- it was 3.75 ips. Now I don't feel too bad. :scratch2:

Hey Guys,

Did some more digging and found a case (20 reels) of RMGI 911 10.5 inch on plastic reels,------new. Not NOS, but new from the factory.
Perseverence is the key.

Should be set up for a good while.

Dave

Purchased this from www.dupespec.com, BTW.

The only thing I strongly encourage is that if you plan to work with pancakes, you WILL need one metal reel where you can remove the flanges in order to load the tape. Quantegy or Ampex style reels work best. But any reel will do.

Dumb question: Is there some sort of one sided reel you can buy to just leave the pancake the way it is? I've seen pictures of studio decks where they've done this. Do they just use a regular reel with one side removed and mount the pancake to the flange?

I am unfamiliar with the term "pancake". Anyone care to explain for me?

Thanks

Tape with only a hub,--------no flanges.

A pancake is the tape in standard lengths wound around a plastic hub only without any sides of the reel. It's less expensive but you must, with some care, put the tape with it's hub onto one side of a metal reel, turn it over and put the other side on and screw it together. From there, you could transfer it to a plastic reel if you wanted to.

What Dread said.

What figman said, too.

Brent,

The open platter approach uses a special flat reel (not unlike the platters used for film editing) with a core, in Germany called a 'Bobby', and while it looks uber-cool, in a WW2 kind of way, I would not recommend it unless you have:
A really dependable transport (Studer or so)
Back-coated tape.
Good nerves. :D

You can, for the purposes of laying a pancake over to a reel, put half a metal reel with its core on your machine.
Place pancake on half-reel and wind SLOWLY (regular play at your high speed is best) across to the take-up.
It goes without saying that the machine should be lying down....

To eliminate any spill, it is of course best to place a pancake whole in a split reel and then assemble the reel afterwards.

Best,
C.

I've got an Otari MX5050BII so it's a pretty good deck. I've seen those pancakes on ebay and I've thought about picking up some but haven't gotten around to it. The ads from the seller mention selling empty reels at a decent price on his website but when you go there they're not listed.

Dumb question: Is there some sort of one sided reel you can buy to just leave the pancake the way it is? I've seen pictures of studio decks where they've done this. Do they just use a regular reel with one side removed and mount the pancake to the flange?
Do not try this at home! Virtually no machines have transports that are stable enough to do this with. And the few that are, need to be operated on their backs. You are almost certain to have a big tangled mess of tape if you should try this. :yikes: