13th May 2012
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#1 | | Gear nut
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 105
Thread Starter | Acceptable tape stock age
Hi!
How old is acceptable for tape stock?? I am looking at some Quantegy 456 1/2" from 2003, new and sealed.
Is it likely to be ok assuming it's been stored well? Should I buy only recently manufactured tape?
Any advice would be most gratefully welcome as this is a new area for me (having just bought an Otari MTR-12 II half-track 1/2". Hooray!!).
J.
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13th May 2012
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#2 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2003 Location: Hollywood CA
Posts: 3,010
Verified Member  | Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyPaulCarrol  Hi!
How old is acceptable for tape stock?? I am looking at some Quantegy 456 1/2" from 2003, new and sealed.
Is it likely to be ok assuming it's been stored well? Should I buy only recently manufactured tape?
Any advice would be most gratefully welcome as this is a new area for me (having just bought an Otari MTR-12 II half-track 1/2". Hooray!!). | Should be fine, but there is no way to know other than actually trying it.
DC
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13th May 2012
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#3 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Feb 2010 Location: Europe
Posts: 670
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I think you'll be fine with 2003, but Quantegy had some good and bad parts over the years, so I'll ask maybe on tapeop board.
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13th May 2012
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#4 | | Gear addict
Joined: Nov 2009 Location: Omaha, Nebraska USA
Posts: 444
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I own the same deck, albeit heavily modified. I use ATR magnetics tape, and love it. I have some NOS quantegy gp9 around, but it tends to shed a bit. The ATR sounds better anyway.
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The Omaha Recording Company
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14th May 2012
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#5 | | Gear nut
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 105
Thread Starter |
Thanks for the responses..I'll check out the ATR tape... seems quite expensive here in the UK, but...
Cheers!
Jeremy.
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15th May 2012
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#6 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Toronto
Posts: 811
Verified Member | Quote:
Originally Posted by ORC I own the same deck, albeit heavily modified. I use ATR magnetics tape, and love it. I have some NOS quantegy gp9 around, but it tends to shed a bit. The ATR sounds better anyway. | Only thing I miss about Quantegy GP9 is that it seemed to last longer than ATR (when used and reused for lay-back work). By lasting longer, I mean sounding good for "X" number of spins.
However, I have been a regular ATR user since it came out! In fact he told me that he has changed formulation again and said I should find the new shipment lasting longer.
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15th May 2012
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#7 | | Gear nut
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 105
Thread Starter |
Seeing as I'm only looking to use it for layback, how many times can a virgin tape realistically be re-used?
J.
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15th May 2012
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#8 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2003 Location: Hollywood CA
Posts: 3,010
Verified Member | Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyPaulCarrol Seeing as I'm only looking to use it for layback, how many times can a virgin tape realistically be re-used?
J. | There is no hard limit. If the transport is in good shape, it could be a lot. I've certainly seen records mixed where the multi had hundreds of passes.
DC
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15th May 2012
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#9 | | Gear nut
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 105
Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by dcollins There is no hard limit. If the transport is in good shape, it could be a lot. I've certainly seen records mixed where the multi had hundreds of passes.
DC | Even if the material is completely different on each record pass??
Cheers!
J.
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15th May 2012
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#10 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2003 Location: Hollywood CA
Posts: 3,010
Verified Member | Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyPaulCarrol Even if the material is completely different on each record pass?? | Sure. The machine doesn't care. It's possible to run such high record levels that the machine is incapable of full erasure, but it's not always a problem.
You could always get a used bulk eraser, which will actually make the tape quieter than brand new.
DC
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15th May 2012
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#11 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Feb 2010 Location: Europe
Posts: 670
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The "archiving" tapes like PER528 are generally better to re-record hundred times than SM900 or SM911, because they are thicker, do not shed and bend like crazy and have great stability. I also found that PER528 tapes are one of the best for layback mastering just because of THAT and they can get you very balanced sound with very very slight vintage feel plus when you drive them hard, they sound great. The only one I prefer for saturation is SM900.
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15th May 2012
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#12 | | Mastering Moderator
Joined: Apr 2003 Location: Always on the Run
Posts: 2,947
Verified Member  | Quote:
Originally Posted by sat159p1 The "archiving" tapes like PER528 are generally better to re-record hundred times than SM900 or SM911, because they are thicker, do not shed and bend like crazy and have great stability. I also found that PER528 tapes are one of the best for layback mastering just because of THAT and they can get you very balanced sound with very very slight vintage feel plus when you drive them hard, they sound great. The only one I prefer for saturation is SM900. | PER 528 sounds vintage in a nice way. Vintage Jazz. 468 for mojo rock mastering. 900 for hi-fi. If stored correctly it shouldn't be a problem. The stock I am using now is still labelled EMTEC Ludwigshafen so not exactly new...
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I expect a Nobel prize to someday be awarded to an audiophile cable designer, as they clearly are way ahead of the rest of us.
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16th May 2012
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#13 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 1,505
Verified Member | Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyPaulCarrol Seeing as I'm only looking to use it for layback, how many times can a virgin tape realistically be re-used? | A lot. High speed cassette bin loop masters would get hundreds of passes before noticeable audio degradation set in. They were more likely to be replaced because of a crash than the audio going off.
As long as you calibrate the deck every so often you'll know the condition of the tape.
GR
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16th May 2012
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#14 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jun 2005 Location: LOS ANGELES
Posts: 3,829
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Hey Dave, i have some reels that even though i erased them
On my deck i can still hear some audio faintly. Would a degausser remedy this? Im using atr..
And to the Op...
A good trick is to run it in fastwind with lifters engaged and see if it sheds on the lifters. Then atleast you dont gunk up the heads.
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16th May 2012
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#15 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Norway
Posts: 989
Verified Member |
If you believe Walter Sear (r.i.p.), tape will actually sound *better* after a few passes, because flatness improves as it passes over and adapts to the headstack.
Using a bulk eraser as Dave mentioned should allow you to reuse a reel many times before noticing any degradation.
Cheers,
Thor
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Stavanger, Norway www.sonovo.no | |
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