no more quantegy?

[philip]

no more tape? damn... if its true it´s real sad.

http://forum.nuendo.com/forum/Forum12/HTML/001490.html

[lucey]

dont panic ... tape is not dead

[nukmusic]

mannnnnnnn Why wouldn't media companies lean toward maufacturing "harddrives" ? I know it might be a big jump but hey, everyone knew where the industry was going?

[Brad Lunde]

Originally posted by philip
no more tape? damn... if its true it´s real sad.

http://forum.nuendo.com/forum/Forum12/HTML/001490.html

Wow. I just talked to them a month or two ago about US sales....sounded like everything had been on track with sales for the last several years, with the exception that they were losing dealers...but not sales. They just weren't growing anymore. Some other problem with the company maybe?

I gotta think someone will step in and fill the gap (and charge more money probably). There's a lot of tape machines out there. I'm sure we could still find plenty in daily use all over the world. Broadcast especially....
Brad

[Curve Dominant]

posted by Lucey:
don't panic ... tape is not dead

That's true.

I've got some Maxell and TDK cassettes, unopened.

Wanna buy?

[Ruudman]

..and I have 2 diktaphone cartridges, merely used

Joke aside, I think 2005 will be a year where I use more tape
than ever.

One Q: if Quantegy were to close down, are there any
big ol' tape companies left in buisness?



ruudman

[NathanEldred]

I bought six reels of 2" 499 today, and a case of seven 1/4" 499 (all for my own studio's usage). Couldn't find any more anywhere.

[Duardo]

Why wouldn't media companies lean toward maufacturing "harddrives" ? I know it might be a big jump but hey, everyone knew where the industry was going?

Quantegy did try that...they sold little Firewire hard drives in tape reel-type boxes. But did anyone buy them?

Why would you buy a hard drive from a tape manufacturer, as opposed to someone who specializes in hard drives?

-Duardo

[Curve Dominant]

posted by Ruudman:
One Q: if Quantegy were to close down, are there any
big ol' tape companies left in buisness?

Quantegy has closed shop.

They were the last of the 2" audio tape manufacturers.

You can find Third-World sweatshops which still manufacture tape for pirated cassttes and whatnot, but I don't know if you wanna put that stuff in your Otari et al, let alone try to get it cut so it would fit in your Otari et al. Not to mention getting it into reels which would fit the spindles.

If you ever wondered how to get a good sound from digital audio, yesterday was the day to find out.

[lucey]

ATR Service will have a new tape in a year or less. 2 others are also working on it and may or may not get to market.

this is a transition to a better time of better quality, on par with Emtec, and a smaller company who cares about ananog. Prices will be fine too.


Quantegy had 30 people on the dock loading palets in Opelika last month ... and the line was cranking it out.

Quantegy quality was not great for some time now and yet they were not lacking sales, simply a bad structure .... this day was coming and is not the end of anything significant.

Chill out Eric, you didn't win.

[toledo3]

Is there an Emtec factory in Europe (I know they went under here in the U.S)...?

[NathanEldred]

Bought 12 more reels of new 2" 499 today.

I think I'm at 18 reels now. I can stop having a nervous breakdown.

[max cooper]

I've always thought the "canary in the coalmine" on this one is not tape, not LP's and not film but Polaroid. The 3.25" x 4.25" peel apart pro Polaroid film. When it's no longer available, the end is nigh.

[bongo]

Anybody know where to get 2" and 1/4" in the NYC area?

[lucey]

Originally posted by toledo3
Is there an Emtec factory in Europe (I know they went under here in the U.S)...?

George it was auctioned off in Germany last fall.

The machines went to Asia in many cases, to be used in other industries. They were too large to be used by US startups interested in analog production.

The complex was so big it would take around $200,000 just to start up the water treatment plant for the whole joint.


Tape companies will be smaller and better soon.

[electric]

fyi-
i talked to the guys at usrecording and their take is that quantegy has its doors closed due to issues with their bank. the banks wont fund their payroll unless they shutdown some of their more unprofitable lines in their business. (videotape for instance) it also sounds like they will consolidate their analog tape line because
it will simplify all the various oxides they need to source. (apparently 456/499/gp9 all have different oxides). they also thought quantegy would likely drop the 499 line and keep 456/gp9. again based on what i was told....

at the same time they will get a good idea on what demand really is for this stuff as they see consumers stock up like pack rats and retailers desperately knock on the door. it aint dead thats for sure.

too bad for me as i will probably need to cancel a mix session next week due to no tape . terrible timing.

[Brad Lunde]

NEWS Article from Opelika, Alabama newspaper

"Opelika plant closes"


Tamiko Lowery
Staff Writer
Sunday, January 2, 2005


When they clocked out for the Christmas holidays, Quantegy employees planned on returning to work, as scheduled, Monday. But, there's no job to go back to - for some 250 employees.

"No Trespassing" signs were erected Friday afternoon and security passwords were changed at the Opelika plant, 2230 Marvyn Parkway.

"Quantegy, Inc. has ceased operations pending restructuring. This is due to financial issues that have plagued the industry and Quantegy for some time. All employees are on lay off pending further notice," according to a brief press release issued by the company Friday. The Opelika plant, once employed some 1,800 workers, has recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Almost 60 years ago, the story was different. "In 1945, after capturing several German 'Magnetophon' tape recorders from Radio Luxembourg, the American Signal Corps recorded a speech by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower to be played to the people of occupied Germany. Due to a shortage of recording tape, the speech had to be recorded on a reel of used German tape.

Due to a problem with the German tape recorder, the tape was not completely erased and the voice of Adolph Hitler was intermittently heard along with Eisenhower's voice. This caused a great deal of fear and confusion among the German people and obviously a great deal of embarrassment for the Allied Signal Corps.

Gen. Eisenhower issued an immediate order that no more captured German tape was to be used and assigned Maj. John Herbert Orr to develop an American magnetic tape manufacturing facility.

Maj. Orr located a German scientist, Dr. Karl Pfleumer, who gave him a basic formula for magnetic tape. Within two weeks, Maj. Orr had managed to manufacture his first reels of usable audio tape. After returning to his home in Opelika, Alabama, Orr set up a magnetic tape manufacturing facility and soon afterwards began marketing his own tape under the "IRISH" brand name. Orr continued his manufacturing operation and in 1959, Orradio Industries became part of the Ampex Corporation.

Founded by Alexander M. Poniatoff, The Ampex Corporation had been developing audio tape recorders since the end of WWII starting with its model 200. The company's first sales of the Model 200 were to Bing Crosby Enterprises and the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). In 1956, Ampex announced a historic breakthrough - the first practical video tape recorder.

Shortly after this introduction Poniatoff and Orr entered into negotiations and in 1959, Orradio Industries became the Ampex Magnetic Tape Division of Ampex Corporation. In November of 1995, the Ampex Recording Media Corporation was put up for sale, and the recording media pioneer became Quantegy Inc., according to www.quantegy.com Fast forward 2005...

"It's like Happy New Year - you don't have a job," said one former Quantegy employee. "Most of these employees have worked there 28 to 30 years - they don't know anything else; they are a different breed of people, dedicated to the company. The average age is 50 plus, and no matter what they say - it's not easy to start over."

Quantegy management could not be reached Saturday.


© 2005 Media General
Terms and Conditions

[David R.]

Chapter 11 does not mean out of business. It means restructuring.

I have given Quantegy's info to a bankurptcy attorney I know and she is looking in to it.

I feel horrible for the workers, hope Quantegy can pull it together.

[Knox]

I heard about it today . . . This is hard to believe . . . my whole studio is 2" based. I would'nt record with a computer if I had to. Been in the business my whole life (now 49). This is like a death in the family. I thought we had 5 more years at least. In one day our two inch machines are worth nothing? Not only that, but guys like myself that have done this forever are automatically out of business. Personally, I don't believe they are restructuring . . they fired everyone, they sound closed to me.

[mpr3]

I heard from a reliable source that:

1) Quantegy had problems renewing support from their bank because they had too many products that were in direct competition with a cheaper digital solution. They are currently restructuring the company to focus on the most profitable sectors, open reel tape being one of them. Keep in mind Quantegy still sells boatloads of tape to the US Government.

2) ATR purchased the formula for Emtec 900 and are currently working on plans for a plant in Australia (avoiding the EPA's complaint about the extreme water usage). The operation is being funded privately and will result in a very high quality tape suitable for modern recording and long term archival.

Take that as you may.

[neve1073]

Someone will end up supplying the demand...I hope.

[Brad Lunde]

Originally posted by neve1073
Someone will end up supplying the demand...I hope.

Yes, someone will, just at a different price. The tubes story all over again. NOS is getting real expensive on some tubes [tele VF14's for ex.] as I expect tape will become shortly. When someone "arrives" with the new tape in production and for sale, the prices will be much higher. That price will be one that is profitable, so there'll be steady supply......

This is problem with having a factory and business that is designed to sell 1,000's of buggy whips a day when demand reduces to 10 a day. You can't do it profitably. You have shut the old big plant, rebuild a new small plant geared around a much smaller business. Its the ugly side of "progress". A same to see employees get hurt over it, but it hardly the companys fault. Is its Digi's fault?

Brad

[lucey]

So many rumors ... it's like the Kurzweil loading dock.


* Quantegy will be making tape again soon, their actions may have been nothing more than an aggressive tactic to test the market.

* ATR Service did not buy the 900 formula from Emtec. They have a similar but new formula that will be ready within a year.

* the Price of tape from ATR will be competitive to Quantegy, perhaps a touch more but competetive.

* the future of tape is bright. ATR's quality will trump Quantegy and rival the best days of Emtec.

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mpr3
[B] ATR purchased the formula for Emtec 900 and are currently working on plans for a plant in Australia (avoiding the EPA's complaint about the extreme water usage). [B] [QUOTE]

Hmmm the problem is that Australia has been in the grips of a nation wide drought for the last 8 years (depending on location) with strict water rationing imposed for domestic life and daily monitoring/reporting of watcher catchment storage levels in the media and in particular daily newspapers. Im @ a loss to explain how the government would or could allow this to go ahead??

and damn it must hurt if you own a 2" machine or invested in a fortunte for an ATR 1" stereo machine as im tipping that existing stocks are going to dry up ASAP of 1" as well as 2".

Cheers
Wiggy

[mpr3]

Originally posted by lucey
* ATR Service did not buy the 900 formula from Emtec. They have a similar but new formula that will be ready within a year.

Well then the horse was lying.

They did indeed purchase the formula for 900 and are 'reworking it'. It would take them an awfully long time to come up with their own formula, and I doubt they would 'borrow' without paying a dime.

[GilWave]

250 employees, down from a high of 1800?!?

I can't imagine it would take 250 employees to make the amount of tape that the market was buying.

I knew this closing was inevitable when I saw a Quantegy salesman in Sam Ash 48th Street a while back trying to sell them a Quantegy FireWire hard drive in a nice little case like their tape came in. The premium on the drive was huge - so large even Glyph would've snickered.

Too little, too late on the hard drive front. As for 2" tape, call Jerry Cubbage at Coast Recording Equipment Supply - last time I was there he had a ton of it.

-g

[neve1073]

Originally posted by Brad Lunde
Yes, someone will, just at a different price. The tubes story all over again. NOS is getting real expensive on some tubes [tele VF14's for ex.] as I expect tape will become shortly. When someone "arrives" with the new tape in production and for sale, the prices will be much higher. That price will be one that is profitable, so there'll be steady supply......

This is problem with having a factory and business that is designed to sell 1,000's of buggy whips a day when demand reduces to 10 a day. You can't do it profitably. You have shut the old big plant, rebuild a new small plant geared around a much smaller business. Its the ugly side of "progress". A same to see employees get hurt over it, but it hardly the companys fault. Is its Digi's fault?

Brad

And the quality will almost certainly be inferior because of lack of competition. As much as I love my DAW, I can't imagine a world without 2 inch tape reels. dfegad digital

[underthebigtree]

I've been freaked out about this for a week. But my intuition is that a solution will present itself. If there is money to be made, a vendor will provide the product. I sure seem to know an awful lot of folks who love 2" as much as we do. That includes many heavy duty, Neil Young-level rock stars. There are still so many 2" machines in daily use. And in the same way that tubes have made a resurgence, many younger folks will wonder why their computer-based recordings don't have the punch and feel of the music of their heros. They'll discover analog through a buddy's 1/2" 8-track, and there you go.

I just hope it doesn't turn into such a boutique product that the price climbs to $400/reel.

[Duardo]

So many rumors ... it's like the Kurzweil loading dock.

Ha ha, that's funny...but from what I've heard, Kurzweil's situation isn't so different than Quantegy's at this point, so chances are there aren't a lot of Rumours there either...

-Duardo

[GilWave]

Hey, vinyl's still around and kinda trendy with the new indy bands.

Someone will step in to fill the void with 2".

-g