No More Analog Tape!!!

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 6 Jan 2005 9:14 am

News on NPR today:

"Last American Audio Tape Maker Closes"

Morning Edition, January 5, 2005 · Employees of the audiotape manufacturer Quantegy in Opelika, Ala., started the new year looking for work. The company shut down without notice, surprising everyone in town. The company's closing could signal the end of the audiotape industry. NPR's Scott Horsley reports."
Emtec (the former BASF, which used to be AGFA) was the last European manufacturer and ceased manufacuring in 2002.

News story

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 6 Jan 2005 9:28 am

DANG!

Thought it is not strictly true.
There will sttil be 4mm and 8mm carts made for video cameras and DAT will likely not completely dispear yet.

Still it is like the end of an era.
Nowone records on 2" reels no more... DANG.
and I started with 1/4" and tubes in an old Ampex.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 6 Jan 2005 9:46 am

I've been looking for an old 2 inch 16 track.
I bet the prices are going to drop now. Of course the price of blank tape just doubled.

Terry Edwards · Post by **Terry Edwards** » 6 Jan 2005 9:48 am

This is not good news!

I still use a half inch Tascam 8-track reel to reel. Many recording studio purists record on tape before transferring to Protools to get that natural tape saturating compression and warmth that the digital world tries so hard to emulate.

I guess I better see if I can get a couple of reels from ebay.

Terry

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 6 Jan 2005 9:52 am

*[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 25 January 2005 at 09:05 AM.]

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 6 Jan 2005 10:36 am

I wonder how this will affect ADAT users??

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 6 Jan 2005 2:46 pm

That's not good news. Digital media is not a reliable storage format for the long term. We just don't know how long data will maintain its integrity, especially with optical media like CD-R. My CD-R's from '96 are crap today. Full of errors and dropouts. My stuff from '99 is good so far. Durability of data on hard drives is also not known. In the high end studio world, serious archival is done on analog tape, usually 1/2" reels. We know those should last at least 50 years with little or no deterioration. We have all become dangerously dependent on digital media, including me.

Brad Sarno
Blue Jade Audio Mastering http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ebradsarno/

Ken Lang · Post by **Ken Lang** » 6 Jan 2005 7:46 pm

"Last American Audio Tape Maker Closes"

Keyword-American.

I doubt Won hung lo in the Chang Tau province of China will no longer be able to get a "Sweating with the oldies" tape to pop in his cassette player.

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 6 Jan 2005 10:49 pm

China is all CD's, just like in North america.

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 6 Jan 2005 11:20 pm

Bummer indeed. We record with a 1" 16 track Tascam and a 2" Scully 12 track.

"I won't give up my analog until they dislodge my cold, dead finger from between the roller and the capstan."

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 7 Jan 2005 2:00 am

Gene, you are dating yourself.... (I won't tell Charlotte

Brad, many analog reels are falling apart and aren't lasting 50+ years as foreseen.
You now must bake the reels to reset the backing and ferite, and then one off them to another tape. ... which of course we now can't get.

I suspect a CD or DVD with no exposure to sunlight and other such elements will last quite some time. The dyes are stronger than the old photo dyes, and if not used should have little deteriation.

There might be some effect like the old color shift of 50's color photos today,
but that shouldn't change the ability to read ones and zeros.

I still have my dad's old 1" Scully, this was used as a bounce machine on the 1st Boston album, and was tweaked by Tom Scholz.

It also recorded Hoagy Carmichal's last album, one by Ahmad Jamal, John Abercormbie, precursures to Steely Dan, REO Speedwagon, And J Geils bands 1st album.
I have two Scully 2 tracks and an Ampex 351.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 07 January 2005 at 02:04 AM.]

Terry Edwards · Post by **Terry Edwards** » 7 Jan 2005 7:08 am

It says in the article that Quantegy is filing chapter 11 bankruptcy. Maybe they will re-organize or sell the business. It oesn't have to be dead issue.

We can only hope. (I love my Tascam 1/2" TSR-8)

Terry

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 7 Jan 2005 7:34 am

David, yes ours is a 1" also. I hit a wrong key. I love the sound of that thing. Sholz is a big Scully fan and Hendrix recorded with one, too.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 7 Jan 2005 9:13 am

Maybe I missed something but are cassette tapes not going to be manufactured either? I hope they are as I love my ol' Tascam 4 track a whole bunch....JH

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Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 7 Jan 2005 1:28 pm

Down in my basement "workshop/hide from wife area" I have a dozen old Ampex 350 and 351 machines in 1/4" format. Hope that in the future when I want to restore these to good working order that I will at least have something to play on them!

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 7 Jan 2005 2:01 pm

Bill there is a company in Northern California that turns 351's into "Monster Recorders".

Total rebuilds, bearing balancing, new 1" , 2 track heads with bias level boosts for a hotter tape signal.

Replaces all caps and a bunch of older stuff like those army surpluss bias refrences between channels.

Pretty cool tube machines running 30ips.

It is for the mastering to analog without noise reduction market

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 8 Jan 2005 12:41 am

Does this mean those 32 track recorders that sold for $40,000 back in the 1970s are practically worthless?

Mike Headrick · Post by **Mike Headrick** » 9 Jan 2005 4:25 am

I paid almost 38K for a Sony APR-24 in 1993, and just sold it a few months ago for 4500.00. I could feel this coming on. Some studios will still want to keep a working variety of analog machines to play the diverse configuration of tapes clients bring in for remixes, etc.

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 9 Jan 2005 6:40 am

It seems certain that someone would buy the remains of Quantegy for a song and start production on a much smaller scale. There has to be a continuing market for tape, just not a big market.

Man's propensity for rediscovering the wheel will one day discover aspects of analog that have merit with newlt discovered technology and, like just about everything else, there will be a retro movement toward analog once again.

It's happened with synthesizers, tube amplifiers, Hammond organs...I remember when all of these these things were considered obsolete.

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MCI D10 8+5, ZB 11/10 8+3 Early 30s Dobro, Harmony Lap Steel, ad infinitum

erik · Post by **erik** » 9 Jan 2005 3:15 pm

Just saw a Football show yesterday that had Trevor Pryce of the Broncos in his recording studio demonstrating his prized 2" 24 track machine. He has a company called Outlook Music. www.outlookmusic.com

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-johnson

Bill Llewellyn · Post by **Bill Llewellyn** » 10 Jan 2005 8:08 am

I don't think this is the end of analog tape as we know it, more the loss of a (the last?) traditional studio multitrack tape source. There is still a large market for 8mm, Hi8, DVC, and VHS tapes. Just one example of a tape supplier is TDK:
http://www.tdk.com/recmedia/audio/index.html
http://www.tdk.com/recmedia/vhs/index.html
http://www.tdk.com/recmedia/camcorder/index.html

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Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | MSA U12 | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50?
[This message was edited by Bill Llewellyn on 10 January 2005 at 08:15 AM.]

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 15 Jan 2005 2:51 pm

Digital media is not a reliable storage format for the long term

It isn't? Most data tape is magnetic, isn't it? Actually isn't all data tape magnetic? I know that most hard disks are magnetic also, although I could be wrong. So, if most hard disks are magnetic and most data tape is magnetic, then I'm assuming that what you're saying is that it's the digital format is less reliable in the long term, and not digital media. Why?

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 15 Jan 2005 4:18 pm

End of an era: tape fades out

By Evan Pondel
Staff Writer

BURBANK -- Smith Craig's ears are so sensitive, he can tell when a guitar riff is recorded on digital equipment versus audio tape.

"Oh, yeah, you can feel it," said Craig, whose ears have been listening to different sounds for the 40 years that he has been an engineer. "Tape makes everything sound simply marvelous."

Those who can hear the difference describe tape as "warmer" and without a "clinical, almost too clean feel." like digital.

But the growth in digital technology has put a crimp in reel-to-reel recording, forcing many high-quality audio tape manufacturers out of business. The last of the major manufacturers filed for bankruptcy protection this week.

And now a scarcity of tape is beginning to worry those recording studios that insist the richness of rock 'n' roll can only be heard on tape.

Recording alternative rockers like Evanescence, Fallout Boy and Jimmy Eats World, the Ocean Studios in Burbank is among the tape purists.

"All of the clients who come here record to tape first, and, with no distributors in Los Angeles, we're certainly in for a tough ride," said Craig, chief technical engineer and manager of the studio.

Professional audio tape supplies have been tight for years; some recording studios have even stockpiled the precious medium. Demand grew even fiercer after Quantegy Inc., the last big U.S. manufacturer of audio tape, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday.

"They filed and then abruptly closed down, which caused a rather large panic," said Jeff Greenberg, chief executive officer of The Village, a West Los Angeles-based recording studio where Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones have played. "Everyone is starting to think this could be the end of tape."

The Society of Professional Audio Recording Services is in talks with Quantegy, encouraging the Opelika, Ala.-based manufacturer to eke out a few batches of tape.

"We don't know exactly how much they're going to give us just yet," said Greenberg, who also sits on the board of SPARS. "We should have a clearer picture by next week. Hopefully, they'll be able to hold us over."

Quantegy executives did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Despite the dearth of tape, all of the rooms at The Village were recording without a hitch Wednesday evening. Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst didn't seem to have a problem with the lack of tape, and the engineers didn't show any signs of tape withdrawal.

That's because most hip-hop and pop artists are accustomed to recording on digital equipment these days. In the last decade, software known as ProTools has dominated the soundboards at most recording studios, providing a nonlinear approach to mixing and munching music.

Tape also costs more, with two-inch tape retailing for about $180 a reel.

"But I think there will always be people around who want to manufacture it," said Ellis Sorkin, who runs Studio Referral Service in Calabasas. "People don't hear in digital. Our ears hear in analog."

Tape generally comes in three different sizes -- two-inch, half-inch and quarter-inch. The latter two are used for "mixing down," the point in which music is ready for a final polish. Many engineers use tape in conjunction with ProTools, finely tuning their tracks beyond perfection to the layman's ear.

Harold Kilianski, chief engineer at O'Henry Sound Studios in Burbank, said that, in terms of tape, half-inch is probably in more demand, "but from what I can tell you, we don't see it becoming a problem for us. And besides, I don't think we have much of a reserve."

The Village certainly has enough tape for several months, if not years. However, Ocean Studios is concerned about its next move, should its tape reserve run out.

On Thursday morning, independent producer Neal Avron was cutting tracks at Ocean Studios with Fallout Boy.

"And I love tape," he said. "When I'm recording live instruments, there is a beauty to the analog. It's the way it colors.

"But given the situation, I'm totally bummed. So, I guess we'll just have to adapt, even though things will never be the same without tape."

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 15 Jan 2005 4:31 pm

I copied this from another forum, seems like there's hope for the 2" tape after all:

"Posted by Joel Hamilton at TapeOp messageboard:

Just got off the Phone with the guys from Lyndstrom/ATR services.

THEY WILL BE MAKING TWO TAPE FORMULATIONS, IN ALL FORMATS WITHIN TWO TO THREE MONTHS!!!!!!!

Carl Rusk is who I was on the phone with, he is one of the people in the "doom and gloom" Wall St. Journal article.

There will be a High Output formulation based on some of our old favorites, and a lower output formulation based on a very old favorite.

YES. FOR REAL. THIS IS IN MOTION, AND THEY WILL BE MAKING TAPE WITHIN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS!!!!!!

This company should be supported. Obviously this was a wake up call.
Tell anyone with a tape machine. The tape will be BETTER quality than what we have been dealing with lately."

Steinar

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