Quantegy closes its doors

[pornsoundtrack]

ok well, just take a sm57 aim it at the top of the snare, plug it into an api amp, run that to an 1176, boost a little 3K on the console, buss that to your deck which you've aligned at +6/185 nWm with a 2.5dB overbias at 15IPS for Q 456.

Congratulations, now you can sound exactly the same as everyone else who can read the internet.

the internet is for porn.

dave

Lies! [cue wah wah guitar]

[object88]

I started a long diatribe post about the death of technology and what one does in the face of progress, but it suddenly dawned on me. There's a simple question to be asked:

Are you here to run tape through a machine, or are you here to record music?

[soundguy]

Im here to run tape through a machine, for real.

Recording on nonlinear platforms is not really enjoyable for me at all and if Im going to be that frustrated at work there are 50 other careers that yield 100 times the income that I'd rather be doing at the same frustration level.

I personally cant think of one record that I love that was recorded on a computer. I cant think of one record that I like that was recorded on a computer. There are a few that I am amused by. There are a handful that I consider to sound good. If that is a coincidence, its pretty wierd. If I have to sit in front of a computer all day, it sure as hell aint gonna be dealing with some arrogant ego explosion that most bands bring with them and it definitely aint gonna be for the love of doing business with musicians or the wonderful and responsible business people who represent them. There are way cooler things to do in front of a computer than that...

Im not even trying to be a wise ass either.

dave

[xonlocust]

how do we check out more space echo's tunes?

here's one for you guys, sums up my feelings about recording message boards.

http://www.paulboutin.com/mp3/The_Inter ... r_Porn.mp3

hope that doesnt get stuck in your head...

dave

why has noone commented on how awesome this is?!

welcome back dave - you're making TO much more enjoyable!

[object88]

Im not even trying to be a wise ass either.

Hey, that's cool. I'm not here to say you should do one or the other. Personally, I plan on using an analog board, a digital multitrack, and a mixture of instruments and effects. To each their own, and I sincerely hope that however you go, you're happy.

[Professor]

Wow, what a wild day of posts I missed.

I was in the studio pretty solidly from about 11am until about 8:30pm and just brought myself up to date since my last post last night. And here I seem to have sparked several pages of rage and contempt and wasn't even able to throw a rotten tomato into the mix. But I'm glad things improved by page 19, and I can say my fondness for Sissy has grown even further.

I'm glad that Dave is back and that he found tape.
I'm glad that MoreSpaceEcho will be able to re-bias his machine, and it's cool to know he works at the Middle East. I was next door at TT for New Year's Eve for the Charms and Emergency Music, and I'll tell my friends out there to check out your show on the 29th.
It's also nice to have someone from Radiohead taking time away from the heavy flow of fresh poontang to grace us with his brilliance.

I can kind of relate to Dave's thoughts on loving the tape more than the recording. I never developed such a love of tape, but I love setting microphones and hearing the sounds getting recorded for the first time. So much so that I tend to not use colorful preamps, compression and certainly not EQ on the way to the recorder - because I love that purity of the raw sound of the music. Sure I like to mix as well, but I don't know that I would be able to do nothing but mixing. If I couldn't place the mics in front of live instruments & voices, I don't think I'd enjoy this as much. And of course, when I do mix I get every channel out of the way when the instrument isn't actually playing. I love having 20 tracks of big band drop to a single track of upright bass or a stereo pair of piano mics for a solo, just to explode again into the cacophony of the whole band playing again. But mixing without having first placed all those microphones and captured all those raw tracks always feels more like work to me.
In some ways I guess I'm more fortunate since there will always be some small contingent of acoustic sound to be recorded, but I still understand the sentiment. I also wouldn't ever want to be at a studio where I couldn't build an occasional cable or get behind the gear and fix any problems with the wiring or other installation. So I hear you Dave, and I wish you many more years of readily available tape stock.

-Jeremy

[Knights Who Say Neve]

Recording for me is an extension of being a musician. The recording process shoud be driven by aesthetics, not by the endless wheel of technological innovation/consumerism. I used my ears and my heart and decided on tape. Going back to digital (ya that's right, I started with computer recording 'cause it was cheap and available, I know all about 16 vs. 24 bits and word clock and dither and blah blah blah) would be like going back to a cubicle job after working for myself. Yes, the point is to record someting, but I'm going to do it in the way that pleases me, damm it. Otherwise I could make better money by learning how to program phat beats, play cover tunes or better yet, by leaving the music thing altoegther and going back to the corporate sector. I've been holding back on calling bullshit on this whole "progress is inevitable" slant I keep hearing on this board...ya it's inevitable, so is death, disease, stolen elections, unjustified wars and movies starring cluess pretty people mouthing pious platitudes and being lauded as great artists for doing so...I don't give a flying fuck what "the industry" wants, they can shove digital right back up their ass as far as I'm concerned, and I'm not taking the "death of tape" lying down. I went and bought enough tape- new- to tide me over until ATR or whoever makes more. If you want to spend your time cutting and pasting, applying plug-ins, rebooting, applying patches, listening to that goddam computer case fan whine, and endlessly plowing money into newer and better digital toys (20 bit is great! no its 24 bit, that's great, and try this new reverb plug-in, its 50% more like real echo!), be my freaking guest...but I will never let "market forces" and the herd animal mentalities of major labels, tech manufactures and the management of Guitar center tell me how to make my art.

Thank you and goodnight.

[bigtoe]

the tail note on the raising prices is cool. i was pissed usrecordingmedia raised their prices...and pissed my people here had their thumb up their ass... some tmies you don't know a company until the shit hits the fan.

Mike

January 6, 2005
Update from TapeOnline: Quantegy Restructuring

As you may have heard, Quantegy has ceased operations pending a corporate restructuring.

The company has been plagued in recent years by an increasingly difficult financial situation. The restructuring, either through new investment partners or an outright sale, is an attempt to get a handle on these problems.

Many of you are understandably concerned about supplies of Quantegy products, particularly their audio tape.

What we know is this:

- Manufacturing has temporarily stopped.
- They are shipping products, although at a reduced and sporadic level.
- The product that is shipping is coming from inventory and is not currently being replaced.
- From what we have heard, there is a good chance that the situation will be resolved.

We still have a good supply of Quantegy products. However, they are moving quickly as news of the situation spreads. Our inventory includes:

Quantegy Audio Products In-Stock
456 Analog Studio Master
456 1/2 Inch 2,500 ft 456 1 Inch, 2,500 ft
467 Digital Studio Master
467 1/2 Inch 4,800 ft 467 1/2 Inch 4,800 ft cardboard box
Empty Reels
1/2" x 12.5" Precision Hub 1" x 12.5" Precision Hub
DTRS
DTRS DA8 30 min DTRS DA8 60 min
DTRS DA8 113 min
DAT
DAT R016 16 min DAT R064 64 min
DAT R094 94 min DAT R124 124 min
MDU Digital U-Matic
DAU83 Umatic 83 min
Hold Down Tape
Hold down tape 216 ft

Quantegy Video Products In-Stock
3/4" Umatic
Umatic Large 30 min Umatic Large 60 min
3/4" Umatic SP
Umatic SP Large 30 min Umatic SP Large 30 min, shipper box
Betacam SP
Betacam SP 20 min Betacam SP 90 min
Digital Betacam
Digital Betacam 6 min Digital Betacam 12 min
Digital Betacam 22 min Digital Betacam 32 min
Digital Betacam 40 min Digital Betacam 64 min
Digital Betacam 124 min
Bulk VHS
VHS Bulk 30 min, tab-in VHS Bulk 60 min, tab-in
VHS Bulk 90 min, tab-in VHS Bulk 120 min, tab-in
VHS Bulk 160 min, tab-in
VHS Packaged
VHS 90 min, cardboard sleeve VHS 90 min, plastic library
SVHS
SVHS 30 min SVHS 60 min

Rest assured that we will not take advantage of this situation by raising prices. We have heard that some dealers have more than doubled prices on many Quantegy items.

Feel free to call toll-free 877-839-8273 or email us at info@tapeonline.com.

We will do our best to keep you informed as this situation unfolds.

Best Regards,

TapeOnline

[chris harris]

I personally cant think of one record that I love that was recorded on a computer. I cant think of one record that I like that was recorded on a computer.

but, don't you like Korn?

[nipsy]

this was taken from a yahoo rtr group, aparently this dude is in the know:



(forwarded from a few lists that I'm on - FYI)

I apologize for being lax (to the Sony group) of informing y'all of the
important events in Opelika, Alabama, starting New Year's eve.

As many of you who are on the Ampex list have heard, Quantegy locked their
plant and laid off the entire staff.

They have been open this week answering the phone and cleaning out product
from the warehouses.

An announcement is expected soon as to what their restructuring will mean.

They have not filed Chapter 11 (U.S. Bankruptcy reorganization) but are in
an apparent do-it-yourself reorganization mode without the court.

Manufacturing is shut down, but shipping is happening as I understand it.

Product is in short supply. Not all products will continue to be
manufactured under the restructuring.

We've heard reports that GP9 is considered safe.

Apparently Mike Spitz of ATR Services is considering making a tape, but
please don't call him and ask, it's still months away. Check the Web site
from time to time. I'm sure he'll announce it there. This was in the works
for months, apparently. http://www.atrservice.com/

The only lines running that we know at this time are JAI in India and Hanny
Holdings in Hong Kong. Neither appears to be making a premium tape.

The best place to read all the gossip and news is by doing a Google News
Search on Quantegy.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=quantegy
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=quantegy>
Not all is accurate. I commend the NPR piece to you, but I'm prejudiced in
that I provided the Crosby clip to it, and my friends Jay McKnight and
Peter Hammar (former curator of the Ampex Museum) are interviewed.

Happy(?) New Year to all.

Richard



I have no idea who this cat is.......

[xonlocust]

Happy(?) New Year to all.

Richard



I have no idea who this cat is.......

richard hess.

http://www.richardhess.com/tape/index.htm

that was cross posted on a number of groups...

[xonlocust]

Recording on nonlinear platforms is not really enjoyable for me at all and if Im going to be that frustrated at work there are 50 other careers that yield 100 times the income that I'd rather be doing at the same frustration level.

one thing i love about working with tape is because i spend all day long looking at a fucking computer. computer=job to me. tape=fun. i'm not recording to try and make a living from it (god bless those who can, but as sissy pointed out - it's not a super sound business decision). since the whole thing really is in effect, a losing effort (just like being in a band) - it's gotta be as enjoyable as possible.

i got an email yesterday from a guy in the band i just recorded, and he's gonna buy a 5050 now, and is totally hooked on tape after working with me (thier earlier recordings were PT). he was like "watching you use the razor on our tape was so cool! i want to be able to do that. i sit at work and daydream and prentend im making splices now" this kid is also fully aware of the current Q situation and doesnt give a shit because after having experienced it, just thinks it's that bad ass.

that is fucking cool.

[Rick Hunter]

I like recording on a computer. I think its cause I grew up on 8 bit nintendo. I like moving faders with a mouse. Really.

[bigtoe]

'I like recording on a computer. I think its cause I grew up on 8 bit nintendo. I like moving faders with a mouse. Really...'

i agree - after doing it awhile...it's just the same thing. the people that say i love the SMELL of tape...um...step out of the control room and play some basketball or something it's a recording device not a woman or a steak...

the monitor though...yep that gets to me...

Mike

[Rick Hunter]

I am a sucker for graphics. I love it.

"Look! the faders move by themselves...that is so sweet!"

Okay...

I'll go back to creot now. Sorry.