I'm Back - And I See ALOT of "Tape"

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:41 am

I did a google search for 2" tape prices and found a gearslutz thread where people referred to the price increases, around August-September of 2006:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/masterin ... rices.html

The average prices even for NOS Quantegy 2" tape (sold after the shutdown) was not $300 a reel then, and most retailers were selling stock at inflated prices (price-gouging) at that time. One company's proposed release pricing of their 'new' tape looks to be the reason for the significant increase to the $300 per reel mark.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:43 am

Contact Chris Mara in Nashville for good deals on a variety of machines (mostly MCI and Otari, I believe).

GJ

JWL · Post by **JWL** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 12:35 pm

I honestly can't say I miss tape at all. Haven't used it in many years.

jtienhaara · Post by **jtienhaara** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 3:23 pm

eh91311 wrote:The average prices even for NOS Quantegy 2" tape (sold after the shutdown) was not $300 a reel then

Hmmmm, it appears my memory sucks. Interesting thread!

Johnny Nowhere · Post by **Johnny Nowhere** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 6:15 pm

I got away from tape for about ten years via natural progression. One day a dude comes up to the studio and tells me he has a 388 that 'don't work' and says he'll just let me have it. I haul the behemoth home and have it running by the next day. What the hell. I hook it up to my rack, thread an old tape on and record a bit to see how it sounds.

WOW. What the hell was I thinking when I stopped using the medium? I got rid of my digital crap within the week. I located another 388 on the West Coast. The guy just let me have it! All I did was pay a couple hundred bucks to ship it out. Now, I've got spare parts with deck one and deck two is a wet dream.

I'll die using these machines. Analogue wasn't broke when they 'fixed' it.

CBA713 · Post by **CBA713** » Sat Oct 20, 2012 9:06 pm

I just wrote this little list to a friend of mine in an e-mail regarding my feelings on wanting to record my power trio on a 424 mkII and how I got there. The list spans the years from like 1995 to now, but it's accurate:

1. Discover you can record things "professionally" at home
2. Discover you can overdub/superimpose over things you've already recorded
3. Get a cassette 4-track
4. Write some shitty songs
5. Move on to a digital multitracker
6. Write some good songs
7. Move on to computer recording after a decade of hesitation
8. Get bored recording your good songs
9. Return to cassette 4-track and have fun

I mean it's not TOTALLY accurate, but it certainly shows how I've felt for the last few months.

C

Rob Coates · Post by **Rob Coates** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 2:15 pm

A lot of us (including me) went like lemmings over the digital cliff and then later realized something was wrong. Myself, I stubbornly refused to admit that maybe it was the nature of digital to produce a flat 2-D harsh sound. Then I decided to try tape again. There it was: everything I missed. I'm now back to tape, at least until I can afford something like an Anamod.

standup · Post by **standup** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 5:57 pm

I started with 4-track cassettte, then moved through narrow-guage 8 and 16 track reel to reel tape machines while everybody else was recording to ADAT (tape machines were cheap then).

I'm a graphic designer, so had Macs around and started recording to the computer. My turning point was realizing I was better at fixing computer configuration issues than fixing electromechanical issues. Got rid of tape and recorded to computers.

I've been doing a songwriting thing called FAWM (February Album Writing Month) for a few years, and a couple of years ago I bought a Peavey (no shit...) 4-track cassette and recorded some of those songs on 4-track. That was fun -- Limits! You have to play the part! Unlimited tracks, unlimited tweaks, unlimited micro-punch-ins do not exist!

I still have the Peavey MCR 4/S right here. Hasn't been fired up in a year or more, but it's here and not going anywhere. That's some fun shit.

Whenever I see a 1" 8/16 track or 1/2" 8 track reel to reel on craigslist around here I get a little spasm of desire. It would sound good, and it would be fun. But I don't have the time, energy or money to make that happen, and I'm damned glad I can see that.

willhouk · Post by **willhouk** » Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:25 am

I inherited a TEAC 4 Track a few months ago and started messing around with it. I recorded a simple acoustic tune with a buddy and did a mix down through my Yamaha board. For the first time since I've been recording I actually like the sound. It's not perfect, or mind blowing but I like listening to the song. My wife even commented while it was playing, "oh that's you? I thought it was one of your bluegrass albums that sounds really good." She's usually uninspired by my songs.

I like the workflow of tape. I like mixing on the board. I may just be a part of another trend, the "digital back to analog" trend. But I think the important thing is having fun and doing what works for you. And I have to agree with Jack White. It's nice seeing the reels and meters move as you record.

sam humans · Post by **sam humans** » Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:02 pm

It's economics.

One of the principal factors that drove the digital revolution in the first place was simply how much cheaper it was than using tape and maintaing those big old tape machines.

Today, however, this argument is fast becoming null and void. In a dollar for dollar comparison with digital, tape machines are becoming an equal (if not better) value. I mean, hello MM1200 for $2000!? Even with an average price for the same machine somewhere in the $4000-$5000 range, compared with the cost of digital, there's just not much difference anymore.

Consider that 8 channels of "high end" digital conversion starts around $3000. And you could spend A LOT more than that. Now factor that in the end your music ends up on a computer. A computer whose very obsolescence was planned by the people who designed it. If lucky, you may get 10 years of use before you can no longer run current software and/or interface with newer hardware. Just to throw out some numbers, this means you might spend $5000-$10,000 every 10 years to build and maintain a high end digital system. Or there-abouts. We could probably argue the finer points of this for a while, but suffice it to say, it's a lot cash no matter how you slice it.

Tape machines, on the other hand, were designed to last. They're made out of steel and iron and mechanical motors. To a fault, professional decks are made to be field serviceable, parts replaceable, and to last a long, long time. Even with the cost of tape (invest in a bulk eraser and don't sweat it), analog is becoming the choice of budget conscious musicians looking to make high quality music/open studios/etc.

Additionally, I also see the increasing resurgence of tape as part of a larger global trend towards sustainability and respect for craftsmanship. Tape, pro tape machines at least, are remarkably well made mechanical marvels designed to last. People want that these days. They want to be able to see the solenoid engage and the wheels spin instead of watching the wave flicker to life on a screen. They want to bust out a screw driver and a spring scale, not futz with latency issues and driver compatibility. They want to run their hands over the smooth, sexy contours and clean lines of something made in the heyday of the industrial revolution... (whoa! got a little carried away there. I'm a go have a minute alone with my machines, be right back).

In conclusion, my friends; tape wins the Green Prize, may actually cost less to use and maintain over the course of it's professional life than it's arch rival Digital, and looks and feels more substantial and real in our disposable society. And it's sexy. And cool.

timh · Post by **timh** » Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:08 pm

You just said every reason why I, a 21 year old beginner, am saving up 2k for a tape machine rather than another macbook.

SafeandSoundMastering · Post by **SafeandSoundMastering** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 4:27 am

Tape used to be essential*(edit) to the recording process now it is a tonal option. Tape machine ownership and use costs quite a bit, it certainly can benefit a mix or detract from it. Like anything for recording, it cannot replace the skill and effort of the engineer. It does not work for all projects.

I have to say that with this in mind and the very good sound coming from the best tape emulations available the advantages of the best software strongly outweigh the negatives of owning an actual machine in my mind.

At least sonically. For some a 24 track Studer or similar may be a worthy business investment and that is another story from the sonic result.

It's a tool not a panacea for recording and mixing ills.

SafeandSound Mastering
cd mastering studio

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:52 am

>>>>Tape used to be incidental to the recording process now it is a tonal option.<<<<

I think you mean it was "essential."

++++not a panacea...++++

Really? I was always told to "pan the tambourine left, and mix it down to tape." That's not right????????

GJ

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Fri Dec 07, 2012 9:43 pm

Never stopped using tape.

I've been experimenting with Reason lately, and have come to the realization that computer-based recording is for other people.

GlowSounds · Post by **GlowSounds** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 4:30 pm

"It's just a tool"

So true... of everything with an on/off switch in the studio.

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