is 499 the same as GP9?

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is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by the brill bedroom » Tue Jan 18, 2005 6:12 pm

Dumb guy question #3,325: Seems like I'm able to find a bit of 499 out there. Isn't that pretty close to the GP9 formula? Would it be OK to use that for the time being? I suppose the assumption would be that it's, by definition, new old stock. What should I be watching out for?

It m ight beat having to recalibrate the machine to 456 and then switching back and forth depending on what reels I'm using.

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by nacho459 » Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:03 pm

499 and GP9 both are +9 tapes, but there different formulas. Like comparing a Big Mac and a Quarter Pounder even though they are different burgers they equally taste like ass. OK, that was a bad comparison.

499 is for pop

GP9 is for the Mosh! :biggergrin:

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by Nathan Eldred » Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:04 pm

It's not the same. I believe GP9 is the old Scotch 996 formula. I personally prefer 499 much more, but GP9 doesn't suck if everything else in the chain is good.

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by @?,*???&? » Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:35 pm

Both formulas sound fine. I see someone mentioned (and I have no idea how that got started) that GP9 isn't for 'pop' music. Somehow, somewhere, someone made the claim that the old 3M 996 tape was good for R n B. Simply a dumb statement. Both formulations yield a slightly differently result, but both sound great. In the 2-track format, 499 can seem to be a more mono sounding tape. 499 tends to present midrange a bit better with a tight bottom. I haven't noticed anywhere near the bump in the GP9 on the low end that the 996 used to have, so I'd have to say GP9 would be fine for anything.

Having said all that, if you can find some BASF 911 or EMTEC 911 somewhere, get it, it's the best sounding tape out there!

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by goose » Tue Jan 18, 2005 9:07 pm

It was my understanding that 911 was practically the same formula as 456.
It sure sounds similar to me.

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by @?,*???&? » Tue Jan 18, 2005 9:16 pm

goose wrote:It was my understanding that 911 was practically the same formula as 456.
It sure sounds similar to me.
The bias thing with BASF/Emtec has always had a way different character than that of Ampex/Quantegy. The 468 is actually the direct competitor to the 456 formulation. 911 is in it's own class.

Several years ago, the engineering crew at what used to be A & M studios got together and listened to alot of tape to make the decision what to transfer the 70's masters to and their hands down decision was that 911 sounded most like the source. In Los Angeles, that endorsement meant alot to an awful lot of guys making records. The 911 doesn't suffer from the that sort of 'bruised, bulbous, loose bottom end' that 456 does. It has a great, very snare friendly as well as guitar friendly thing it does between 200 and 500 Hz. Has to be heard to be related to.

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by joel hamilton » Tue Jan 18, 2005 10:32 pm

GP9 doesnt sound like much at all. GP9 sounds more like the machine on input. 499 sounds more like tape. 499 is the sound of rock for me. that seems to hold true, anyway. Especially for the 2 track, I like 499 WAY better than GP9 for rock. GP9 doesnt do the "magic cymbals" thing as much as 499.
I dunno. I like 499 I guess.... /rant

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by soundguy » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:13 am

I always felt 499 has a glassier souding top than gp9. GP9 seems like a good middle ground between 456 and 499. However you describe it, the stocks definitely sound different if your ears work.

I heard a les paul was a "jazz" guitar. Ive been using it for rock all these years, fuck.

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by the brill bedroom » Wed Jan 19, 2005 7:38 am

This is really interesting. I had assumed that people had different preferences, but I never expected people to have such specific tonal associations with kinds of tape (although it makes a lot of sense when I think about it). I usually use GP9 mostly because that's what the dude said to use when I bought the machine.

The question, though, is if I get some to use during the great tape crisis of '05, will I be able to switch back and forth between reels without recalibrating the machine? They're both +9, right? And should I worry about the age of Ampex stock? I'm finding it from relatively reputable sources (Thye have websites, how shoddy could they be? kidding.)

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by GregW » Wed Jan 19, 2005 2:29 pm

I miss 911 and 900. Some people have said the same about Zonal, and now people are starting to say that about 456, 499 and GP9. I know ATR is going to make their own formula. I wish they'd do their own, as well as re-issues for 911, 900, 456, 499 and GP9. That way everyone would be happy! Maybe 6 forumlations are impossible with small-scale production...but I would think at least the slitting part of production would be the same no matter the formula.

Oh well, time to fire up the DA-78hrs...damn, how long will tape last for *those*? Computer time! (At least they can't take away my mics and pres.)

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by nacho459 » Wed Jan 19, 2005 2:47 pm

As far as the 456 vs 911 comparison. The main difference, I feel, is that old 911 is still useable, but old 456 is crap. I have an old reel of 911 that is my "work" reel (record, bulk erase, rerecord) it just says BASF on it so I'm guessing it's well over ten years old. I also have 456 that I know is 12 years old that is now unuseable. People have said it before but 456 is the one tape that still gums up after a decade of so.

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Re: is 499 the same as GP9?

Post by @?,*???&? » Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:49 pm

the brill bedroom wrote:The question, though, is if I get some to use during the great tape crisis of '05, will I be able to switch back and forth between reels without recalibrating the machine? They're both +9, right? And should I worry about the age of Ampex stock? I'm finding it from relatively reputable sources (Thye have websites, how shoddy could they be? kidding.)
Your reproduce alignment won't change- if you switch to a high print level tape, but your record alignment sure should.

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