Reel to Reel Tape

[Rockn4JC]

Can anyone give me an idea of what kind of R/R tape to buy. I am getting a Fostex 8 track and am unsure of the best types of tape to buy. Thanks

[Recording Engineer]

Well, we don't know what it's biased for, but most likely, Quantegy 456 will be your answer.

[Hot Rocks]

what ever you do, DO NOT buy radio shacks "studio quality" 1/4 inch tape. it's garbage,and is filthy on your heads, pinch roller, AVOID!!!

[Rockn4JC]

Ha that's funny, "don't use Radio Shack tapes", I work for Radio Shack! I wasn't aware that those r/r tapes were garbage. I'll try not to sell them to anyone who wants a quality tape. I seriously don't sell anything that I wouldn't use myself. Keeps the customers coming back.

[Hot Rocks]

Hey Rockin,I wish you were in my radio shack, although the folks here are great. I'ts not that the audio quality is bad, it's not, but damn,10 mins. of use with shacks tape and the heads and all are filthy. on the dirt scale, 10 being the worst, they are a 10. I use maxxel ud,it's like compareing a diesel engine to a honda 4 cylc.

[kristian]

i was looking at the back of my dolly reel today. and its a 10.5 inch reel... and when fully wound it contains 2500 feet of tape on it. =D thats alot of tape!

p.s. 499 is more expensive, but may sound better. i stress MAY

[This message has been edited by kristian (edited 02-05-2000).]

[Rockn4JC]

Well I just checked the UPS tracking and it looks like this thing is gonna be here Monday! I worked with a 4 track tascam years ago but not with an 8 track Fostex. Any suggestions on what to do and not to do with this beast. I spent about 4 hours trying to do some recording on a roland VS880EX last night and finally went to bed with nothing accomplished. You have to practically go to a class to learn how to use that thing.

[hixmix]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rockn4JC:
Can anyone give me an idea of what kind of R/R tape to buy. I am getting a Fostex 8 track and am unsure of the best types of tape to buy. Thanks<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Buy the the best tape available and make sure it's fresh. Depending on how your machine is biased you can't go wrong with Quantegy 456 or Quantegy 499. Quantegy's former name was Ampex.

[nay]

Rockn4JC: I saw 2 of the Fostex R/R 1/4" 8 track tape machines I didn't know anything bout them. They were priced (used of course) at round $500 is that what they're going for?

nay

[kristian]

since im moving away from england i had to sell my b16 and im looking for a comparative equal to buy in the US since im mvoing to austin. ive been doing months of research, and this is what ive been seeing.

fostex B16/E16 -coming into sub $1000
fostex G16 $1200~$2500
fostex R8, A8, 80, E8 - $400~$600, i just saw an R8 go for $50 from a crime investiagtion over at ebay.com
tascam TSR8 -$$500~$800
tascam 16 1/2" $1000~$2000
tascam 16 1" $1000~$4500

or something along those lines. ive got a couple fostex deals lining upim hopig to go sub $1000 on them, well, i will or else im not buying =)

[lbzx]

It was years ago when I evaluated as many premium level tape, but my recollection still guides my purchases and opinions today. The most glaring was Memorex. Its performance was sub-par on a sonic level, but worst of all, the entrails of some goop that most polite society refers to as oxide coating had pounced on the defenseless Scully 280 heads of the machine I was using like dogs in heat and the dogs won.



[This message has been edited by lbzx (edited 02-27-2000).]

[Rockn4JC]

So I take it you don't like memorex?

Well I have laid down my first few tracks with this machine and so far I like it. Now all I need to do is justify to my wife the money that I spent on it, gonna be harder to justify the Jem 777 that I want to buy. Oh well what are you gonna do.