Where to buy 407 tape

[fred s.]

I've been using Quantegy 407 with my Fostex model 80 and am very happy with the sound. Where is a good place to buy more of this tape...at a decent price?

I got a couple on ebay for cheap, but they are used up now.

Also what other tapes are compatible with 407?

[krhall]

Depends on where your located.
If your in a small area ie a town then your only viable option is mail order.
If your in Uk then it would be better as i have many resources.

As for recording media. i mostly use Ampex.
I purchased 40 brand new reels (7 Inch)

I do have some other odd tapes that came with previous machines (some people have NO IDEA on how to care for tapes). Many of the tapes i got with tape recorders were 1. Exessivly worn due to lack of machine maintainance 2. Incorrectly wound onto the reel resulting in badly damaged leaders. 3. On some tapes the leaders were missing altogether and instead of replacing the leaders they just wound the tape onto the reel as it was <--- one thing i HATE most of all. On the recent tapes i got, most... in fact nearly all the leaders were missing. Also the tapes have been joined (badly) in several places. And on some parts of the tape there was horrific damage where the tape must have got chewed up and instead of editing out the chewed up section of tape they just left it (that chewed part of the tape can effect the upper and lower layers of tape as it is wound onto the reel resulting in further WORSE damage. Also if you DO get any second hand tapes run the leader against the back of your hand, if the leader is magnetised it will stick TO the back of your hand, <---- this is bad, VERY BAD, this magnetised leader can start magnetising the travel path AND heads of your machine and MUST be replaced <--- ALSO A vital thing to watchout for.

Also storage conditions are EXTEMELY important. All of your tape reels old and new MUST be stored at ROOM temperature at ALL times and OUT of direct sunlight, humidity and damp (moisture) . MOST importantly tapes MUST be kept away from ANYTHING that gives off a magnetic field. This includes the following.

Speakers with or without built in preamp. Anything that transmits radio signals radios CB transmitters, INCLUDING cell phones.

Taking these steps will preserve your tapes.

Tapes that show symptoms of exposure to a magnetic field will lead to Intermitent dropouts, muffled or complete loss of audio output - also as i mensioned above magnetised leaders. possibly even the tape itself.

These are just some of many things to watchout for when getting second hand tapes. Although i am not keen on second hand tapes i have recieved some good ones.

As for Quantegy.

On their site they have a list of supported retailers.

Also Zonal media is recomended too as the BBC in the Uk uses it for their broadcast machines.

Hope this info helps

Keith

[fred s.]

I'm actually in USA...not UK. I can get quantegy 1/4" Quantegy 456 tapes most places, but am having a hard time finding 407 tapes.

[cjacek]

Originally Posted by fred s.

...am having a hard time finding 407 tapes.

You can actually ORDER DIRECT from Quantegy. Here's a direct link:

http://quantegyonline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=32

I haven't visited Quantegy's site for a little while and it seems they've redone their site and opened an online store. A very good idea!

[A Reel Person]

... would necessarily be "new/oldstock" as 3M stopped making tape years ago!

[Beck]

Originally Posted by fred s.

Also what other tapes are compatible with 407?

Other similar tapes include the following:

Maxell XL1 35-90B (discontinued, but out there on eBay)
3M 207 (discontinued, sometimes on eBay, but could be sticky)
BASF/EMTEC/RMGI LPR35 (All good)

I like Quantegy 407 a bit better than those listed above. I've noticed the 7" 407 is less common on many sites, so while Quantegy direct is not the best price, it’s good to know its there

[jpmorris]

www.studiospares.com - they have 7" 407 in stock.

[Herm]

I like the idea of quantegy having an online store. Could have that fresh tape thing going on instead of something that has sat on a shelf at some hot nasty music store somewhere.

[cjacek]

Originally Posted by fred s.

I've been using Quantegy 407 with my Fostex model 80 and am very happy with the sound. Where is a good place to buy more of this tape...at a decent price?

Here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Reel-Reel-Ta...QQcmdZViewItem

[krhall]

OMG i dont believe this.

He wont even ship to U.K

heh

well a couple of months ago

i magaed to get hold of 40 yes FOURTY reels of ampex 7" tape ^_^ for $60 U.S

about £40.00 U.k

all factory sealed

I now have a HUGE library of tape reels now.

OVER 100 Reels

and i am now looking to expand my collection even more now with 10.5" reels

This listing would have been great.

nevermind

i guess i will just have to keep looking

Keith

[cjacek]

Originally Posted by krhall

i magaed to get hold of 40 yes FOURTY reels of ampex 7" tape ^_^ for $60 U.S

Did you try any of them yet ? Any shedding ?

[krhall]

yep

i have run all tapes on my machine and all are good.

Every time i get new tapes the first thing i do is run them through to test for oxide deposits on the heads and tape guide posts.

Some of the older tapes i have ditched because they were shedding oxide which is very bad. And also tapes that show signs of exessive wear (track marks on the tape surface).

All of the ampex tapes are in Pink boxes with yellow leaders. And all of them are in super condition.

Keith

[fred s.]

I found something that might turn out to be a good deal on ebay,
they are unused old tapes, but could these be "sticky"??

http://cgi.ebay.com/Set-of-7-NEW-Amp...QQcmdZViewItem

...i'm assuming these are the same as the quantegy 407...right?

[krhall]

i have some of those tapes and they are very good.

get them if you can.

Those are good tapes and they have always performed well for me.


Keith

[Beck]

Originally Posted by fred s.

I found something that might turn out to be a good deal on ebay,
they are unused old tapes, but could these be "sticky"??

http://cgi.ebay.com/Set-of-7-NEW-Amp...QQcmdZViewItem

...i'm assuming these are the same as the quantegy 407...right?

Those are the same as Quantegy 407. However, those boxes are from the sticky-shed days. Those particular tapes might be sticky or they might not.

The only Ampex tape you can be sure are ok have the Ampex logo across the bottom. They look more like Quantegy does now. There are earlier tapes that have the logo across the middle. They look very similar to the good ones, but are also prone to sticky-shed.

The following are pre-1994 and should be avoided.