Update on ATR Magnetics Master Tape

N

N7SC

New member
Emailed ATR Magnetics this morning to find out what was going on with their tape. Below, cut and pasted is their response.

Good Morning Scott:

We are currently finishing up our in house testing and clearing our last
rounds of facility inspections. After which, we will move into a round of
external beta testing prior to ramping up for full volume production -
targeted for Q1'2006. Our first formulation of ATR Master Tape is a very
high output 1.5 mil tape with operating levels up to +10 dB over 185 nW/m,
which ATR will supply in 2", 1", 1/2" and 1/4" widths on 10.5" reels.

As for distribution, I am working with our staff to ensure that tape is
available around the globe via web purchasing, however, I am also working
with various store fronts/distributors (ie, USR) to ensure that tape is
locally on the shelf and available at all times.

Please note, as we get closer to full volume production we will post updates
on the webpage regarding price, detailed spec sheets and the like.

Best Regards,

Tracy Ann Doten
ATR Magnetics
 
I’m stoked about trying this new tape. I knew they would only be offering +9 class, so no +6 456 class in the near future I guess. If it is as good as they’ve been predicting this could launch a new era of half-track mastering, as this is where it would really shine, and like GP9, no noise reduction needed.

These are indeed exciting times for those of us who stubbornly hung on by our finger nails, while the headlines read “Tape is Dead.”

But we always knew... it ain’t over until… :D
 

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dude;

is GP9 good for mastering and/or mixdown? I have been using 456 and there is no hiss with that.

with my 1/2" 16 track, however, there is significan't hiss with 456, and a slight bit with GP9.

I think I have been hitting a problem with the noise reduction though where I saturate the NR when trying to saturate the tape, which sounds bad. so using a higher formulation tape with NR might be a bad thing? I guess the point of a +10 tape is to drop the NR then?

or would a re-bias get everything back in check? am I way off here?

don't mean to hi-jack; I wish I could start a sub-thread or something..a tangent....cool that there will be more options for tape but I hope this doesn't put a further strain on other companies...
 
16 tracks equal more hiss because you have 16 individual circuits contributing to the cumulative noise figure, as opposed to two on a half-track mastering deck. There are other factors such as track width and circuit design, but all things being equal, more tracks equals more hiss.

I highly recommend giving Quantegy 406 a try on something like the E-16 or MSR-16, if you want to get that classic tape saturation without giving your NR a conniption.

I don’t recommend GP9 at high levels w/out NR on that track width because your electronics will clip before tape compression and crosstalk would be unacceptable.
 
Beck said:
I don’t recommend GP9 at high levels w/out NR on that track width because your electronics will clip before tape compression and crosstalk would be unacceptable.
Click to expand...
Good points! :cool:

Listen to Uncle Beck, kids! ;)

The things to be very mindful of, boys and girls, is that using these higher output tapes on a machine factory designed to run on 456 is that your adjacent channel crosstalk, (leakage), will grow more audible. If you create mixes where a track needs to be isolated in a mixdown or turned off, the last thing you'll want to hear is the leakage of it or the neighboring tracks when they should be silent.

Unless we're talking about machines that are running NAB calibration standards at NAB track width specs, (half track stereo on 1/4" tape @15ips or wider/faster ), I would strongly advise people to leave well enough alone and maintain the factory setting of 456 @ 185nWb.

Cheers! :)
 
Yup. Using 407 on my MSR16 and its much more controlable. You can hit it hard and get some tape compression luv on it without too much crosstalk or back off a bit and get it clean. To get compression with 456 loaded I had to peg the thing and it crossyelled.

+10 tape is for NO distortion with high levels.... with the over all aim of an extremely accurate recording with as little noise as possible. There is a reason its called "Mastering Tape." Its also what you would use if you're not looking for ANY tape artifacts.

Take care,
Chris
 
FALKEN said:
then what is the point of this +10 tape?
Click to expand...

Most certainly half-track mastering. Even the 22-2 can do GP9 if it has to (the little reel that could… I love that machine). Anything in the Tascam 32, BR-20 and Otari MX5050 range and higher will benefit from this “super tape” if it lives up to ATRs promises.

Wider track, including the MS-16, 38, 48, TSR-8 and Otari MX5050/8 are good bets.

And of course the big boys… 16 on 2” and ½” half-track.
 
FALKEN said:
then what is the point of this +10 tape?
Click to expand...
That tape is geared at machines which adhere to the NAB standards I mentioned in my previous post.

Narrower track format machines like the MSR-16 have less headroom to work at those elevated levels and will show their shortcomings if you force them to be something they are not.

TASCAM and Fostex, who built narrower then professional standard track width decks, both knew these things when they designed them to work with 456 at relaxed levels so that they could offer decent results when combined with capable noise reductions systems.

Here's another way of looking at it. You can buy a Honda Civic, put some cool rims and racing stripes on it but when you take it to the track, it's not going to perform like Honda's formula 1 cars. You can cruise down your street and pretend that your behind the wheel of a 2 million dollar car but your only fooling yourself when you do this. In much the same way, a narrower then pro spec'd recorder, MSR16, E-16, etc... is not a 2", 16 track machine and never will be even when you put tape on it designed for that 2" monster. They can't deal with that tape's potential, electronically or physically in terms of not having enough real-estate to hold all those nanoWebers of flux that the tape wants to capture and present to the playback circuitry.

Is any of this making sense? :confused:

Cheers! :)
 
Beck said:
Most certainly half-track mastering. Even the 22-2 can do GP9 if it has to (the little reel that could… I love that machine). Anything in the Tascam 32, BR-20 and Otari MX5050 range and higher will benefit from this “super tape” if it lives up to ATRs promises.

Wider track, including the MS-16, 38, 48, TSR-8 and Otari MX5050/8 are good bets.

And of course the big boys… 16 on 2” and ½” half-track.
Click to expand...

Does your machine need to be set up for it? I'm getting great results with the 456 (no tape hiss) so I wouldn't neccessarily want to change anything but I wouldn't mind having that other option.
 
SteveMac said:
Does your machine need to be set up for it? I'm getting great results with the 456 (no tape hiss) so I wouldn't neccessarily want to change anything but I wouldn't mind having that other option.
Click to expand...

Yes, you would need to set bias and levels for optimum performance, like you would GP9 or 499.

There are still a lot of unknowns with the new ATR tape, so I should clarify I am not endorsing it sight unseen. All we have right now are promises, but they are promises from a very reputable company with a great deal of earned respect in the analog community.

The bottom line is that it’s exciting to see a new analog tape introduced in this digital age (like it was when Quantegy unveiled GP9 just a few years ago). Whether I will end up using ATR tape or stick to my old faithfuls (456, 406, 468, 911 & 526 ) remains to be seen.

At the very least I hope to see a larger segment of the recording industry wooed back to tape, at least at the mastering level so I can listen to contemporary music without my ears bleeding. :)
 
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usrecordingmedia is stocking, in 1/4" format, 406, 456, GP9, and other variations, and in 1/2"-2" format only 456 and GP9. its like; the opposite...or something....
 
Tracy at ATR has asked me to post the original message, but edited a bit. The changes she made are all good for us, and are all in the second paragraph, about sales/distribution. They seem interested in finding stores and distributors to carry their tape! And they want our help!! I say let's help them out - the more market exposure they can get, the better for them and us. :D Please contact Tracy with leads on good, reputable stores and distributors that can and will help ATR get established in the market.


Scott - you can post my email as I edited it below. Please note, I edited
the email because I want people to feel free to contact me with any/all
store fronts in areas where they need to be able to get tape (besides via
the web) so I hope by posting this email it will encourage your colleagues
to get back to me. Happy Holidays - Tracy

Good Morning Scott:

We are currently finishing up our in house testing and clearing our
last rounds of facility inspections. After which, we will move into a
round of external beta testing prior to ramping up for full volume
production - targeted for Q1'2006. Our first formulation of ATR Master
Tape is a very high output 1.5 mil tape with operating levels up to +10
dB over 185 nW/m, which ATR will supply in 2", 1", 1/2" and 1/4" widths
on 10.5" reels.

As for distribution, I am working with our staff to ensure that tape is
available around the globe via web purchasing, however, I am also working
with various store fronts/distributors to ensure that tape is locally on
the shelf and available at all times. If you have a store front/disti that
you have come to rely on in your region please email me at:
tracy@nothingsoundsliketape.com.

Please note, as we get closer to full volume production we will post
updates on the webpage regarding price, detailed spec sheets and the like.

Best Regards,
Tracy Ann Doten
ATR Magnetics
 
Bigsnake00 said:
Do you think ATR will help drive the price of tape down a little bit?
Click to expand...

It may. I was bothered by the rise in tape prices at first, but it doesn’t sting nearly as much as not having new tape at all. I’ve been looking forward to the release of this ATR tape, but I have mixed feelings about too many fingers in the relatively smaller pie that analog tape is today.

On one hand, having two other tape manufacturers besides Quantegy is undeniably a positive indicator for tape fans. On the other, we are IMO a golden-eared elite, with senses bordering on the supernatural compared to the billions of tone-deaf people on this planet. How many tape manufactures can a relatively small minority support?

How much TV programming is made for those with an IQ above that of a carrot? How many states set their maximum speed limits for those who can drive, rather than for those who can’t? Why do men no longer walk on the moon as they did over three decades ago, and NASA just keeps blowing things up? Since when has excellence driven the market? How many things on earth do not boil down to the lowest common denominator?

Questions like this have troubled me since I was about 8 years old. :)

Anyway, usually competition is good for the consumer, but in our case, at least right now, it’s a delicate balance. So, I’d like to see tape come down a bit and tape use to increase.

A new tape could breathe new life into the analog scene, just as the release of Quantegy’s GP9 did in 1998 (right in the middle of the digital revolution… those rascals).

Competition will likely bring prices down a little, though tempered by the margins.

One thing I’m sure of… I would like to see people stop buying old, used tape on eBay. That money is better for all of us in Quantegy’s bank account. And after hours of cleaning off sticky shed and ultimately having to throw the crap in the trash you didn’t save the 20 bucks you set out to save in the first place. :D

Did I use too many words to answer that question? Anyone?
 
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