Would you buy new tape on 7" metal reels?

J

jviss

New member
I would!

What would you pay?

For example, you can buy new RMGI on plastic reels from fullcompass.com as per:

LPR35 1800' $21.50
SM468 1200' $15.75
SM911 1200' $16.25

What premium would you pay for metal reels?

Or, maybe you don't buy new tape?
 
To my knowledge, neither of the current tape vendors (RMGI, ATR) sell tape on 7" metal reels.

I also see no advantage to having a 7" reel with metal flanges. I wouldn't pay extra money for that.
 
jviss said:
What tape do you currently buy?
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I'm currently all set for tape, so I won't be buying any for a loooong time.

I've bought mostly RMGI SM911 (and a couple old reels of EMTEC SM911). I also have five reels of dead-stock 1/2" AGFA PEM468. For mixdown and mastering, I use ATR Magnetics tape, 1/4" on 10.5" reels.

I've been doing a lot of tracking on the AGFA PEM468. When I'm in need of 1/2" tape again, I'll be buying RMGI SM468. I'm totally hooked on 468. I sounds better with dbx NR than I think SM911 does. That's just *my* opinion, though!
 
lo.fi.love said:
I'm currently all set for tape, so I won't be buying any for a loooong time.

I've bought mostly RMGI SM911 (and a couple old reels of EMTEC SM911). I also have five reels of dead-stock 1/2" AGFA PEM468. For mixdown and mastering, I use ATR Magnetics tape, 1/4" on 10.5" reels.

I've been doing a lot of tracking on the AGFA PEM468. When I'm in need of 1/2" tape again, I'll be buying RMGI SM468. I'm totally hooked on 468. I sounds better with dbx NR than I think SM911 does. That's just *my* opinion, though!
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Did you buy the new RMGI 911? I've been looking to get some but heard on some forums that most of it is still bad stuff. I'd like to try it out but don't wanna shell out $150 and get a shit reel.

Thanks,
-Barrett
 
Bguzaldo said:
Did you buy the new RMGI 911? I've been looking to get some but heard on some forums that most of it is still bad stuff. I'd like to try it out but don't wanna shell out $150 and get a shit reel.

Thanks,
-Barrett
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I've had some bad luck with RMG in the past but they seemed to have gotten better. $150.00?? What size tape do you use?
 
jviss said:
Would you buy new tape on 7" metal reels?
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Metal reels are pretty, but for 7" there's no practical difference in performance. That is, there’s no such thing as a “balanced precision” 7" reel for ¼” tape. It’s mostly cosmetic… and if the metal flanges bend, like if you drop it or something it will never be the same.

As long as my reels match… are the same style, plastic is fine with me. These days metal reels would bring the price up too much… that would be bad. ;)
 
I hear you, but not all plastic reels are alike. Some plastic reels with prerecorded music form the 60's are very heavy reels, and quite precise. A later reel I have is light weight, and now warped so it's almost useless.
 
jviss said:
I hear you, but not all plastic reels are alike. Some plastic reels with prerecorded music form the 60's are very heavy reels, and quite precise. A later reel I have is light weight, and now warped so it's almost useless.
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You need to compare apples to apples. Almost everything made in the 60's was made heavier then the things made even 15 years ago. 7" reels do not have high torque demands. Like Beck said even if you drop a metal reel it will be bent no matter what. Plastic is cheaper then metal.
 
If you stick with the standard EMTEC/RMGI, 3M/Scotch or Ampex/Quantegy style you'll be fine. I've never had a plastic reel warp unless I accidentally laid something on it for a length of time or left it in the sun. I've done each of those things maybe one time. But I have Ampex reels that are from mid-80's and they're still as good as new. There are some reels I don't like as much, such as the clear plastic one's Maxell used in the last years for UD 35-90 and XLI 35-90B. They seem a bit flimsy IMO.
 
RMGI makes fine tape. I've bought somewhere around fifteen or twenty reels of RMGI tape and never had an issue.
 
I hear you all on the virtues of plastic reels.

Hey, is it possible to buy the large arbor reels that were used on the prerecorded tapes? I've only ever seen small arbor plastic reels sold.
 
dodgeaspen said:
I've had some bad luck with RMG in the past but they seemed to have gotten better. $150.00?? What size tape do you use?
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1". The tascam MSR 24 is a 24 track 1 inch machine and its pretty awesome considering the extremely narrow track width. Its the only deck I've ever had so I have nothing to compare it to, but for now its working great for me.
 
jviss said:
I hear you all on the virtues of plastic reels.

Hey, is it possible to buy the large arbor reels that were used on the prerecorded tapes? I've only ever seen small arbor plastic reels sold.
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Yeah, I take it you're talking about low-torque reels. They don't hold as much tape of course but the tape tension is more uniform over the length of the tape. I'm pretty sure US Recording Media had those too a few years ago, but I don't see them anymore. But I haven't looked either... I have no need for them. They were best suited for prerecorded albums that didn't have as much tape on the reel, especially @ 3-3/4 ips.
 
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