Don't Buy the Wrong Quantegy Tape on eBay

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A Reel Person said:
"God"
"Moonage Daydream"
"Long Time Gone"
"It's a Long Way Back"

... all recorded on 031 Quantegy, new tape, right out of the white box.

Tell me if it's inadequate to capture hifi audio. I'll wait. :confused: :eek: ;)

http://www.nowhereradio.com/davemania/singles
Sorry it took so long to respond. I logged off yesterday just in time to get the "honey-do" list from hell. I am at work right now, so I will listen when I can.
 
Herm said:
Ok just had to add some pics of my new display tables for some of my stuff.

I know Reel is just drooling cause he wishes he had this much stuff ;)

GIMMIE! :p
 
Damn Reel! You need to move the exercise equipment out so you have room for more gear. I don't think there is enough in the space! LOL!:D
 
A Reel Person said:
I've been getting the white-box "031" tape for music use, and it's been just fine.

Now, my singing, playing & recording skills need some work, but that's another post! ;) :eek:

Yeah, Reel is correct in that white-box has its place. My point is to know what you're buying. If you see white-box advertised as 456 and at the 456 price you are being taken (then again, considering the state of things, people will being paying a premium for that at some point).

It's fine for experimenting, but keep in mind that it is rejected at the factory because it doesn't meet the minimum standards for 456, 406, or whatever it was supposed to be.

I've used 7" white-box myself in the past for goofing around, but I wouldn't put a final serious piece on it.

Of course, my thoughts on this are from a time, not so long ago, when there were new tapes being manufactured. If things don't start looking up with Quantegy, check back, because I may be recommending 031 as, "Almost 456." :(
 
Yeah, Beck, sure.

I'm happy with the 031 white box media for $2.95/reel. I put my finals on it as much as anything else. I have stocks of (031), 456, 457, 3M 226, 3M 806 and a few reels of 499 on 7" reels. Probably more, I just can't remember. :eek:

I just scored a huge load of 031 for future use. The 031 media has it's place. My place.

Thanx.

Cheers. ;)
 
Rokket said:
Damn Reel! You need to move the exercise equipment out so you have room for more gear. I don't think there is enough in the space! LOL!:D

Y'know,... I was thinkin' just the other day,...

I need more gear! :confused: :eek: ;)
 
Rokket said:
Hey, Reel! Not to jack this post, but how many times can you safely record and erase a decent tape reel before it becomes unusable due to write-through and such?

With proper tape care and your tape path clean and demagnetized, expect 300 good recordings from Ampex/Quantegy 456. It has to be degaussed to be fully erased and like-new. One-pass tape is ok if you know for sure it is one-pass and not 500-pass, and not abused tape. Expect even more passes from AGFA/BASF/EMTEC 468.

If any tape is not stored properly or loosely and unevenly spooled, you can expect edge damage and dropouts on outer tracks in just a few passes. It should be evenly wound and stored on end like a book at the recommended temp & humidity.

:cool:
 
Thanks for that. Doesn't sound like it's too hard of a thing. I guess the ticket is to make sure you get the proper tape for whichever reel to reel I end up with.
 
Very Good

A Reel Person said:
I'm happy with the 031 white box media for $2.95/reel. I put my finals on it as much as anything else. I have stocks of (031), 456, 457, 3M 226, 3M 806 and a few reels of 499 on 7" reels. Probably more, I just can't remember. :eek:

I just scored a huge load of 031 for future use. The 031 media has it's place. My place.

Thanx.

Cheers. ;)

Ok Reel, here's my current list of 7" and 10.5"
AGFA 911
BASF 911
AGFA 468
EMTEC 468
Ampex 456
Quantagy 456
Ampex 406
Quantegy 407
Ampex 457
Quantegy GP9
3M/Scotch 226
3M 808
Maxell UD 35-90
Maxell XLI 35-90B
AGFA LP35
Scotch 111
Scotch Highlander
Realistic Supertape

AND TWO REELS OF WHITE-BOX 031 FROM 1986 WITH STICKY SHED! :D

Seriously though, the only material I have ever recorded on white-box was full of noticeable dropouts upon playback. A local music store used to sell it as 456 years ago, so I learned the difference the hard way. I'll admit that there is a big range of quality between batches of 031. But then that's the point. 456 has to pass a high standard. Thus, for the young and inexperienced on the board, you can buy 456 sight unseen with confidence it will be consistent.
 
Beck,...

I'm happy with my stocks of 7" reel media. This isn't a dick whippin' contest.

Sorry to hear your bad experiences with 031, but I'm working fine with it.

I know you're only trying to "save me from myself", cause you obviously know better, on everything analog. Your recordings are by far more important than mine, as is your experience.

Thanx./DA

PS: "Authentic" 456 has "sticky shed" too, so that's not a differentiating factor, is it??
 
A Reel Person said:
I'm happy with my stocks of 7" reel media. This isn't a dick whippin' contest.

Sorry to hear your bad experiences with 031, but I'm working fine with it.

I know you're only trying to "save me from myself", cause you obviously know better, on everything analog. Your recordings are by far more important than mine, as is your experience.

Au contraire! I've always considered you my equal, if not my better in all things analog. I can understand your reaction to my criticism of 031 after having stocked up on it, but it wasn't aimed at you, for I didn't even know you used it.

Threads like this are intended for the inexperienced, to help guide young analog hopefuls down a safe path. I certainly wouldn't presume to be telling members like you or Ghost something you don't already know. You have the experience and knowledge that only comes with time -- there's no way to fully impart that to newbies.

A "dick wippin contest" :D You caught that too. See, after people started posting pictures of equipment and when you listed all the tapes you have there was at least a hint of that, or how some might perceive it.

Few people can appreciate my dry sense of humor and it doesn't translate well at all to text. But if we had been talking in person and I started rattling off like that you would have known by my inflexions and expressions that I was making a joke of it -- pointing out how what you had said might have sounded. That's all it was.

This thread like about 98.4% of the threads on this bbs went south over some misunderstanding over intent and semantics. It won't be the last.

Anyway, it all started because I have some pretty strong feelings about people being taken advantage of on eBay. If I can warn a few people that are just getting there feet wet in analog in this forum I think I should.

By the way, I sent that seller an email telling them the tape they were offering was not audiotape. They never replied, but only continue to post new listings with the same false information. If the person lived near by I would knock on their door, look them in the eye and tell them they are a son of a bitch. That's just the way I am -- full of passion about one thing or another. Hell, and I'm not even Italian.

:cool:
 
Yeah, I got some nice little 5" reels of 3M 996 of Ebay, a while back.

Ebay's funny, like that. It's definitely buyer beware, out there.

The finer point of my argument, is that 031 is not the "wrong" Quantegy.

If it were, then I would be a dumass.

;)
 
If someone was selling instrumentation tape as audio tape,...

then I can see where you'd want to draw the line, and/or warn people.

However, the gentleman above, having purchase 651, and myself with my white box 031, will be fine applying it to hifi audio. ;)
 
A Reel Person said:
However, the gentleman above, having purchase 651, and myself with my white box 031, will be fine applying it to hifi audio. ;)

We may differ in some details , and we'll just have to live with it. I have a good friend who thinks analog in general sucks -- it's no big deal in the grand scheme of things. But answer me this -- is there anything wrong with me pointing out that 651 is designated as voice grade and is described as "not appropriate for music" in vintage product brochures that I have. And if Ampex/Quantegy calls 031, "Rejected" in their own literature, shouldn't I feel free to pass that info along here?

But I'm with you on experimenting and trying tapes that aren't necessarily intended for a particular purpose. As I mentioned before, to my ear Radio Shack Supertape doesn't sound bad at all. Some would think that statement to be ridiculous. Talented, experienced, knowledgeable people have different preferences, based on their personal experiences. I'm ok with that.

:)
 
A Reel Person said:
The finer point of my argument, is that 031 is not the "wrong" Quantegy.

If it were, then I would be a dumass.

;)

No, not in my mind, because I know you know what it is and that you wouldn't be fooled into paying full 456 price for it.

I had bad luck with 031, but you've had good results. Some clever fellow will consider our reports and make up his own mind. At $2.99 a box I guess he/she would be a dumbass not to try one for themselves.

:cool:
 
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