Good tape for MSR !6??

R

RFR

Well-known member
All this talk of tape has led me to post this question. What's a good tape?

I was all excited when I got my machine to have included 3 NOS sealed reels of Ampex 456.:thumbs up:

Only to have it deflated when it turned out to be sticky shed. :eek:I don't even want to open the other two reels to see if it is as well.

So, Tape is needed. Suggestions??

R
 
Check the dates. If they're from a late batch they should be okay. The date code is 5-digits long of the format YYDDD, e.g. 92070. If it's 1995 or later it's worth trying. Otherwise, spool the tape off into the trash and keep the empty spools.
Quantegy 456 should be good if you can find some second-hand, or RMGI SM911 is a suitable equivalent which is currently in production.
 
Thanks Miro.

Jpmorris,

Stuff I have is from redwood city, ca. The bad stuff.
 
- Quantegy 456 made from 1996* to 2005
- Quantegy 406 made from 1996* to 2005
- BASF/EMTEC SM911
- BASF/EMTEC PEM 468 or SM468 (Early years of BASF 468 are marked PEM)
- AGFA PEM 468
- 3M/Scotch 986 and 206
- RMGI SM911
- RMGI SM468

*Note: Ampex fixed the sticky shed issue right before Quantegy aquired Ampex Magnetic Tape Division, so all Redwood City CA boxes from 1995 are good, and even back a few months into 1994. But early Ampex 1994 and older is bad. I'm not sure when the cutoff batch number is, so best to be on the safe side and stick with Ampex/Quantegy 406, 456, etc, made 1995 and above.
 
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I've seen some reels of Quantegy with a 2007 date (both 456 and 499)...so is 2005 or 2007 the last year, or was the post-2005 stuff that Quantegy manufacturing restart attempt that then failed?

I'm trying to remember the sequence of events in their last year or two...but it's a blur at this point.
 
miroslav said:
I've seen some reels of Quantegy with a 2007 date (both 456 and 499)...so is 2005 or 2007 the last year, or was the post-2005 stuff that Quantegy manufacturing restart attempt that then failed?

I'm trying to remember the sequence of events in their last year or two...but it's a blur at this point.
Click to expand...

Yeah, when they started up again after the bankruptcy they had a lot of bad batches of tape. No sticky shed, but bad cutting and other inconsistencies. I've got an article around here from the National Archives or Library of Congress where they were talking about how hit-or-miss Quantegy was after they started back up compared to the stuff before the 2005 shutdown. Basically the guy said, "We couldn't do it anymore" and were looking to RMGI and ATR to see what they would come up with.

So, while there may be plenty of good 2006/2007 Quantegy out there, I can only say for certain that the tape made between 1995 and 2005 is the best bet. Maybe I should say between 1995 and 2004

I suspect the people who really knew what they were doing when it came to making tape did not stay on or comeback to the new Quantegy under Peter Hutt. If the same people who knew what they were doing came back and did what they were doing before, It shouldn't have been that difficult.
 
Sadly, the stuff I have is from 1992. Well at least I have some real nice NOS reels and nice clean boxes. LOL. It will come in handy for some pancake reels.
 
If you are interested, I have some very nice BASF 911 that was purchased as sealed NOS a few years ago on 14" (5000') reels.

I spooled it to 10.5" reels for my son to use on a Fostex B16. He tended to record himself and friends jamming, and occasionally would do a few overdubs, mix it, then put the box away and start on a new one. There are 6 or 8 reels.

They are definitely not sticky....

Let me know if you are interested. $30 per reel, + shipping.

David
 
Well I got some quantegy 406 2500 ft pancakes with nice plastic boxes coming. Sure hope its the good stuff.
 
If it's Ampex or Quantegy made from late 1994 through 2005 that tape should be fine. 406 is a good tape and those years are good years for quality and no Sticky-Shed.
 
The tape I got is 406 from 2005. Did some test recording. Good stuff. No issues.
I'm pleased. ☺
 
Thanks, Beck. I was unaware of 406 before your recommendation. But I believe you know your stuff, so I went looking.
 
You're welcome. Glad to help.

456 wasn't even introduced until 1975. The most popular high output mastering tapes before that were Ampex 406 and 3M/Scotch 206. Puts things into perspective. Think of all the great music made before 1975. Much of it (most of it) tracked and mastered on 406 or it's closest competitor 206. It's good stuff!
 
I am very pleased with the sound quality, and my machine isn't even calibrated for it. It's still calibrated for 456, which I believe is the factory setting.
 
Yeah, and when you're comparing 406 to 456 there's not a whole lot of difference between them but character of the sound. Technically we've got an additional 3 dB with 456 but practically speaking you would really have to push 406 a lot harder than that to get objectionable non-musical distortion. And when 456 was introduced Ampex designed it to be bias compatible with 406, their most popular tape at the time. So the way machines like the MSR/TSR series are biased by adjusting and measuring a voltage your machine was already bias ready for 406 as well as 456 from the factory. If the bias is right for 456 it is right for 406, so you're good there.

You may see some slight difference in levels coming back on repro a little lower than 456, but not by much. In fact over the years Ampex improved the output of both 456 and 406. Comparing older and later specs both tapes gained quite a bit of output. New 406 is pretty darn close in output level to early 456. Tape companies were always tweaking formulations until the very end.

I would be perfectly content using 406 exclusively with my TSR-8. It just so happened that I ended up with mostly 456 and BASF 911. These are all good tapes.
 
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