miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I was just checking out some NOS 456 reels on eBay, asking the guy to provide me with the date codes on the box so I could decide if it was safe or not (it wasn't, made in '92)...and I started thinking about how NOS reels are becoming less and less listed. 
In my situation...I have accumulated quite a large amount of NOS 2" tape, mostly 499 and Emtec/BASF 911, plus some 456...not to mention also plenty of 1/4" and 1/2" reels...so I'm not going to run out any time soon, unless I was running a commercial studio operation where tape was used daily/weekly...
...and then I started wondering about the pro studios.
OK...I know that ATR tape is still being made...and maybe some of that RMGI stuff is available (not sure of where that company is these days)...but I've heard a few stories that pro studios had access to huge stocks of NOS Ampex/Quantegy stuff that was stored away in some of those perfect climate cave facilities...or some such thing. Of course, you never really hear of how they go about getting at it or who controls it...or if those were tape stocks that each studio acquired individually, and then stored away for just their use...or if that's all just tape mythology, and that these days, if they roll tape, it's only the ATR stuff or anything they may still have left on their shelves.
It's mostly a curiosity...and I would guess for the bigger clients, they will not have any problems dropping the cash on new ATR tapes.
I mean...I doubt the pro studios are out there grabbing up "NOS" tapes from internet listings and whatnot.
Actually...a few reels of NOS I picked up a couple of years back came from a big name studio out in CA...though which studio it was, now escapes my memory. Not sure if they were clearing out old stock to make room for fresh tape...or completely switching over to all digital tracking...but they were brand new 2" reels...I think it was a couple 456 and a couple of 499 reels I got from them...and guess what, they had them listed on eBay, but under some weird name.
It wasn't until I got the package that I knew it came from the studio.
In my situation...I have accumulated quite a large amount of NOS 2" tape, mostly 499 and Emtec/BASF 911, plus some 456...not to mention also plenty of 1/4" and 1/2" reels...so I'm not going to run out any time soon, unless I was running a commercial studio operation where tape was used daily/weekly...
...and then I started wondering about the pro studios.
OK...I know that ATR tape is still being made...and maybe some of that RMGI stuff is available (not sure of where that company is these days)...but I've heard a few stories that pro studios had access to huge stocks of NOS Ampex/Quantegy stuff that was stored away in some of those perfect climate cave facilities...or some such thing. Of course, you never really hear of how they go about getting at it or who controls it...or if those were tape stocks that each studio acquired individually, and then stored away for just their use...or if that's all just tape mythology, and that these days, if they roll tape, it's only the ATR stuff or anything they may still have left on their shelves.
It's mostly a curiosity...and I would guess for the bigger clients, they will not have any problems dropping the cash on new ATR tapes.
I mean...I doubt the pro studios are out there grabbing up "NOS" tapes from internet listings and whatnot.
Actually...a few reels of NOS I picked up a couple of years back came from a big name studio out in CA...though which studio it was, now escapes my memory. Not sure if they were clearing out old stock to make room for fresh tape...or completely switching over to all digital tracking...but they were brand new 2" reels...I think it was a couple 456 and a couple of 499 reels I got from them...and guess what, they had them listed on eBay, but under some weird name.
It wasn't until I got the package that I knew it came from the studio.
