35-180? Why is it so hot? Beck?!

[Dr ZEE]

What am I missing here? Why these rolls are such hot sh*t on e-bay?
Maxell XL-I-35-180B auction example

Beck, since you ARE walking analog recording tape encyclopedia ..., maybe you are able to clear this up for me ... what's going on?
Guys, what's your thought or knowledge about this?
Also I've seen them going really high many times on e-bay (even in used good condition). and 7" rolls as well. Is there something I don't know about, ...hmmmm??, something like some decks are really kiking A*s with this specific kind.... ???? or is it all just about people wanting them just because, period.

thanks for any info...

 

[evm1024]

I'm interested too. Bu I do notice the 0 feedback bidder....

 

[Beck]

Marketing!

Well, Maxell’s UD and XL stuff was/is great tape (it’s discontinued). You should have seen the prices a year or two ago. $75.00 for one 7” reel of 35-90B was not out of the ordinary back then.

The Maxell panic predated the Quantegy panic by a couple of years. People started snatching it up by the cartload. In the states it was always highly regarded as serious, professional level tape, which it is… but Ampex/Quantegy 407 actually out specs it and sounds better to my ears.

Back in the late 70’s and 80’s if you wanted to record something really special you went out and got Maxell UD or UD XL… nothing else would do. So it has this nostalgic mythos thing going for it among older audiophiles. It also has no sticky shed problems. I have reels of it from that late 70’s that are as good as new.

Most of mine are still sealed. I have one open so I can smell it every once in a while, which gives me my super analog powers. It smells different than Ampex, which is also very nice. Sniffing Maxell and Ampex at the same time will give you super powers far beyond anything you could get from falling into a vat of toxic chemicals or being bitten by a radioactive spider.

Like everything else the prices go up and down for this tape on a weekly basis. I will still buy a reel now and then if I see a good Buy it Now, but I have 20 new reels of Quantegy 407 in my studio, so I’m not going to get into any bidding wars over the Maxell, especially with a phantom zero bidder in the mix who just opened an account today.

 

[arjoll]

What am I missing here? Why these rolls are such hot sh*t on e-bay?

Its good enough tape, the packaging looks identical (other than the size of course!) to 35-90B I was buying in 1993-94. I understand its not as good as 457, but Maxell doesn't shed. I've got 1979 stuff that still sounds great.

From memory I was paying NZ$20-25 per 1800 ft reel from the local distributor, which does make this tape a bit overpriced.

I remember when I recorded the stuff I keep referring to in '93 (keep hanging on to varsity days!) I could get Maxell in 1/2" format, but only the UD stuff not XLI, and my friend with the band was told that Ampex 456 was better. That was the tape I've just had to get baked to get the tracks off . I kinda wish he had decided to use Maxell instead....

I also shudder to think what state the DAT master is in. I did give him a couple of brand new reels of 35-90B to copy the master on to, but by that stage I'd moved back to Invercargill and he couldn't figure out how to transfer from DAT onto the 32

 

[arjoll]

Sniffing Maxell and Ampex at the same time

Dr Zee, I think we're going to have to arrange an intervention.

 

[Beck]

Dr Zee, I think we're going to have to arrange an intervention.

..........

 

[Dr ZEE]

LOL. funny pic
...
o.k. guys, thanks for replies here. You see, my main 'confusion' ..or why I was thinking that I may be missing some bit of info here was because now you can buy new tape, so why people still pay double for NIB old tape? I mean I can understand that some r-t-r heads just simply want that good tape from the past, for the look of it and say for the smell of it . Then I thought maybe be there is some tech myth flying around, ala: "You have to use formulation and thikness of this tape ONLY for the best result on your RT-901 or akai EX or teac-X**** or what have you - some hot-end machine of that nature ."
Or there was some tech myth about quantegy tape being bad, ala: " quantegy tape is very bad for your Pioneer heads", or something like that. Or maybe there are still many r-t-r enthusiasts out there who simply do not know that there is new tape on sale "everywhere"
I mean, for many people if it's not in circuit city or MediaPlay, then the only place to get it is e-bay.
o.k.
ahhh, speaking of smell'n look! this must be one of those items , these cassettes actually are damn cool, I want some myself ... but you gotta be a pretty good PRO-e-bay-wrestler to get it.

 

[Vintage TX]

Mmm, nothing better then some Maxell tape acid in the morning.
Last year I bought (100) 10-1/2 inch reels, mostly Maxell but a few sealed TDK Aqua were also in there. Paid $ 900 + shipping but worth every penny.
Maybe a crazy deal, but I just love that tape.

 

[Beck]

Mmm, nothing better then some Maxell tape acid in the morning.
Last year I bought (100) 10-1/2 inch reels, mostly Maxell but a few sealed TDK Aqua were also in there. Paid $ 900 + shipping but worth every penny.
Maybe a crazy deal, but I just love that tape.

Holy Smokers! That is a great deal!