correct grade of tape???

[gjhardwick]

does it matter which grade of tape you use (456,499,GP9 etc) on your tape machine?

I have a Fostex A8 and when i bought the machine, the tape it had was some reels of Ampex 456 and one reel of 406.

I recently bought a reel of 499, will this work well on my machine or would it be best to stick to the 456 tape?

 

[bvaleria]

It's been a while since analog for me, but the grade *does* matter - your machine would be calibrated for a given grade/brand/characteristic of tape and you should stick with it unless you re-calibrate.

Bruce Valeriani
Blue Bear Sound