Do you want Quantegy 456 ?

[ethyrvalve]

The 1st time I heard this myth was on this forum. 499 maybe stiffer than 456 but not any more abrasive.

Wow, are you sure about that? I really hope that's true. I use high output tape exclusively, but I always harboured some guilt over the belief I'd be wearing out my heads faster.
FWIW I've been using mostly RMG SM900 (plus one reel of ATR) on my Tascam 58 at a +6 operating level for a while now with no problems whatsoever. I was able to get it bias correctly.
For my MS-16 I replaced the bias feeder capacitors (a very quick and easy job) and I've been able to get ample bias to operate ATR tape at +9 levels. (I didn't actually try biasing it before the mod, perhaps it would have worked fine, I got antsy waiting for the tape to show up in the mail).
BTW after using a couple reels of ATR I can say I like it every bit as much as the old 3M996. I'm really rooting for these guys to thrive. They make a superb product.

That said, good luck in your 456 petition all you folks who prefer it!

 

[sweetbeats]

Pete, the wear issue has bounced around many areas, and can be verified. I talked about this issue with Jim Finch at Tascam. The +9 tape isn't more "abrasive" per se, but it is the stiffness that is the issue. Think of it this way: if you tried to drag tape that was as stiff is a piece of wood over a headstack, that would be harder on the head contour as it tries to make that bend. +9 tape is not as stiff as a piece of wood , but it is stiffer. Big picture? 456 is gonna wear the heads...499 is gonna wear the heads...dental floss is gonna wear the heads. The question is "how much faster?" I have no idea, but my guess is that it is not something to freak about, and may be insignificant y'know? You are running +9 tape because you like how it sounds...it isn't a physical issue with your tape path, its an artistic issue and I fully support that. Maybe in the big picture, over a long period of time you'd get 50 more hours out of your heads with 456? Maybe 10? Maybe 100? I have no idea, but you're not running sandpaper through the path so right there you're off to a good start.

I am absolutely no expert on the issue, but I wouldn't worry about it. I'm using 456 equivalent tape simply because it is what my decks were designed around and my experience is far too limited to be deviating from the status quo for my decks at this stage. At some point if I feel something is missing or limited in the sounds I am getting off tape and I have exhausted my research and knowledge-base to address the gap in other ways, and then I roll +9 tape and the lights turn on, at that point I'm not gonna care about nominal accelerated wear...I'm gonna send one of my spare sets of heads to JFR and have them on the shelf ready to drop in when that +9 tape does exactly what the +6 tape would do eventually anyway and wear the heads out.

 

[cjacek]

OK, so I just received an email reply from Peter Hutt of Quantegy. Here a copy:

From: Peter Hutt <peter@quantegy.com>
Subject: Re: Quantegy tape revival
To: xxxxxx@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2008, 11:09 AM

Respectfully,

456 was less than 10% of all audio tape made by us in the last years. It may not be economical for us to carry all the products we previously made. Please keep checking back. We think 456 will be available before anything else too.

Peter Hutt.

 

[cjacek]

HA! Ain't it something that when I posted a copy of Peter's email, about the potential 456 release, that there were 456 'views' for this thread!

An OMEN perhaps??

 

[sweetbeats]

Kreepy...

So basically he is saying "not at this time" but the 456 line is next up if they keep going?

 

[cjacek]

So basically he is saying "not at this time" but the 456 line is next up if they keep going?

Yeah, I understood it that way also, that 456 is on the horizon.. and, quite honestly, while I do understand Quantegy's position on the whole 'economy' thing, 456 would be a cool compromise.

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[Beck]

OK, so I just received an email reply from Peter Hutt of Quantegy. Here a copy:

Looks like Hutt still doesn't know what he's doing. That's what I got out of the letter.

456 is a staple. Less than 10% is pretty good considering their marketing was 0%.

 

[cjacek]

Hey, Tim, good to have you back again! Stick around, will ya?

RE 456: Yeah, I kinda got surprised by Hutt's "10%" deal at first, as it [456] indeed is a staple so I'm not really sure what he meant by that...

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[sweetbeats]

It sounds like beancounter-speak; a decision that is weighted toward operations vs. service to the consumers. 10% doesn't meet some minimum threshhold set by those in fiscal management and /or strategic planning.