A
Aloha
New member
why did this format never take off?
was it just too expensive?
was it just too expensive?
T
The Ghost of FM
Banned
I think the key stumbling block was designing reel motors that could handle the tape smoothly and keeping proper tension and pressure of the tape across the head stack.
Cheers!
ps; I am not sure if it was MCI or 3M who tied this format first? I will have to dive into my old Mix magazines and see.
Cheers!
ps; I am not sure if it was MCI or 3M who tied this format first? I will have to dive into my old Mix magazines and see.
Outlaws
New member
hahaha.....
You gotta feel bad or the studios that bought one of those things.
"Ya man, I got this groovy new 3" tape machine. 32 tracks. It was only $50,000. But now I am the best equiped studio on the west coast.
Hmm.....
Well, ya.....it was all my money. But I am going to make it back soooooo fast. Everyone will want to record here. I don't need a low buget 2". No one is going to use those any more."
-A week later-
"Dude. I got some bad news. Read this.
They don't make 3" tape anymore."
You gotta feel bad or the studios that bought one of those things.
"Ya man, I got this groovy new 3" tape machine. 32 tracks. It was only $50,000. But now I am the best equiped studio on the west coast.
Hmm.....
Well, ya.....it was all my money. But I am going to make it back soooooo fast. Everyone will want to record here. I don't need a low buget 2". No one is going to use those any more."
-A week later-
"Dude. I got some bad news. Read this.
They don't make 3" tape anymore."
sweetnubs
New member
yep designing a proper motor for an analog tape machine is a bitch. That's why we haven't seen too many machines beyond 2" 30 ips. The cost becomes nearly exponential. I do know someone who has a old geological deck that if I remember correctly runs around 80 ips and it was I think a 12 or 14 track? sounded pretty good.
M
memriloc
New member
LOL...These were the pop song decks....Standard reels.... 3 1/2 mins a reel
B
BillyFurnett
New member
80!
Damn, how big were the reels??
Damn, how big were the reels??
Outlaws
New member
BillyFurnett said:80!
Damn, how big were the reels??
Man.....Mozart didn't even have a means of recording.....
Just be happy with 6 minutes of tape.
B
BillyFurnett
New member
Uh, I don't know what that means Outlaws..., but ok.
So how big WERE those reels? (I guess the ply of the tape would factor in too.)
So how big WERE those reels? (I guess the ply of the tape would factor in too.)
T
The Ghost of FM
Banned
BillyFurnett said:80!
Damn, how big were the reels??
They were standard 10.5 " reels.
Either way, it doesn't really matter at this point as the machines are gone. The tapes are gone. Unless there is still a couple of machines collecting dust in someone's basement somewhere.
Even if the format would have worked and survived, the advent of synchronization technologies allows for multi-machine lock up so, for those that want to have two 16 track, two inch machines to be locked up and used together, they can do so and end up with the equivalent of a 4" machine.
Cheers!
Outlaws
New member
BillyFurnett said:Uh, I don't know what that means Outlaws..., but ok.
So how big WERE those reels? (I guess the ply of the tape would factor in too.)
A standard 10.5" reel at 30"p/s is going to give you 16 minutes of recording time......
so.....
80" p/s would be about 6 minutes.......
....nevermind......
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
3-Inch:...
TOO-BIG!
TOO-BIG!
Herm
Well-known member
I wish my wife thought 3 inches was too big.
Sorry guys I had to say that
Sorry guys I had to say that
B
BillyFurnett
New member
Ooooooh I see Outlaws-LOL
Man that could get expensive!
Man that could get expensive!
N
ndiamone
New member
The 80 IPS pop song decks with six mins a reel - anybody know a model number?
The 80 IPS pop song decks with six mins a reel - anybody know a model number?
We have some tape here trying to remaster playing it on a 827 at 30 IPS and it sounds like a 78 played at 16.
If we record into the computer like that, then WE are going to get all kinds of bass problems in the repo since heads and electronics are not designed to go down to one hertz (hert?).
And how would they have got away with the bass contour problems that occur when tape runs too fast over the heads during recording at speeds such as 80 IPS?
Also if anybody has a 3-inch 32 track MCI for use in restoring the tape made on it
give us a holler cuz guys are trying to find people with players so they can transfer
to digital.
Also, any other ``orphan'' formats would be nice to have as well (Bob Leonard's 18-track across 70-MM full-coat mag anybody? [16 tracks across the center, plus one each from the holes to the edge of the film] originally intended to be run as track and film for 70MM Cinerama experiments) here since the bulk of our transfer business comes from consumer and semi-pro ``orphan'' formats to which no ordinary studio or transfer facility has the time, engineering or money to source players.
The 80 IPS pop song decks with six mins a reel - anybody know a model number?
We have some tape here trying to remaster playing it on a 827 at 30 IPS and it sounds like a 78 played at 16.
If we record into the computer like that, then WE are going to get all kinds of bass problems in the repo since heads and electronics are not designed to go down to one hertz (hert?).
And how would they have got away with the bass contour problems that occur when tape runs too fast over the heads during recording at speeds such as 80 IPS?
Also if anybody has a 3-inch 32 track MCI for use in restoring the tape made on it
give us a holler cuz guys are trying to find people with players so they can transfer
to digital.
Also, any other ``orphan'' formats would be nice to have as well (Bob Leonard's 18-track across 70-MM full-coat mag anybody? [16 tracks across the center, plus one each from the holes to the edge of the film] originally intended to be run as track and film for 70MM Cinerama experiments) here since the bulk of our transfer business comes from consumer and semi-pro ``orphan'' formats to which no ordinary studio or transfer facility has the time, engineering or money to source players.
W
WarmJetGuitar
New member
80 ips? Thats crazy man. Anyone knows which studios used those and which records was done on the machines?
Z
zorf
New member
Three inches?
Now i feel inadequate.
Now i feel inadequate.
R
RRuskin
Rick Ruskin
If memory serves, the speed of this machine was 20 ips, said by some to be the perfect compromise between 15 ips & 30 ips. Ampex made a few reels of 3" tape so MCI could demo the machine but it was never officially available.
sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
At 80ips the LF knee point would be so far up the LF range I can't imagine it would be very useful...bigger (i.e. faster) is not always better.
briank
analog for the people!
Right, AFAIK the 3" machine was intended to be used at 20ips. Far as I know it never got past the prototype stage, i think the transport worked enough to move some tape at a show but not sure if it ever actually recorded, not sure if it ever had working audio electronics.
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