New tascam 16 track

  • Thread starter Thread starter sleigher
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sleigher

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Hi all.

Recently acquired a Tascam 16 track and other pieces for the studio. I have been reading on this site about the tape. Seems the older tape that is safe to use is between '94 and 2005. Quantegy... I did find this RMGI place that still makes tape and wanted to ask if anyone has used this tape and what their thoughts on it was? Is it comparable to the old Ampex tape? Will the 1 inch work good? The recorder we have is 16 track 15 ips. I am not exactly sure what tape to use other than quantegy 456 or similar.

I haven't used any tape in recording since early 2000's and last tape we used was BASF tape. Any input on this would be really appreciated.

Thanks!
 
RMGI SM911 is compatible with 456. SM900 is compatible with 499. There's also ATR, but it can be expensive to obtain in Europe and I don't think it's a drop-in replacement for any of the Ampex/Quantegy types.

EDIT: I'm using SM911 on a 1" TASCAM machine with no problems at all.
 
Did some more digging around and learned that the RMGI tape is what used to be BASF. I guess they sold the tape division or were bought or something?
I do remember the BASF tape being preferred. You say the 911 is the stuff that is like the 456. That is good info thanks!

I did speak to this distro, totalmedia . com. They say it takes about a week to ship. $150 is a bit high but it is new tape so I guess that is good.
I really don't want to take a chance on ebay and get burned.

Thanks!
 
Yeah, BASF spun off their magnetic media division to Emtec, who went bust a few years later. RMGI (who specialised in cassette tape) bought the rights and started making a couple of formulations in 2008. Most recently they seem to have outsourced the manufacture to Pyral in France. Pyral used to make studio tape before so they should know what they're doing, and I haven't noticed anything amiss since the changeover.
 
Any specific distros in the US that you guys prefer?

I found a list on the RMGI website, but if anyone knows a good distro who is fast and
reputable, I would appreciate it.

Thanks
 
sleigher said:
Any specific distros in the US that you guys prefer?

I found a list on the RMGI website, but if anyone knows a good distro who is fast and
reputable, I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I've not done business with them, but Splicit has pretty good prices and ship via flat rate priority mail to US addresses.
 
Out of curiosity, has anyone tried any of the long play tapes (lpr35), i.e. 3600' versus 2400', and if so, with decent results? I've been using ATR tape. It sounds great but is more expensive and it's hard to get an album on a 7" reel. I'd be interested in using the ATR for my actual recording projects but the longer play stuff for my archiving projects. Thanks. Jed
 
Jedanor said:
Out of curiosity, has anyone tried any of the long play tapes (lpr35), i.e. 3600' versus 2400', and if so, with decent results? I've been using ATR tape. It sounds great but is more expensive and it's hard to get an album on a 7" reel. I'd be interested in using the ATR for my actual recording projects but the longer play stuff for my archiving projects. Thanks. Jed
Click to expand...

What machine are you using? This thread was about 1" 16-track machines, and while there are 8" spools intended for videotape, I'm not aware of any 7" spools in that format - I think they're almost exclusively 10.5" at 2400 ft.

For a 2-track mixdown machine, can't you just use 10.5" tapes at 2400? I don't think anyone ever expected to have an album in a single reel, especially as they were intended for pressing onto LP. A single album would have two tapes, one for each side of the record, and that would give you around 30 minutes each, plus test tones and a minute of tail.

The thinner tapes are more fragile and more prone to print-through over the long term.
 
Yeah...I apologize for the slight hijack. I was curious after you guys started discussing tapes and I went to the sites to look. I have a Tascam 38 that I am in the process of fixing but the deck I'd play the LP tapes on would be a Pioneer RT-1050, merely a playback deck I use. I also have a Nagra IV-SJ and Tascam 22-2. That MS-16 looks really nice and I'd love to have one. Congrats on that deck Sleigher.

Jed
 
Jedanor said:
Yeah...I apologize for the slight hijack. I was curious after you guys started discussing tapes and I went to the sites to look. I have a Tascam 38 that I am in the process of fixing but the deck I'd play the LP tapes on would be a Pioneer RT-1050, merely a playback deck I use. I also have a Nagra IV-SJ and Tascam 22-2. That MS-16 looks really nice and I'd love to have one. Congrats on that deck Sleigher.
Jed
Click to expand...

Looks like the 1050 is the only one that can handle 10.5" spools from the decks you have. I've not tried mixing to 1800ft tape before, but that's one option. The alternative, using 7" spools, is to have 4 tapes per album, or try and get a 10.5" mastering deck. The 1050 looks like it should be able to handle it, being able to record at 15ips, but if yours has been modified to be playback only (e.g. for educational use) it's not really suitable.
 
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