Quantegy comeback?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Blue Jinn
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So,...

Quantegy is going to have another mfg'r OEM the 456 tape as their "comeback" product?:eek:;)
 
A Reel Person said:
Quantegy is going to have another mfg'r OEM the 456 tape as their "comeback" product?:eek:;)
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That's kind of what I'm catching........... it makes no sense that Quantegy would actually make it themselves, as clearly their old facility is either empty or being occupied by another tenant.

As far as where all of the tape machinery went..........not sure?
 
famous beagle said:
Thanks for the info! :)

Just out of curiosity, what is it that you do where you don't have time to deal with bad tape? Do you run a studio commercially?
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I no longer run a commercial studio. I did that through the 80's until early 90's. I now have a private studio for my own music and a friend or two on occasion. But either way, having to deal with bad tape is like any other equipment malfunction. It causes delays and distraction. Since I know which tapes (old and new) have the best track record I use that experience to my advantage by purchasing what I know will give me the least headaches.

I talk about the technical side a lot because it is of most concern to folks trying to get vintage equipment up and running, but I'm a writer/composer/musician first... a dreamy artsy type, believe or not. So as far as dealing with bad tape, I prefer spending my time recording music.

:)
 
That's kind of what I'm catching........... it makes no sense that Quantegy would actually make it themselves, as clearly their old facility is either empty or being occupied by another tenant.

As far as where all of the tape machinery went..........not sure?
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Auctioned off months ago...at least some of it. I was talking with Phil Paske of RMGI last year and he was on his way to the auction, so RMGI may have gotten some of it, ATR some, or???
 
Mmmh. I checked a few days ago, the the Twitter account was down. Now noticed a posting from June 15:

Huge amount of brand new unused Quantegy 632 1/4 inch in all lengths coming. New low pricing too starting at just $4.90 for a 5 inch reel!
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This tape actually isn't too bad for hi-fi use, although I'd rather 642.

Does anyone actually know what is going on with them?
 
I doubt Quantegy will ever offer tape again. There isn't a demand big enough to support 3 manufacturers. But even if they did it wouldn't be any less expensive than ATR or RMGI.
 
Although ATR seems to me a pretty niche market, my Otari might be able to handle it bias wise and tension wise, but certainly none of my other decks.

I wouldn't expect it to be cheaper, just different. I just don't know what to think of it all. And where all of a sudden did the 632 come from I wonder? Some warehouse somewhere? By brand new does he mean New Old Stock or does he really mean "Brand new?"
 
Blue Jinn said:
Mmmh. I checked a few days ago, the the Twitter account was down. Now noticed a posting from June 15:



This tape actually isn't too bad for hi-fi use, although I'd rather 642.

Does anyone actually know what is going on with them?
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The quote that you saw sounds to me like the seller is referring to NOS. It's possible that they've acquired tape from either a former dealer or uncovered a supply from warehouse.

I once thought Quantegy was coming back but nothing has happened in two years with their website. The old posts from Quantegy floating around on the web are misleading.
 
Sounds like very good news - RMGI sounds great but they could be cheaper, £10 for a roll of 7" 1/4", £45 for 1/2" is a LOT of money in the long run so I'm buying all the old Scotch tape I can possibly find. It seems all this is gonna change now. Looking forward to order some 456.

Now we just need good, affordable multitracks from Tascam, Fostex or maybe Otari and I'm in the claws of the gearshop once again.

Sorry to go off-topic but isn't the only R2R in production today the 2-track Otari MX-55?
 
It would be good news if it were true but there's nothing to support the comeback rumor. The Quantegy website still exists but it is inactive and hasn't been updated in a couple of years. If Quantegy couldn't make it as the only tape manufacturer when they started they surely couldn't make it now. ATR and RMGI both have loyal followings. Also ATR is somewhat of a descendant of Ampex as it started by servicing Ampex recorders.

In any event this Quantegy rumor continues because there's a lot of misinformation out there from postings and web pages that are long defunct and should be removed.
 
Yep, unfortunately the Quantegy comeback rumor has been out there for so long if anything did happen if would probably be too late... if the other two tape companies have a strong following and aren't terribly vulnerable. Three tape companies aren't too many per se, but my hunch is Quantegy is waiting for either ATR or RMGI to go under.

For now it appears they're just selling off old stock because as far as I know there's no new tape coming out of Opelika. Looks to me they're simply beating the bushes for warehouse stock from distributors. 632 and it thinner/longer brother 642 are good professional nonbackcoated tapes. I have some laying around. The one thing that puzzles me right now is why they're trying to keep the Quantegy name alive and still promising future production. They my be watching for an opportunity like ATR did. I remember almost giving up on ATR back when the rumors of the new tape were swirling around. It took forever. So... I dunno.
 
shedshrine said:
Here's the auction page for the Opelika plant equipment from 2008.
Who bought it? (Did anyone buy it?)
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This. The one thing which really makes me wonder about the idea of Quantegy restarting production, is what they'd be producing the tape with. The machinery itself wasn't in terribly good condition by the end as I recall, and something like ATR's newly-designed equipment is going to require significant capital investment and AFAIK it's more suited to smaller volumes.
If memory serves, the problem Quantegy had was that their older manufacturing process was only really economical with a larger customer base than they actually had.
 
I know RMGI folks were at that auction...whether or not they ended up with anything I don't know.
 
Looks like Quantegy is looking for someone to make the tape (to their specs).
 
I had seen a show either on history or discovery channel about recording awhile back and they had pictures of the quantegy plant being the oldest tape plant and that it was shut down for good.
 
Even though the recent petition to Maxell didn't get them back into the RTR game it netted some interesting information. According to Maxell it would take $20,000,000 to tool up for tape production as they would be working from scratch. Quantegy if their equipment has been sold off I hardly think they'd be in the position to shell out $20,000,000. As far as I've been able to determine Quantegy is just a shell now with nothing active in any part of their website.

From my own recent experience with RMGI LPR-35 its the best tape I've ever used. Quantegy had the game in the plam of their hands but they blew it. It's time to let it go.
 
Cross posting or multiple posting, because there is also another thread on this, but there are some postings at Tapeheads.net from Peter Hutt, the guy who has been posting an update like every six months or so. I revived this thread because I thought there was another one that had some different info in it.

Apparently they (actually he, Quantegy is now only he) have produced a few reels of GP9 at ATR, it is also according to hte postings, not **exactly** GP9, but very close enough to call it GP9.

There were some interesting comments in both these threads, by people common to both forums. The Maxell discussion above is pertinent, as Peter Hutt discusses some issues with raw materials as well, which seems to be more a factor than equipment especially for thinner tapes. He did blog something about that a while ago comparing the costs from the mid 90s to late 2000s.

He also explains his reasons for being so quiet about the whole thing.

It is worth a read:

NEW QUANTEGY GP9? - Tapeheads.Net
 
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