Several tape formats no longer being sold retail

  • Thread starter Thread starter lo.fi.love
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lo.fi.love

lo.fi.love

Functionally obsessed.
I'm kinda bummed out. I set up my multitrack deck for (PEM/SM)468 and now that I need to buy more tape, I'm finding that nearly all of the online retail outlets for RMGI products aren't carrying 468 any longer. For example, I contacted US Recording Media and they said that 468 never sold well and that they have no plans to carry it again.

Not only that, but I've found that USR isn't stocking any RMGI product in the 1" format, nor does it carry SM911 in 2".

I don't know what's going on - maybe it's the economy - but it seems like several outlets are paring their inventory and selling fewer varieties of tape products.

Is this a sign of things to come? Could there be a point when RMGI simply stops manufacturing less-popular products such as SM468?

I'm not trying to be different, I just REALLY like 468, and I wanna BUY SOME! :)
 
lo.fi.love said:
Not only that, but I've found that USR isn't stocking any RMGI product in the 1" format, nor does it carry SM911 in 2".
Click to expand...

LAME! I've noticed that USRM has, over time, taken their 1" listings from each or per case to just by the case. I guess not selling it at all would be the natural progression :rolleyes: Since I roll 1", that's pretty crappy news.

That said, in the last month, my studiomate bought a couple reels of 1" ATR from Vintage King with no wait, no probs (it had major shedding problems, but that's another story :rolleyes: )

I'm not surprised that the manufacturers aren't very focused on 1", it's unfortunately true that it's a pretty uncommon format. Distros and dealers aren't interested in slow sellers, especially when all new tapes have an unknown shelf life and are niche market on top of it all. I have to think they're gonna be interested in 1/4" and 2" formats since they're the most common--1/4" in both pro and consumer markets and 2" in pro market. 1/2" is gonna get the shorter end of the stick, and 1" even shorter. :(

Bit odd that they're pulling 2" 911, maybe higher output tapes are just substantially better sellers in that format, wouldn't surprise me at all if 900 and ATR are better sellers in 2". It's mainly commercial studios using that stuff and the digital age has significantly changed our clients' expectations on noise floor.

My opinion, they ought to start selling tape direct. Especially for 1" format, most dealers quote a lead time of 1-2 weeks which means they're not keen to stock it and it's either drop shipped or special ordered so the middle man may as well be cut out anyway.
 
Yeah, I actually noticed RMGI 468 wasn't around very long after RMGI started rolling out tape. Some outlets never carried it and others stopped offering it seems within the first year or so. Could be that they didn't get the formula down and it was inferior to AGFA, BASF/EMTEC... I don't know. Otherwise it really puzzles me, as I consider PEM 468/SM468 one of the best tapes ever made. That and 3M Scotch 206 and 207.

If the RMGI 468 was good stuff and it didn't sell it could also be user ignorance I suppose. There simply aren't as many people around as there used to be that really know tape. Also seems to me when RMGI was having some bad runs of SM911 in the beginning that SM468 would have caught on more since I never heard any reports of that having shedding problems. Who knows...

And oh yeah, the economy is really in the tank and has been for a while. Not a good time for anything to make a comeback.
 
I'm such a fan of 468 and I really wish that more people would discover it. Since pushing my deck up to 0VU at 355 nW/m, I can run signal really hard into the tape and 468 compresses really gently until it distorts at what I'm guessing is around +6 or +8 VU. I almost never need DBX NR; 468's hiss is so gentle that it can easily be EQed out without altering the recorded program material.

ATR is fine but my Tascam 48's transport seems to struggle a little with it in intensive use, and its MOL is so high that I absolutely cannot get it to compress on my deck. SM911 is a little "dark" sounding for what I'm recording, or maybe I'm not using it to its full potential.

I'll use whatever's available because I really have no choice, but dang, what a drag.
 
Yeah, I saw that, and thanks for the link. I'm hoping for a consistent, reliable source, though :(
 
Call your regional sales rep and let them know you still want SM 468. My guess is that you can still get them to ship it direct, if no one in your region sells the format you want (or the formulation at all). Also good for them to know that some of us still want that tape. I'll put in a call, too.

Cheers,

Otto
 
I emailed RMGI North America this morning but haven't heard back yet. I'll persist every so often until I get a response.
 
No need to worry at present that SM 468 will disappear. Just talked to Don Morris, my regional rep. He says SM 468 is not scaling back. They sell a lot of 1/4" for archiving purposes and a lot to the Tape Project, just to mention a few, plus a lot in certain regions, like San Francisco.

He mentioned several places, such as Malelo & Company, NTS Pro Media, Recording Data Services, Encore Data Products and a few others that, if they don't stock it, can take your order and have it drop-shipped from the warehouse. Even 2" 468 is still being used in some studios. So, good news, it seems.

Cheers,

Otto
 
Not sure if this was commented upon or not but I don't think 468 has the same name "cache" as 911, 900, 456 etc... and that what many people go after is this name recognition rather than quality. I'm sure 468 is suffering sales as a result.
 
There's 468 in Nashville

Check with these folks in Nashville: NTS Promedia, Your Premiere Media Suppplier

Their online prices usually show up higher than other outlets, but they get pretty close to matching the prices at Full Compass for the same RMGI product. The web site lists 1" 468 in stock, my guess is it and SM911 are the mainstays in the line for them.

Granted, I'm just down the road from them, but I buy all my tape stock there because the service is great and they'll get whatever I need (like 1/4" wide LPR-35 pancakes and plastic reels they don't normally stock) quickly and turn it around to me just as quickly. And they're the hometown guys. I'd rather try to keep them in business....
 
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