Reel-to-reel tape is the new vinyl

That's like when Fargo was released on blu-ray and people were complaining about the "noise" they saw in the picture. It was the grain from the original film, that got washed-out in the earlier DVD releases due to lack of resolution.

 

This will never, ever, be the new vinyl--as has been said pretty clearly in the earlier comments.

But I'd say it's not an area even worth your time unless:

A) You are willing to be limited by the availability of pre-recorded titles
B) You are willing embrace the costly and sometimes frustrating hunt through classic era pre-recorded tapes for the winners

The number and breadth of new reissues on reel to reel is exceedingly low and unless you are in that 0.1% who value sound quality over what's on the tape, you're not likely to be happy or interested for very long if you stick to those audiophile reel reissues.

I got into this in the early '90s, mostly pre-eBay, when you could still sniff out some cool stuff and I can hunt from my "garage" as it were. But if I were starting now...I don't think I'd be starting...

 

I just got a notice that Acoustic Sounds is releasing a subscription series of tapes for $450 each. Some great titles though.

 

Where's mah wallet? $-)

 

Gotta say none of the titles do much for me so far. But I'm very glad to see this happening. I'd love to hear more of the technical details - like, the format of their running master, what tape stock they are using (hopefully ATR) On that note, right now it seems like albums are coming on one reel? Are they cheaping out and using thin tape like the new ATR "consumer version"? That's probably a dealbreaker for me unless there's an absolute must-have title.


If they continue with the RCA living presence stereos I'd love to see them do the 1957 recording of Rubinstein doing Grieg's concerto in A minor. I paid a pretty penny for my original RCA 2 track but I'll gladly retire it for one of these! The nutcracker would be a nice holiday favorite too, that's always been my favorite version.


Also, I'm just going to say - they need to do some rock titles. If this is it for the first year of releases, they must have had some serious licensing difficulties because this selection is just not cutting it by any means. Bad selection = bad sales = bad news for comsumers who want to support the format for as prolonged a period of time as possible.

 

The Acoustic Sounds announcement:

Announcing ... Analogue Productions Ultra Tape! From Analogue Productions, the world leader in audiophile music sales, we're announcing a new reissue format — 12 masterpiece titles, each a 15 ips, 1/4-inch analog tape copy. See us unveil this exciting new line of products live at the @RockyMountainAudioFest this weekend! In the meantime, here are the pertinent details.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SALINA, KAN., Oct. 4 2016 — From Acoustic Sounds, Inc., the world leader in audiophile music sales, comes the highest quality analog reel-to-reel tape album reissues — Analogue Productions Ultra Tape! Twelve masterpiece titles are featured in this new reissue series, each a 15 ips, ¼-inch analog tape copy sourced from a copy of the original analog master tape. Transferred real-time, using an ATR-modified Ampex Tape Machine with flux magnetic heads. Each copy is housed in a custom slipcase cover.The first two titles — Janis Ian's Breaking Silence and Ben Webster's Gentle Ben — are slated to be released before 2016 ends. Analogue Productions is the vinyl, SACD and now audio tape reissue label owned by Acoustic Sounds. The remaining titles include: Rickie Lee Jones' It's like This / Hugh Masekela's Hope / Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances (the famous Turnabout recording) / Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Scheherazade (RCA Living Stereo) / Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome (RCA Living Stereo) / Leopold Stokowski's Rhapsodies (RCA Living Stereo) / René Leibowitz and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Power of The Orchestra (RCA Living Stereo) / Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Lieutenant Kije and Stravinksy's Song of the Nightingale (RCA Living Stereo) / Abel /Steinberg - Beethoven Violin Sonata (Wilson Audio) / and Lowell Graham's Winds of War & Peace (Wilson Audio).Each reissue copy is priced at $450. The entire series is available by subscription and subscribers will pay for 11 titles and receive the 12th one free!“For more than a year, at every trade show and on more and more phone calls and emails, our customers are asking us: 'When are you going to start selling tape?!” says Acoustic Sounds owner and CEO Chad Kassem. “Audiophiles are buying tape machines but they have hardly any music to play on them. They've got the cars, but they need the fuel. We're working to satisfy that demand.”Acoustic Sounds has enlisted Gus Skinas, of the Super Audio Center in Boulder, Colo., to handle the tape transfers, which are made using the Ampex Tape Machines in the control room at Blue Heaven Studios in Salina, Kan.
Simple reasons make tape the next big thing in high-end audio. Tape offers greater dynamic range, especially at the frequency extremes — it's the closest to hearing the master tape. Tape requires minimal signal processing. And no amount of upgrading a home audio system will improve the sound quality as much as putting on one of the Ultra Tape reissues from Analogue Productions. This truly is recorded music the way you've never heard it before!

 

Perfect format for those with more money than sense! Should do very well here!

 

Oh, snap.

 

To jump in this conversation; I believe reel-to-reel tape is interesting from an engineer/production standpoint, but in terms of playback listening, I wouldn't recommend the format as the hobby requires much maintenance, is costly, and has limitations in availability.

 

Many would probably say the same about your listening habits

 

$450 Each?

Mingada, a lot of Flea Market Lps....

 

I was hoping AP getting involved would make prices a little more affordable.

Not yet.

 

My guess is not ever. Such a small, well heeled, presumably older market for these. In a way, the price for these makes more sense to me than a $24-$30 download.

 

In this case I go with good reissues on vinyl.

The Bernie Grundman Are You Experienced sounds pretty good to me, we're talking €20 here.

 

Akai 7" deck, $200. Maxell UD 35-90 tape, $10 (1 album each side, $5), great sound and fun to play with, priceless!

 

Is there a contact for analogue productions I can reach with further questions about these ultra tapes? I can only find an email form for acoustic sounds, somehow I think that their sales dept and anyone in charge of this project would be completely separate though.

 

Apologies if this has been FAQ'd already ...

Can one even readily buy the old-school 7" reels of 1/4" tape that we used to use before the advent of cassette? ...

 

Master Tape 1/4″ x 1,250′ 7″ Plastic Reel, Set-Up Box | ATR Magnetics »

 

7" is available through some distributors but I'm not sure why anyone would want to use it when you can get a much longer playing time with 10.5" reels. You can only get about 15 minutes on 1200ft of tape which is barely long enough to tape anything without frustrating the band. Maybe if you were only mixing down a few songs at a time to comp later on, or doing a single. I've only ever seen single masters on 7" reels.

 

That is very insulting, as I've said previously this is not for everyone. This represents what is possible in home audio reproduction of music. Until you experience one of these tapes you should not judge them. Nobody is making a killing on these tapes, most are just breaking even.

 

That's a lot of $$ for what is at best a 3rd generation copy .. but most likely 4th or 5th generation.

 

Well, with the Tape Project and these Acoustic Sounds issues - some of the master reels are made from session tapes - like 3 track masters. So, the copy you receive could technically be 2nd generation from the mix down tape. Acoustic Sounds hasn't mentioned what format their running masters are (I don't think), but the Tape Project uses 1" 2 track masters recorded on a Tim de Paravicini reel to reel machine (which practically has digital level noise specs and a very wide frequency response). The Tape Project likes to refer to them as 1/2 generation for marketing purposes.

 

It's only insulting if it applies!

 

As @Pinknik mentioned, some of the running masters, at least for the 3 track titles, are newly created mixes, meaning the tape you receive for those titles will be 2nd generation - 1 generation away from the master mixdown. I suppose it's a moot point since that same tape can be used in the production of LPs. But you also have to wonder how many "generations" the average LP manufacturing process is equatable to. Also factor in all their faults... tape ultimately ends up with a different (and arguably lesser) set of trade-offs.

There is some truth to this half-generation stuff. There are ways to minimize the generational loss inherent to analog dubbing - the tape project has mastered that art. Of course nothing beats the original 1st generation master, but this really is as good as it gets until the major labels start giving out weekend loans on their recorded assets.

 

ATR and RMGI produce new tape and you can get 1800 feet which is 45 mins a side at 7 1/2 ips. Certainly nice to have the 10.5" machines and 15 ips options but everything gets more expensive. I'm happy with my 7" machine and a reasonably abundant supply of old Maxell or TDK tape from ePay from the 70s and 80s that produce good home recordings. Got a reel playing as I'm typing this.
Edit - I wouldn't be using my system for any professional recordings, I'm just think of a home deck for recording and playback.