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#1
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Last US audio tape maker quits
Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording tape
(and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2, surprising employees reporting for work. Rumor had been that Quantegy had been in financial straits of late and was filing for Chapter 11. The plant, located in Opelika, AR, is the original tape manufacturing plant built in the early 1950s by Robert Orr as his Orradio/Irish plant, later bought by Ampex in 1959 to form its own magnetic tape unit. When Ampex abandoned the tape business in 1995, a group of investors bought the plant and patents and started business under the Quantegy name, supplying not only Ampex's standard products but also some of 3M's abandoned Scotch formulations. Personally, this is a shocker to me, as I now no longer have any supplier of ¼" and ½" tape stock to use on my Ampexes for various recording projects. Indeed, all studios who still record in analog are in panic mode, and prices of remaining stock of Quantegy 456, 499 and GP-9 have skyrocketed in a week's time, especially in the 1" and 2" formats. Prices of 24 track MCI machines have fallen through the floor overnight. Rumors are prevalent, the most widely circulated one being that this is a bank takeover. Another one is that Quantegy sold out to a Japanese firm, who will reopen the plant and slash wages and benefits of its work force, similar to what happened at the Five Islands TV plant in Knoxville, TN when taken over by Toshiba. Either way, tape production has been halted, and no there is NO source for any analog RTR tape except two...RAJ in India, who still makes a red oxide tape similar to Ampex's old 641 but of lousy quality, and a company in Korea, who made the last runs of Rat Shack's "Supertape" and "Concertape"...and we know what kind of quality THAT crap is! Needless to say, there won't be any more fresh cartridge tape other than what's in Quantegy's warehouse...at least until they figure out what they're doing. Meanwhile, analog recorders worth thousands before New Year's are now going for bargain basement prices, with many studios in New York and California pulling the plug on analog altogether. Despite what people may think, a surprisingly large amount of production is still done on analog multi-track, and these facilities are now basically out of business until they find a new, reliable source for good tape...and there are currently none. Emetec, Maxell, Agfa, 3M...all of them...ceased production over the last few years, and only Quantegy was left. Again, I have a sneaking suspicion that there's a Japanese takeover in effect in the Chapter 11 proceedings...further proof of the decimation of US industry and the relegation of the US to "third world" status. Sad, indeed, but cannot say we weren't warned! More coverage on this story: http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?c=MGArticle&cid=1031779976767&pagename=O AN/MGArticle/OAN_BasicArticle&path=!frontpage dB |
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#2
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Excuse the top post:
This is unpleasant news. I suppose this means no more DAT tapes as well--or are there other manufacturers for that? thanks, ron DeserTBoB wrote: Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording tape (and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2, surprising employees reporting for work. Rumor had been that Quantegy had been in financial straits of late and was filing for Chapter 11. The plant, located in Opelika, AR, is the original tape manufacturing plant built in the early 1950s by Robert Orr as his Orradio/Irish plant, later bought by Ampex in 1959 to form its own magnetic tape unit. When Ampex abandoned the tape business in 1995, a group of investors bought the plant and patents and started business under the Quantegy name, supplying not only Ampex's standard products but also some of 3M's abandoned Scotch formulations. Personally, this is a shocker to me, as I now no longer have any supplier of =BC" and =BD" tape stock to use on my Ampexes for various recording projects. Indeed, all studios who still record in analog are in panic mode, and prices of remaining stock of Quantegy 456, 499 and GP-9 have skyrocketed in a week's time, especially in the 1" and 2" formats. Prices of 24 track MCI machines have fallen through the floor overnight. Rumors are prevalent, the most widely circulated one being that this is a bank takeover. Another one is that Quantegy sold out to a Japanese firm, who will reopen the plant and slash wages and benefits of its work force, similar to what happened at the Five Islands TV plant in Knoxville, TN when taken over by Toshiba. Either way, tape production has been halted, and no there is NO source for any analog RTR tape except two...RAJ in India, who still makes a red oxide tape similar to Ampex's old 641 but of lousy quality, and a company in Korea, who made the last runs of Rat Shack's "Supertape" and "Concertape"...and we know what kind of quality THAT crap is! Needless to say, there won't be any more fresh cartridge tape other than what's in Quantegy's warehouse...at least until they figure out what they're doing. Meanwhile, analog recorders worth thousands before New Year's are now going for bargain basement prices, with many studios in New York and California pulling the plug on analog altogether. Despite what people may think, a surprisingly large amount of production is still done on analog multi-track, and these facilities are now basically out of business until they find a new, reliable source for good tape...and there are currently none. Emetec, Maxell, Agfa, 3M...all of them...ceased production over the last few years, and only Quantegy was left. Again, I have a sneaking suspicion that there's a Japanese takeover in effect in the Chapter 11 proceedings...further proof of the decimation of US industry and the relegation of the US to "third world" status. Sad, indeed, but cannot say we weren't warned! More coverage on this story: http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satelli...1779976767&pa= gename=3DOAN/MGArticle/OAN_BasicArticle&path=3D!frontpage =20 dB |
#3
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On 6 Jan 2005 08:27:49 -0800, "yodedude2" wrote:
Excuse the top post: This is unpleasant news. I suppose this means no more DAT tapes as well--or are there other manufacturers for that? snip The Japanese still market DAT tape under various brands. The big shock here is that ALL analog format are now unobtainable...from anywhere. Also, many private industries and smaller municipalities still use Quantegy 721 for logging recorders and that's now gone as well. I understand that Quantegy has called back its warehouse workers to clean out the last stocks of tape in their warehouse, which is a considerable amount, but once that's gone, everything's up in the air. From people I know in the business, there have been a run on 1" and 2" tape over the last week, with price gouging from many retailers taking place. The US goverment is one of Quantegy's bigger customers, still buying lots of 641 and 642, a red oxide tape from 1953 that has shown to be able to last at least 50 years and still be serviceable. I'm sure there will be some screaming from there, since the government still uses lots of analog tape for archival purposes. There is talk that two likely scenarios are developing. One, the bank called Quantegy's note and will sell off the plant to the Japs (like everything else in America), probably Maxell, who will reopen it and produce their own products there with severely reduced wages to workers. Another is that ATR Services has been developing their own line of analog tape, which should be ready for introduction soon. There's a hitch there, however...ATR was going to have the tape made at the Quantegy plant, which is now not an option. The reverberations of this action will be severely felt over the next few months, as many studios doing analog work will have to shut down unless they can use RAJ (Indian) or that lousy Korean tape. I'm sure the Chinese will figure out a way to get into the business as long as a buck can be made, but it will most likely be of lousy quality, much like their vacuum tubes. Erratum: The Irish/Ampex/Quantegy plant is located in Opelika, AL, not AR. Please excuse the typo. dB |
#4
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DeserTBoB wrote:
Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording tape (and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2, surprising employees reporting for work. Rumor had been that Quantegy had been in financial straits of late and was filing for Chapter 11. The plant, located in Opelika, AR, is the original tape manufacturing plant built in the early 1950s by Robert Orr as his Orradio/Irish plant, later bought by Ampex in 1959 to form its own magnetic tape unit. When Ampex abandoned the tape business in 1995, a group of investors bought the plant and patents and started business under the Quantegy name, supplying not only Ampex's standard products but also some of 3M's abandoned Scotch formulations. Personally, this is a shocker to me, as I now no longer have any supplier of ¼" and ½" tape stock to use on my Ampexes for various recording projects. Indeed, all studios who still record in analog are in panic mode, and prices of remaining stock of Quantegy 456, 499 and GP-9 have skyrocketed in a week's time, especially in the 1" and 2" formats. Prices of 24 track MCI machines have fallen through the floor overnight. Rumors are prevalent, the most widely circulated one being that this is a bank takeover. Another one is that Quantegy sold out to a Japanese firm, who will reopen the plant and slash wages and benefits of its work force, similar to what happened at the Five Islands TV plant in Knoxville, TN when taken over by Toshiba. Either way, tape production has been halted, and no there is NO source for any analog RTR tape except two...RAJ in India, who still makes a red oxide tape similar to Ampex's old 641 but of lousy quality, and a company in Korea, who made the last runs of Rat Shack's "Supertape" and "Concertape"...and we know what kind of quality THAT crap is! Needless to say, there won't be any more fresh cartridge tape other than what's in Quantegy's warehouse...at least until they figure out what they're doing. Meanwhile, analog recorders worth thousands before New Year's are now going for bargain basement prices, with many studios in New York and California pulling the plug on analog altogether. Despite what people may think, a surprisingly large amount of production is still done on analog multi-track, and these facilities are now basically out of business until they find a new, reliable source for good tape...and there are currently none. Emetec, Maxell, Agfa, 3M...all of them...ceased production over the last few years, and only Quantegy was left. Again, I have a sneaking suspicion that there's a Japanese takeover in effect in the Chapter 11 proceedings...further proof of the decimation of US industry and the relegation of the US to "third world" status. Sad, indeed, but cannot say we weren't warned! More coverage on this story: http://www.oanow.com/servlet Satellite?c=MGArticle&cid=1031779976767&pagename=O AN/MGArticle OAN_BasicArticle&path=!frontpage dB now, if this dont beat all:-( god damned globalisation. i just wish that people will hurry & wake up to see the damage being done to the u.s. because of these globalist *******s. -- i have an 8 track mind |
#5
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DeserTBoB wrote: Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording tape (and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2, surprising employees reporting for work. Rumor had been that Quantegy had been in financial straits of late and was filing for Chapter 11. The plant, located in Opelika, AR, is the original tape manufacturing plant built in the early 1950s by Robert Orr as his Orradio/Irish plant, later bought by Ampex in 1959 to form its own magnetic tape unit. When Ampex abandoned the tape business in 1995, a group of investors bought the plant and patents and started business under the Quantegy name, supplying not only Ampex's standard products but also some of 3M's abandoned Scotch formulations. Personally, this is a shocker to me, as I now no longer have any supplier of =BC" and =BD" tape stock to use on my Ampexes for various recording projects. Indeed, all studios who still record in analog are in panic mode, and prices of remaining stock of Quantegy 456, 499 and GP-9 have skyrocketed in a week's time, especially in the 1" and 2" formats. Prices of 24 track MCI machines have fallen through the floor overnight. Rumors are prevalent, the most widely circulated one being that this is a bank takeover. Another one is that Quantegy sold out to a Japanese firm, who will reopen the plant and slash wages and benefits of its work force, similar to what happened at the Five Islands TV plant in Knoxville, TN when taken over by Toshiba. Either way, tape production has been halted, and no there is NO source for any analog RTR tape except two...RAJ in India, who still makes a red oxide tape similar to Ampex's old 641 but of lousy quality, and a company in Korea, who made the last runs of Rat Shack's "Supertape" and "Concertape"...and we know what kind of quality THAT crap is! Needless to say, there won't be any more fresh cartridge tape other than what's in Quantegy's warehouse...at least until they figure out what they're doing. Meanwhile, analog recorders worth thousands before New Year's are now going for bargain basement prices, with many studios in New York and California pulling the plug on analog altogether. Despite what people may think, a surprisingly large amount of production is still done on analog multi-track, and these facilities are now basically out of business until they find a new, reliable source for good tape...and there are currently none. Emetec, Maxell, Agfa, 3M...all of them...ceased production over the last few years, and only Quantegy was left. Again, I have a sneaking suspicion that there's a Japanese takeover in effect in the Chapter 11 proceedings...further proof of the decimation of US industry and the relegation of the US to "third world" status. Sad, indeed, but cannot say we weren't warned! More coverage on this story: http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satelli...1779976767&pa= gename=3DOAN/MGArticle/OAN_BasicArticle&path=3D!frontpage dB NO WAY- in the 1/4" and 1/2" tape widths, there is PLENTY of NOS tape floating around- cripes I ran across 2 big boxes full myself, many of them new and unopened. I must have 50+ cartons of 1/4" r2r, and that's after sellinga about 10-15 reels. Methinks this is only more liberal "gloom and doom" bs...we are a MIGHTY **** far away from 3rd world status, what a crock of **** that is...DB, you obviously had/have a hard life and limited expendable income due to retirement and health problems- but why do you spew these crap bs posts like the world is ending cuz of tape shortages ?? go on ebay, there's all the 1/4" and 1/2" tape you want for dirt cheap prices. Who cares if they make it anymore ?? It's cheaper on the used and NOS market, and works just fine. Most home recorders use a tape one time and it sits for years- simply bulk erase. Another option- take all these crappy easy listening/country/classical 8-tracks tapes, and despool them to r2r, yet another source of 1/4" analog tape practically for free. |
#6
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On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 16:33:28 -0500, 8 tracker from hell
wrote: now, if this dont beat all:-( god damned globalisation. i just wish that people will hurry & wake up to see the damage being done to the u.s. because of these globalist *******s. snip Actually, I don't think this is the corporate globalists at work, since there's no real competing nation for this product. The only sources left are in India and Korea, and the quality of each is horrid. The RAJ product from India is somewhat reminiscent of the old Ampex 641 red oxide tape first introduced on acetate in 1953...and the government still uses this stuff for archival purposes! It's about the only audio tape I know of that will retain signal and lubricity for 50 years, at least. No, I think the culprit here is the banking industry. They held Quantegy's note and probably called it, because they don't see "growth." The insistance of "growth" is what drives Wall Street and the bankers; if they don't see "growth," they get scared. An industry in slow, steady decline is seen as a danger to their interests. What's worse about a bank takeover is that they'll let the assets sit and rot while they sit in their mahogany panelled board room with their thumbs up their asses trying to figure out what to do with it. They do this to real property all the time, too. Bankers, like corporate executives, aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer; they just know how to screw other people out of their money better than anyone else. Why else would credit card rates be so high for most people while the prime rate was below the cost of funds? If ATR steps up with some capital to bail out the Quantegy operation, fine, but I don't think ATR has that kind of connection to the greedy venture capitalists, who these days want 100% ROI in a year, or no go. The Japs have that kind of money, so I'm betting they'll do just what they did to Five Islands...buy it out cash and run it to produce their own products...in other words, more Japanese colonization of the US. Meanwhile, everyone's panicking, especially owners of Ampex MM1100 and MCI 2" 24 track machines...there's simply no tape to be had! 1" and 2" is gone, and ½" is getting rare. There are still supplies of ¼" Quantegy in the usual formulations in stock, but it's also going to go pretty quick. I spoke to some friends in small multi-track studios in LA today who are calling clients, informing them that time booked next month will be cancelled. They're shutting down after their current tape stocks are depleted, which on 2", won't take long. Reuse of tape is a bad way to do business, but I'm sure some of that will take place for awhile, too. Meanwhile, we'll just see if my prognositcations pan out. dB |
#7
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It ain't the "globalists" and it ain't the "bankers", it's the music
industry plain and simple... they can record, dub, over-dub, mix digital masters a mighty crap easier than using analog tape- and the digital doesn't degrade so it's a simple matter of economics- analog is superior in resolution, digital almost as good, but was cheaper and quicker to use- and more cost efficient. similar to sheet rock vs. old style plastering- plaster looks better, but is way more expensive, and hardly anyone uses it anymore, and it's hard to find a good plaster man- it's a lost art same deal as analog in the 1/4" tape format r2r, there's plenty of tape around for many decades to come |
#8
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#9
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On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 10:42:37 -0500, 8 tracker from hell
wrote: wrote: It ain't the "globalists" and it ain't the "bankers", it's the music industry plain and simple... snip As usual, an uneducated and delusional Noodles pees all over himself yet again. Noodles, I'm not going to go into another "education" session with you again to point out what you do not know. Suffice it to say you're a complete moron with no idea what you're talking about. dB |
#10
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On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 18:39:49 -0800, DeserTBoB
wrote: Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording tape (and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2, surprising employees reporting for work. snip It looks like ATR will be making a serious attempt to produce a new line of analog tape products after all. However, their line isn't ready for production yet, so there will be a lag even if they're successful. dB |
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