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Author Topic: ampex 671  (Read 10721 times)

Offline morion

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ampex 671
« on: September 11, 2009, 11:52:59 AM »
hi all,
I just purchased 25 reels of ampex 671 2400 ft tapes and was curious what the general opinion on this stuff is? I am wanting to use it for recording my band on my teac 4 track machine. for some reason it didn't occur to me that I would be sacrificing some width to gain longer playing time, but is this such a bad thing?

thanks much for the input!
morgan

Offline ironbut

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Re: ampex 671
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2009, 01:18:45 PM »
Hey Morgan,
Welcome to the forum.
The 671 was a tape that looks like it was meant to be used for prerecorded releases on cassette or 1/4". It's .75 mil backing makes it an extended length tape. I don't see any data regarding known issues with this tape but I doubt that it's the best choice sound wise. It might be a dandy tape to test your machine, mic set ups etc but you'd be better off with some of the newer tape like the new ATR Magnetics for getting the best dynamic range in a live recording.
In other words, since you have it already, use it for practice but buy some top of the line tape when it's time to record a polished session.
You can get ATR tape here;

http://usrecordingmedia-store.stores.yahoo.net/
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Offline morion

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Re: ampex 671
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2009, 01:53:41 PM »
thanks much for the input. that tape may be nice, but it is way out of my price range! I snagged the ampex I got for a buck forty a reel, but I suppose I'm getting what I payed for.

on another note. I have all this tape, but have trouble finding boxes to store it in. any ideas?

Offline astrotoy

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Re: ampex 671
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2009, 09:47:22 PM »
What size boxes do you need. I have a bunch of boxes that are used, but OK for 7" reels and some extra boxes that I bought too many of for 10 1/2" reels that are new. Larry
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Offline morion

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Re: ampex 671
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2009, 11:33:41 PM »
great, I need 7" boxes. I sent you a pm!

Offline Tubes n tapes

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Re: ampex 671
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2009, 04:28:29 PM »
I bought a bunch of Ampex 671 tapes some 20 years ago. I used them for recording not very critical material on 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 ips.

The performance of the tape is actually quite good for a Double Play tape. Like with all DP tapes the headroom is limited and the output level is quite low. (Actually a necessity to keep the print through at reasonable levels.) The bandwidth of these tapes is actually quite excellent.

The good news is that the mechanical tape moving properties of the 671 are better than any other DP tapes I own. Even better news is that after 20 years those tapes are still as playable as they ever were, without any noticeable degradation in mechanical properties or sound quality.

Somehow I wish I had made many of my live recordings on this tape, because the (much better?) tapes I used back then are now all gone because of major irrecoverable Sticky Shed Syndrome. Somehow a limited quality Ampex 671 sounds a lot more attractive now then a 457 that comes to a grinding halt after only 30 seconds play.

I really get the impression that over the next 30 years these 671 tapes will still be as playable as they are today. If only I would have known that 20 years ago.
 
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