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Author Topic: Ampex/Quantegy 467 & Ampex 478  (Read 21904 times)

Offline Grant99

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Ampex/Quantegy 467 & Ampex 478
« on: April 24, 2009, 09:32:05 PM »
Like the typical audio-lunatic, I was checking out the ebay sales, and came across this "Ampex/Quantegy 467" being sold, in, and correct me if I'm not mistaken, reels of 4800 ft in length?
Here is the link:
  http://cgi.ebay.com/Ampex-Quantegy-467-1-4-reel-to-reel-audio-tape_W0QQitemZ370184159919QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Blank_Media?hash=item370184159919&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

So I figure...lets see...normal backcoated 1/4 inch tape is normally sold in 2500 ft lengths to fill a 10.5 inch NAB reel...if there is 4800 feet on a NAB reel then somebody is really getting their facts mixed up or this tape has go to be a LOT thinner than the usual analogue 1.5 mil stuff or what?

Then I see the "Digital" label on the reel. Is this the key?  Is there a different breed of tape for digital R2R decks, that is a lot thinner?  If so, I am willing to bet that something this thin can't be used in the analogue domain?

On a related topic, the same seller is listing Ampex 1/4 inch 478 tape...is this stuff any good ? You don't usually hear about it, you just usually hear about 456 and 499.

I would really appreciate the tape gurus to give their opinions here on this...

thanks
Grant
Grant Thrasher
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Offline ironbut

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Re: Ampex/Quantegy 467 & Ampex 478
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2009, 11:17:51 PM »
Hi Grant,

The Ampex 467 is indeed tape for digital recorders such as the Nagra D. It would only be suitable for digital audio recording. It was also slit in 4mm for DAT recorders and was introduced in 1998.
The 478 is listed as a "low print audio mastering tape 1.5mil". It appears to have been sold as a lower output mastering tape just before 499 was introduced. Perhaps it was an interim product but I'm not certain.

The seller certainly does have a wide variety of tape for sale. His prices are high as far as I've seen ( I didn't look through his entire store).

I'd like to repeat what I consider to be very important regarding buying questionable tape on eBay or elsewhere (by questionable I mean that tape needs to be stored correctly and I'd be willing to bet that these sellers are not the original source for these items so they couldn't tell you how these tapes were stored either).
There are 2 producers of magnetic tape today. Both of these companies stuck their necks way out to start these companies decades after this format was generally considered dead and buried. If we don't support RMGI and ATR Magnetics, there will be nobody producing tape and we'll be at the mercy of these eBay sellers. These new tapes are excellent and as good or better than any tape ever made. You might save a few dollars buying on auction sites but you're contributing to the demise of our hobby and the studios ability to still master on magnetic tape.
End of soapbox.
steve koto
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Offline Grant99

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Re: Ampex/Quantegy 467 & Ampex 478
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2009, 08:14:25 AM »
Hi Steve.  No offense is taken regarding your soap box, you make a very valid point regarding buying current production tape.  I have purchased over $500 in RMG tape (some reels, mostly pancakes) within the last 12 months.  Haven't tried ATR yet but I will soon enough.  So I am supporting these guys, as much as a hobbyist could be reasonably expected to.

I have found that you can still get great, new production tape but save some money by picking up reels used and then buying pancakes.

Putting this aside, like a lot of hobbyists, there is the "collector" in me.  We also like to collect some samples of older, NOS stuff, as much as for possessing it as well as being able record on it.  Hence my cruising the ebay listings now and again...

Regarding the Ampex 478...is this stuff like the Ampex 456, i.e. prone to the stick shed disease?

Steve, thanks again for your input.

Grant
Grant Thrasher
audio/LP/tape hobbyist
Otari MX-5050 BIII, VPI-19/SME IV, MFA Magus/MFA D75 amp/McAlister EA-8 amp/Stax OA2 & SR-404/Coincident Millenium Spks/Nak Dragon/Marantz PMD520/Sony KA1ESA

Offline ironbut

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Re: Ampex/Quantegy 467 & Ampex 478
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2009, 09:50:57 AM »
Hey Grant, good for you! Sometimes when I make posts like that, I'm speaking to all the folks in Tape Project-dom-ville.
I definitely can relate to collecting tape. Thought about that as I looked through that guys store. I'd really like to get hold of some of the really-really old stuff. Like Scotch/3M 111. Or some of the BASF that was slit for use in a Magnetophone (somebodies dreamin' here).
But, back to sticky shed.
Nope, I believe that 478 was produced long after Ampex discovered the binder problem and went back to the "long molecule" binders that aren't so prone to hydrolysis. For future reference there's a table I posted in the Beginner's Guide with the tapes with known SSS issues.

http://www.tapeproject.com/smf/index.php/topic,595.15.html

BTW, there are several recordists out there that love the "sound" of particular tape formulations. Back in the 70's when I had a ReVox A77, tape could be bought all over the place and I ended up with a real hodgepodge of tapes. I had a case of Scotch "GrandMaster", some TDK Auda (sp?), some BASF and Maxell UD. I didn't like the TDK, but the other 3 seemed to like different types of music. At the time I totally thought it was all in my head but now I realize that it was probably true. The Scotch seemed very liquid and smooth while the BASF was fast and could sometimes be a little edgy. The Maxell was more of a balance of these two. Of course, these impressions are fogged by 4 decades of god knows what, but they were different sounding even when I thought that tape was tape.
I'll never forget when I was shopping for the GrandMaster tape (I think I'd seen the ad in Audio and I just had to try some of the new backcoated stuff) and I called a place and asked the sales guy if they carried Scotch tape. He said "only at Christmas time" laughed and hung up on me. Man that pissed me off. But they were the only ones that had it in stock at that time and I had to go in and buy a case from them! Oh,.. the things we do for our hobbies!
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
 HE Audio Jades

Offline High and Outside

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Re: Ampex/Quantegy 467 & Ampex 478
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2009, 11:21:41 PM »
Nope, I believe that 478 was produced long after Ampex discovered the binder problem and went back to the "long molecule" binders that aren't so prone to hydrolysis.

In my experience, Quantegy NEVER fixed their sticky shed problem. Even in their last year of production I was baking--for myself and for customers--reels of 499 and GP9 that were less than six months old.
Paul Stubblebine
Managing Director, The TapeProject

Offline douglas787

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Re: Ampex/Quantegy 467 & Ampex 478
« Reply #5 on: June 18, 2009, 08:42:02 AM »
You are correct about the 4800 foot length for the 467 10.5 inch reels. The tape is a little less than 1 mil thick. Also, Ampex fills those reels to the very max, the tape pack goes right to the edge of the reel. The 14 inch reels hold 9600 feet of tape. As far as recording on analog gear, the stuff works, but not real well. I tried some on 1/2 inch 8 track on my Tascam 48 just for the heck of it. The output was not great, I didn't bother to check freq response. Another thing about those reels, I have had digital reels that were Ampex, Basf, and Sony, the internal clearances are very tight, just a few thousands of a inch past the .500 inch width of the tape. So even the slightest misalignment of your deck will make the tape rub on the reel.
« Last Edit: June 18, 2009, 08:44:34 AM by douglas787 »