TP-027, Jerry Garcia / David Grisman wins a Writer's Choice Award from Myles Astor of Positive Feedback Online

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Messages - High and Outside

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16
Tape Project Albums - general / Covid-19 update
« on: March 23, 2020, 12:35:52 PM »
Everyone in the state of California is now required to stay home. We are honoring this, so production and shipping are on hold.

The shipment of new boxes is on its way to us. Assuming that the ports are working when the ship arrives, and assuming the lockdown is eased so that we can receive the order and start shipping the replacement boxes to customers, we anticipate they will be going out in the middle of April.

I'll post updates as things develop. Stay safe, everyone.

17
Tape Project Albums - general / Re: So many tapes, so few boxes
« on: March 03, 2020, 05:04:45 PM »
And now TP-016, The Band--Stage Fright is back on the shelves.

18
Tape Project Albums - general / So many tapes, so few boxes
« on: February 23, 2020, 07:16:32 PM »
This is a kind of a funny situation we find ourselves in. We have lots of tape albums duped and we'd like to sell them to you. But we are out of boxes. Our original box supplier retired and closed his business, so we have been working for months with a new supplier. We expect to be fully supplied with boxes in early April.

In the meantime we have been offering to sell albums in plain white boxes, with the nice box to follow once the shipment shows up here.

At the moment we have stock on the following albums as long as you are OK with getting your album now and the proper box in April:

Bill Evans Trio
Linda Ronstadt
Thelonious Monk
Jimmy Smith
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Lee Morgan
Nat King Cole and George Shearing
John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat
Jerry Garcia and David Grisman
Doc and Merle Watson

The elves are hard at work making the other titles too, so if  you are waiting for one that isn't on this list, make sure you have signed up for an email notification when it's back in stock. We'll be adding albums back into inventory regularly.

Once we have a proper supply of boxes we will also release a couple of new titles we have in the wings.
 

19
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Technics RS-1500 Repair Diary
« on: January 16, 2020, 10:47:08 PM »
I can't be sure, but it seems like the sound of this machine has been improved with the new switch.  I suspect that there's a much better connection with the playback tape heads.

I can believe that. It's the point where the signal level is most delicate, a point where you want robust connections.

You've inspired me to go in and hardwire that connection on the one headstack I've got with just one playback head.

Thanks for updating us.

20
Tape Project Albums - general / TP-023 Lee Morgan-The Sidewinder
« on: September 12, 2019, 05:57:20 PM »
After being away for far too long, The Sidewinder is back in stock.

21
Tape Project Albums - general / TP-021 Kurt Elling back in stock
« on: September 12, 2019, 05:56:02 PM »
Available again.

22
A couple more just hit the shelves. Get 'em while they're hot.

23
These are back.

24
Tape Project Albums - general / Brother Thelonious is back among us
« on: June 20, 2019, 04:10:30 PM »
Thelonious Monk, TP-013, Brilliant Corners is on the shelf, ready to ship.

It's good to have you back, Brother.

(In case you got to this page via search engine and are wondering what the heck this is about: No we don't sell Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Ale, that fine libation from the folks at North Coast Brewing. But we do recommend it. If you haven't tried it, get thee to your favorite fine brew purveyor and lay in a supply.)

25
This is a truly amazing recording of some absolutely wonderful music. We're glad to have it back on the shelf.

26
Yes, it hasn't been well publicized, but we do offer all our albums on half inch by special order.

27
Once again, we have stock on the shelves.

28
Events / Reel Tape Workshop in Berkely, CA April 25
« on: March 20, 2019, 09:57:55 PM »
We are going to be taking part in a Reel Tape Workshop on April 25th. This consists primarily of a training that ATR Service Corp. has been presenting a couple of times per year at their York, PA headquarters. They have held it in other locations, but for several years it has not been presented on the West Coast. We can thank Tim Marutani and Nick Doshi for sponsoring the event and getting them out west again.

It's a day-long workshop that covers the basics on the technology of tape machines, and a thorough explanation of alignment, with practical demonstrations that all participants may take part in. We will also have a visit from Greg Orton, owner of Flux Magnetics, and possibly other surprise treats.

ATR Service Corp. is one of the key technical resources we rely on to keep all our machines running properly. They have been involved on the pro side for over three decades. Now they are providing support for the high end playback market as well. They work on Ampex ATR's, as their name implies, but they work on all brands of studio machines. The information presented in the workshop will apply to any brand of machine.

Tape Project co-founder Michael Romanowski is providing the venue: his mastering lab located within the Fantasy Studios complex in Berkeley, CA. After the workshop there will be time for some music listening in Michael's main room.

The cost to attend is $500. For more information, or to sign up, you may contact Tim Marutani at (510) 652-1911 or Nick Doshi at www.doshiaudio.com/reel-tape-workshop.   

29
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: A80 bearings and where to buy them?
« on: March 12, 2019, 01:57:40 AM »
Unfortunately most of the specs that get published about bearings don't say anything about what really matters for our purposes. This is the reason that Studer tested and carefully selected the types that they used.

In our application the bearing is sometimes used at high rotational speed--when fast winding--but the only area where performance really matters is at low speed: playing and recording. And the highest value should be placed on low vibration at low speed--similar to low noise but really it's vibration that will put flutter into the tape travel and change the audible character in the recording. 

Going for the highest ABEC rating unfortunately is no guarantee of low vibration performance. Neither is the material: steel, stainless steel, chrome steel or ceramic. You probably want ABEC 5 or better, just to make sure the bearing's dimensional tolerances are well controlled.

There are two aspects that are important, without a doubt. One is the lubrication: the right lube, in the right amount. A good bearing vendor will be able to give you a choice of lubes, or sell you unlubed bearings if you want to experiment on your own. The other is making sure the bearing is loaded properly. Part of that is choosing a bearing that is correct for the place it's used in the machine--whether that use provides lateral or radial loading. Then you must make sure that the way the bearing is installed properly provides the designed loading. If you are replacing bearings in your A80, pay attention to the washers as you take the old bearing out. They are there for a purpose. Assuming that your replacement bearing is dimensionally an exact match for the one you took out, then replacing the same washers should provide the same loading. If its even a thousandth or two thicker or thinner, then you might have to adjust on the washer(s).

Don't just throw a "good" bearing in there and hope. Check how the new bearing works, using your hearing and your tactile sense, and don't call the job done until you're satisfied that he new one is running smoother than the one you replaced. There's an old mechanic's trick that is very helpful here: get a length of flexible tubing, about a half meter or so, with an inside diameter somewhere around 13 mm. Hold one end of the tube near one of your ears, put an ear plug in the other ear, and bring the free end of the tube near the various parts of your deck as it pulls tape. You'll be amazed how much this magnifies the sound. Put another way, you'll be amazed at how noisy all the mechanics of your deck are. The closer you are to the heads, the more important it is to reduces those noises. (You might also be surprised just how much noise comes from the tape itself scraping over the heads.)

30
Forum Rules / Signing Up For The Forum
« on: February 13, 2019, 11:15:49 AM »
In an effort to control spammers we have had to lock down the process of joining the forum. The best way to begin the process at this point is just to email info at tapeproject dot com with a request and a few words about your interest in tape playback in the home.

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