Messages

1

Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Rock/Pop-"The Best Of,.." Thread

« on: March 31, 2009, 08:19:43 PM »

Great list!  Original 7 1/2ips Tommy release from Decca is great as well.

Been awhile since I listened to Tubular Bells.  My recollection is it was very good, not excellent though.

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Stereotape history

« on: March 31, 2009, 07:59:30 PM »

With respect to Sonar.  Yes, they made 15ips tapes, I have several.

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Stereotape history

« on: March 31, 2009, 07:57:41 PM »

Catching up with you guys...

Joe - The first letter in the code stood for the length and, more importantly, the price.  Don't have the catalog with me on this trip, but don't think the CS meant anything special.  You will notice a similar scheme with Ampex tapes.  However, the letter was separate as I recall (or mixed in with the label code), e.g. you will see LCL xxxxxx, L xxxxxx, and LON L xxxxxx with LC or LON meaning London and the L meaning $7.95.  By the way, the '4' in front of a number, e.g. L 4xxxxxx, meant it was a Dolby tape.

No knowledge of Cook.  Few Command, not as good as Everest nor Mercury from what I have.

Westminister at some point became a subsidiary to ABC and was release by a number of companies including Ampex, GRT, and another unlisted (or Westminister itself).

By the way, in thinking about Stellavox's comments on Stereotape, I don't think they were the same company, i.e. a merger.  As the Stereotape name wasn't used between the 50s and 1972 when Magtec started using the name.

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Tape Catalogs and Production Thread

« on: March 31, 2009, 07:35:45 PM »

Steve - Agreed, this is a great lising.  Found to be pretty accurate.  Those checking it out should recognize that the production data is a little flawed, e.g. London never made their own tapes.  They were always made by Ampex or Columbia House.  Some years, Columbia House contracted with Ampex to provide the London tapes, but other years they dup'd them themselves.  As Ampex was winding down, you will find certain albums only available from Columbia House.

Glenn

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Stereotape history

« on: March 28, 2009, 09:16:13 AM »

Thanks - I had forgotten that.

With respect to Steve's questions...

Yes, as far as I can determine, Ampex, RCA, Columbia and Capitol all manufactured tapes, much like they manufactured records for themselves and others.  For example, Colgem tapes were made by RCA, and Angel tapes were made by Capitol.  CRC and Columbia House were the same thing, different branding.  Don't know why they seemed to switch back and forth.  Don't know anything about Cook and Candide. (If their is no markings on the back cover, if the number starts with 1R1 or there is a small CRC on the reel label, they were made by Columbia House/CRC.)  Everest was the record label for Belock Instruments Company and a show case for their products. Project 3 also made their own tapes, but later sub'd to Ampex.  Except later, along with Vanguard, came out with their own quad tapes. Sonar was a precursor to the TP and custom made tapes in realtime in either 15ips or 7 1/2, some in quad or stereo.  Don't recall any 2-track, but someone else might. Epic, I believe was always a division of Columbia, though their early tapes were always different so they may have had their own facility as well.  Does anyone know?

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Stereotape history

« on: March 26, 2009, 08:13:39 PM »

Great...Here some info for you...Hope it helps...
The London tapes are all Ampex tapes unless you have a London tape whose number starts with 1R1, then that was dup'd by Columbia House.  RCA tapes that start with FTC were dup'd by RCA, but those with Exxx were manufacured by Magtec, Stereotape, or Reel Society (with exception of RCA 2tk tapes). Columbia tapes starting with MQ or MR were dup'd by Columbia.  Those with 1R1 are from Columbia House.  I'm not clear whether they used the same factory or different ones as Columbia House was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.  However, the MR or MQ tapes (all with a grey reel) where better in general.  But the best Columbia House tapes with a clear reel were the best.  The rumor is that these were actually duplicated by Ampex, but after Ampex left the business.  Angel tapes starting with Z (or Y for 3 3/4) were manufactured by Capitol.  Those with L or ANG were dup'd by Ampex and those starting with 1R1 were made by Columbia House.  And yes, CRC stood for Columbia Record Club.

Glenn

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Stereotape history

« on: March 25, 2009, 07:08:59 PM »

Larry,
Hard to believe that you have only one Stereotape tape.  Do you have any heritage tapes, either Bell & Howell or Magtec? Or predecessor - Reel Society? Who do you have tapes from?

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Bel Canto

« on: March 17, 2009, 08:03:00 PM »

As I recall Bel Canto claimed to 'dup in real time', hence why they were better than Ampex.  However, keep in mind that there are very few overlaps between Ampex and Bel Canto duplicated tapes. Tapes duplicated I have run into are Bel Canto, Mercury, Philips, Buena Vista, Liberty, and 20th Century.

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Rock/Pop-"The Best Of,.." Thread

« on: February 13, 2009, 09:19:11 PM »

Mate your taste is good,I meant to put in Fleetwood Mac and Rumours,those Beatles tapes were supposedly better by the original manufacturer did you get them recently?
They're pretty good, but I won't necessarily call them better. Like Ampex, Capitol tapes seem to very in quality.  However, Capitol never released all Beatles albums at 7 1/2. For a very short time, all Beatles albums were available from Ampex at 7 1/2ips. After the first few, Capitol switched to 3 3/4 for all reel releases even classical.  After a second listen some 20years later, they sound better than I recall, but not as good as the 7 1/2 tapes.  Loss of high end.

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Rock/Pop-"The Best Of,.." Thread

« on: February 11, 2009, 08:57:08 PM »

My favorite Rock/Pop tapes are (the list is long...quite a few favorites):
- Joan Baez: Blessed Are (Ampex/7 1/2ips edition and Quad/Dolby Vanguard edition)
- Joan Baez: Ballad Book  (B-C/Dolby)
- Joan Baez: Noel (B-C/Dolby)
- Beatles: Abbey Road (Ampex/7 1/2)
- Beatles: Sargent Pepper (Ampex/7 1/2)
- George Benson: Breezin' (Stereotape/Dolby 7 1/2 edition)
- Judy Collins: Who Knows Where the Goes (Ampex/ 7 1/2)
- Jim Croce: You Don't Mess Around with Jim (GRT/7 1/2)
- C,S,N&Y: 4 Way Street (Ampex/7 1/2)
- John Denver: Greatest Hits (Stereotape/Dolby 7 1/2)
- Neil Diamond: Hot August Night (Magtec/ 7 1/2)
- Doobie Brothers: Best (Steretape/Dolby 7 1/2)
- Eagles: Long Run (Columbia House/ 3 3/4 clear reel)
- Roberta Flack: Killing Me Softly (Magtec/ 7 1/2)
- Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac and Rumors (Stereotape/ Dolby 7 1/2)
- Benny Goodman: Live at Carnegie Hall (Reel Society/ Dolby 7 1/2)
- Keith Jarrett: Koln Concerts
- Jefferson Starship: Red Octopus
- Billy Joe: Songs in the Attic (Col House/ 3 3/4 clear reel)
- Elton John: Yellow Brick Road (Stereotape/ 7 1/2)
- Gordon Lightfoot: Cold on the Shoulder (Stereotape Quad Dolby)
 - Joni Mitchell: Blue (Sterotape/Reissued 7 1/2 ips edition)
- Moody Blues (all 7 1/2 and quad)
- Seals & Croft: Get Closer (Stereotape/Dolby 7 1/2)
- Simon and Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (7 1/2)
- Rod Stewart: A Night on the Town (Stereotape/Dolby)
- James Taylor: Flag (Columbia House/unmarked 7 1/2)
- James Taylor: Sweet Baby James (Stereotape/ 7 1/2 edition)
- James Taylor: In the Pocket (Stereotape/Dolby)
- Who: Tommy (Decca/ 7 1/2)
- Jesus Christ Superstar (Decca/ 7 1/2)
- Gary Wright: Dream Weaver and Light of Smiles (Stereotape/Dolby)
- Neil Young: Harvest (Stereotape/ 7 1/2)
- Original Cast: Company
- Original Cast: Fantasticks
- Original Cast: Sweeny Todd
- Original Cast: Side by Side

I mention the manufacturer and speed only because Columbia House offered many of these tapes at 3 3/4 depending on the timeframe. Additionally, Stereotape re-released several 3 3/4 tapes at 7 1/2ips late in their life.

Glenn

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Here's what I know of Ampex

« on: February 11, 2009, 08:08:58 PM »

Yes, I have seen the same thing.  However, they used a couple of different formulations in the later years of very quality.  Unfortunately, some were so highly polished or not very lubricated and squel on some recorders in certain situations.  (Unfortunately, some B-C tapes suffer from the same problem. I can't recall any tapes with the sticky tape problem but suspect there were.

Still when I go back these days and play early Ampex tapes they sound much better and less noisy than I remembered so I suspect that the improvements in tape decks helped as well.

Hope this helps
Glenn

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Here's what I know of Ampex

« on: February 10, 2009, 09:34:43 PM »

Some of my favorite 'late' Dolby London/Ampex tapes are:
- Beethoven: Complete Symphonies (Solti)
- Shostakovich:Symphonies 1 and 9 (Weller)
- Berlioz: Romeo Et Juliette (Maazel)
- Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (Solti)
- Berlioz: Symphonie Fanstastique (Solti)
- Tchailkovsky: Tone Poems (Dorati)
- Ravel: Daphnis Et Chloe
- Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet (Maazel)
And the last four tapes from Ampex:
- Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
- Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
- Russian Overtures
- Dallapiccola: Il Prigioniero
Currently, my London/Ampex Dolby collection is 120.
Favorite DGG/Ampex tape is Holst: Planets (Steinberg) and Bernstein: West Side Story (Ozawa). Although, the B-C DGG tapes I have are much better. On Philips, the eight Mozart Early Symphonies (), the Mozart Wind Concerto tapes (Marriner), Orff: Der Mond (Kegel), and Schoenberg: Moses and Aron (Gielen).

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Prerecorded Tapes / Columbia Stereo Tapes - A brief history

« on: February 08, 2009, 08:41:21 PM »

Columbia Stereo Tapes were first offered in 1958 in 2-track editions. (1) An early catalog listed 66 tapes from Sammy Kaye, Leonard Bernstein, and West Side Story original cast. Prior to the introduction of high speed duplicating machines, early 2 track tapes were duplicated in real time.  Pastmasters lists all Columbia 2 track tapes with the last one listed being THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN with Andre Kostelanetz (GCB152). 2-track tapes were discontinued in 1962.

Columbia introduced four track tapes in 1962(?). The first four track tape listed was CQ300 (Johnny Mathis? Greatest Hits).  Tape numbers were sequential through MQ1197? with CQ for Popular, MQ for Masterworks (Classical), and OQ for Original Cast. All ?Q? tapes were 7 1/2ips, not just classical. Eventhough they were duplicated at higher speeds, many are excellent.  Unfortunately, it?s not possible to tell if a particular release was duplicated early (tend to be much better quality) or late in the Columbia House years.
In about 1972, Columbia started duplicating all popular tapes at 3 ? while continuing to release both classical and Original Cast at 7 1/2ips. Columbia stopped releasing any new issues on open reel in mid 1973. In August 1974, Columbia stopped offering reel tapes entirely except through the Columbia Tape Club. Although they considered releasing Dolby Quadraphonic tapes, none ever materialized.
Thought one of the best late Columbia tapes was Bernstein's Mass.

Sometime in the 60s, Columbia started offering reel to reel tapes through it?s Tape Club, Columbia House. Although this brought tapes from many labels not otherwise available, almost all popular tapes were 3 ?.  I have found a couple of popular tapes that were mistakenly(?) duped at 7 1/2ips. From Columbia House such labels as Geffen, MCA, Polydor, United Artist, Arista, in addition to Columbia and Epic after Columbia stopped offering tapes for retail sale.  Except in a few cases, all classical tapes were released at 7 1/2ips from Columbia House from Columbia (then CBS), Columbia/Melodyia, London, Nonesuch, Vanguard, and Vox.

For the most part, all Columbia House made tapes start with the number 1R1 or R11. Unfortunately, some tapes offered by Ampex, GRT or Stereotape at 7 1/2ips and/or Dolby were available through Columbia House at 3 3/4 at much poorer quality. At the same time, several tapes were only ever available through Columbia House, e.g Three Dog Nights and many London Solti recordings. Remarkably, Columbia House continued to offer reel tapes until 1983. Interestingly, tapes made in last 3 ? years are of excellent quality exhibiting a much higher quality reproduction with a brighter presence using a noticeably better tape.  This applies to both classical and popular.

Hope this helps.

(1)   Pastmasters, www.pastmasters.us/2track/columbia.html. 

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Prerecorded Tapes / Here's what I know of Ampex

« on: January 26, 2009, 08:59:29 PM »

Here?s a companion on Ampex Reel tapes?.

Ampex produced consumer reel tapes since at least the early 60s.  Early labels offered by Ampex were London (Decca England?s US name), DGG, Philips, A&M, and Vanguard.  Not aware of any 2-track tapes ever offered by Ampex. (Is anyone?) As with others, 3 3/4ips was introduced as way to reduce costs (in the late 60s?) and was believed to be acceptable to the consumer for popular tapes with a reduction in price of a dollar.  Unlike Epic and others, Ampex released classical tapes at 7 1/2ips with few exceptions.  Early London tapes with the blue label are sought out by many.

After Capitol stopped manufacturing it?s own reel tapes in the early 70s, for a couple of years, Ampex produced Capitol and Angel tapes. Interestingly, I believe all were released at 7 1/2ips, whether classical or popular. This is when the entire Beatles collection was released at 7 1/2ips. Whereas in the middle of the Beatles? releases, Capitol released popular tapes at 7 1/2ips and then switched all popular at 3 3/4ips, rereleasing some Beatles tapes in 3 ? twin-paks. Seemingly, few copies of the Beatles album were produced as they are very rare (or hoarded).  All the Beatles albums on Ampex I have heard have been of excellent quality as well. Ampex stopped offering Capitol/Angel by late 1972. Vanguard in 72 (or 73). However, you will find most Angel titles frequently.  One exception is a series of double reel sets on different composers in a ?Portrait of the Composer? series.

At it?s peak in the late 60s/early 70s, Ampex had a huge catalog. However, one distributor said it was a crap shot if they would receive what they ordered or be out of print without notice. Ampex of this era was known for the complete notes and librettos provided. In late 1972, Ampex was the first to start releasing tapes with Dolby B. In late 1973, they switched to a high quality high density high output tape stock.  Including several priced Mercury releases. Only 4 tapes Mercury tapes were ever offered with Dolby. Also in 1973, both Mercury and DGG ended their contracts with Ampex. Unfortunately, as has been discussed with B-C tapes, some tapes experience a squeal problem which seems to vary with what recorder is used to play them back. Unfortunately, changes occurred quickly in the early 70s in an effort to keep cost down, coupled with management that couldn?t decide whether to stay in the business or not.

During this period, they first tried inserting cards and offered the album booklets for operas and stopped offering notes otherwise.  Additionally, there was a time when they sold albums without album art, the back cover Xeroxed as the front cover, and a dot matrix printed reel label. Interestingly, the ones I have are of excellent quality. But can have low resale value due to the graphic quality. In 1974, their contract with London changed and all tapes (including cassettes) where manufactured by Ampex but with the Ampex name removed.  Tapes you find with the back cover cut and centered in the middle are of this era. New releases are properly centered, but are blank at the bottom where you would find the Ampex name. Also in 1974, Philips ended their contract with Ampex. Luckily, as been discussed by others, a significant number of both Mercury and Philips recordings were released later on B-C. Ampex ceased commercial reel tape production in 1975. I find tapes duplicated in 1974 and 1975 are some of the best mass produced tapes you will find. Notable releases are the complete Beethoven Symphonies with Solti, Liszt Tone Poems with Solti, Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue with Maazel.  All on London.  The Bitter End Years on Roxy (I believe only available directly from Ampex. On Stage with Benny Goodman on London. Kraftwerk?s Autobahn on Vertigo.

Interested in your observations of the best from the Ampex era.

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Prerecorded Tapes / Re: Stereotape history

« on: January 26, 2009, 07:24:29 PM »

That's what happens you are a tape enthusiast and reel collector for 26 years...:)