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24.18.195.178
In Reply to: RE: Tape Project announces their first 3 releases. And I'm drooling already! posted by Jack Seaton on September 23, 2007 at 06:54:53
Jack,
i share your feelings. i was quite amazed that Dan and Paul were able to pull this off. it sure sets the bar high for the future. i, for one, cannot wait.
i had been considering reel to reel for a few years; but i was always deterred by the process of software aquisition. in fact; your posting over the years about tape was significant in my interest. then along comes 'The Tape Project' that answers the software question for a guy like me who is not really connected or has the time/energy to beat the bushes. i figured if i was ever going to do it.....now is the time. i was concerned that the choice of recordings might turn out to be 'second rate' or lacking musical value. with yesterday's developments any such considerations are fully gone from my mind.
btw, you can use a credit card at the Tape Project or Bottlehead site to subscribe.....in fact it's the recommended way to go.
mikel
Follow Ups:
Thanks for the kind words Mike, and thanks also for your subscription. I am very glad (well, relieved might be a better word) you guys will enjoy those titles. But I do encourage everyone to try some titles they may be unfamiliar with as well. Paul has the advantage over most of us of having listened to - to use a technical term - bazillions of titles over his career. From that level of experience he has acquired the ability to pick winners in a broad range of musical genres.
We listened to the original tapes of Waltz for Debby and Creek Bank last night. I know you guys probably think it's easy work, but let me tell you it's a tough job sitting there with a glass of excellent red wine in your hand with some of my best friends in one of the world's greatest mastering rooms, listening to original tapes of classic jazz albums to make sure they are in playable condition. The appetizers were clear out in the lobby, I can't smoke my pipe in the studio, and I even had to trade my sweet spot seat to someone else once.
But I digress. I was raised on jazz and that music creates a particular resonance for me. Mose rules. But interestingly the clincher for me last night was when we put on the 30 ips master of Robert Cray's False Accusations . Michael commented that he had this really strong memory of the feel and the smell of the club where he used to go see Cray play in the 80's when the tape started up. The experience of listening to these tapes is that evocative, and somehow the genre of the music becomes less important.
Obviously since we have made this inroad we hope to do many more titles from the Fantasy catalog in the coming years. And we will continue to take care of the many classical listeners out there too. But we will also be doing a little pop, definitely some classic rock, and I am positive that there will be some serious good blues titles in the catalog as well.
Doc
What kind of a R to R does a dude have to own to get the full measure of sound from your new tapes?
Vince
If you visit The Tape Project web site (www. tapeproject.com) you will get a lot of info about the Technics RS1500 series that Doc recommends. But go to the Tape Project Forums as well, and you will see a number of tape decks suitable for the Tape Project. In general, you'll need a deck that is 1/2 track and runs at 15 ips, with IEC (as opposed to NAB) playback EQ.
The key issue for most is that The Tape Project's tapes use IEC equalization, NOT the US-standard NAB eq. So either you have to find a deck that has IEC equalization as an option (usually, switchable from NAB) or else you will have to buy an outboard tape head preamp like the Bottlehead Seduction that Doc sells, and rewire your deck's playback head to bypass the deck's internal reproduction amp and run directly to the Bottlehead. The latter choice is probably the best way to go, but if the rewiring scares you off, you can find used pro recorders that have IEC eq.
Here are a few decks that typically sell on e-bay for under $500 that have switchable IEC EQ and run at 15 ips: Tascam BR-20; Tascam 32-2B (note the -2B; the regular 32 doesn't switchable EQ, I don't think), Otari MX5050 series. Note that all of these were regularly used by radio stations; be careful when buying, particularly with the Otari's since I've seen a ton of them really beat up. Also, European versions of the Revox B77 or PR99 (the "pro" version of the B77) would likely have IEC eq, since that was the standard in Europe.
There are more expensive options, too, like the Studer 810; ATR-100 series, etc.
But my main advice is to visit the website and forum, and read everything there. You can certainly start out with a used machine (as long as it has switchable EQ), then step up to the Bottlehead repro amp later.
John Colombo
...you can listen to IEC EQ'd tapes on a NAB machine and only hear minor frequency response differences.
Minor - less than between two brands of loudspeaker - so don't let no access to a European playback machine stop you!
Regards, Allen
And this from the guy who frets over phono response above 50kHz! The difference in the turnover frequency is nearly half an octave, 3150Hz vs 4500Hz. Having tried what you suggest in times of desperation, I found the difference quite audible. But sure, you can run an IEC tape on a machine with NAB eq. You can play 33rpm LPs at 45rpm too.
...the original poster was making outthat you should forgetaboutyourtape projecttapes unless one had an IEC eq'd machine.
I say they will still be enjoyable - maybe not ideal but certainly more than enjoyable - yes?
Or completely pointess and should be totally forgotten?
When do those first tapes become actually orderable?
And although my phono pre's go out to nearly 1MHz, it's only **UP** to 50kHz that we calibrate to. And that is just as valid for NAB/IEC, you should hear them on tape!
Regards, Allen
Regards, Allen
Well I guess I'm looking at it from the perspective of a proud papa - that we've spent a ton of time and money trying to do the best quality job we can. It may not be the most rational reaction, but I kind of hope that someone who buys our tapes would want to use a machine that is fully optimized to demonstrate just how good these master duplicate tapes can sound. If a guy wants to spend the money on the tapes but doesn't want top spend the money on a machine that will play them right, that's his choice. Hopefully he won't be too upset when we ignore any complaints that it doesn't sound right on NAB eq. ;^)>
Tapes are in production this week. It will take us a little while to cover all of the subscription orders for each album title, particularly since we are finding that many folks who initially subscribed for just six out of ten titles are changing over to buying a full subscription now that the full 2007 catalog has been announced. Some of our subscribers opted in way back in January, before we even had a estimated release date, and we are working hard to show our gratitude for subscriber support by getting them all of their tapes ASAP. Once we complete the subscription orders we will start to offer individual titles. I'm guessing we will begin to have individual albums available in the next six to eight weeks, maybe sooner if we are lucky.
I bet your preamp sounds great with tape!
nt
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