Last US audio tape maker quits

Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording tape
(and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2,
surprising employees reporting for work. Rumor had been that Quantegy
had been in financial straits of late and was filing for Chapter 11.
The plant, located in Opelika, AR, is the original tape manufacturing
plant built in the early 1950s by Robert Orr as his Orradio/Irish
plant, later bought by Ampex in 1959 to form its own magnetic tape
unit. When Ampex abandoned the tape business in 1995, a group of
investors bought the plant and patents and started business under the
Quantegy name, supplying not only Ampex's standard products but also
some of 3M's abandoned Scotch formulations.

Personally, this is a shocker to me, as I now no longer have any
supplier of ¼" and ½" tape stock to use on my Ampexes for various
recording projects. Indeed, all studios who still record in analog
are in panic mode, and prices of remaining stock of Quantegy 456, 499
and GP-9 have skyrocketed in a week's time, especially in the 1" and
2" formats. Prices of 24 track MCI machines have fallen through the
floor overnight. Rumors are prevalent, the most widely circulated one
being that this is a bank takeover. Another one is that Quantegy sold
out to a Japanese firm, who will reopen the plant and slash wages and
benefits of its work force, similar to what happened at the Five
Islands TV plant in Knoxville, TN when taken over by Toshiba. Either
way, tape production has been halted, and no there is NO source for
any analog RTR tape except two...RAJ in India, who still makes a red
oxide tape similar to Ampex's old 641 but of lousy quality, and a
company in Korea, who made the last runs of Rat Shack's "Supertape"
and "Concertape"...and we know what kind of quality THAT crap is!

Needless to say, there won't be any more fresh cartridge tape other
than what's in Quantegy's warehouse...at least until they figure out
what they're doing. Meanwhile, analog recorders worth thousands
before New Year's are now going for bargain basement prices, with many
studios in New York and California pulling the plug on analog
altogether. Despite what people may think, a surprisingly large
amount of production is still done on analog multi-track, and these
facilities are now basically out of business until they find a new,
reliable source for good tape...and there are currently none. Emetec,
Maxell, Agfa, 3M...all of them...ceased production over the last few
years, and only Quantegy was left. Again, I have a sneaking suspicion
that there's a Japanese takeover in effect in the Chapter 11
proceedings...further proof of the decimation of US industry and the
relegation of the US to "third world" status. Sad, indeed, but cannot
say we weren't warned!

More coverage on this story:

http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?c=MGArticle&cid=1031779976767&pagename=O AN/MGArticle/OAN_BasicArticle&path=!frontpage

dB

Excuse the top post:

This is unpleasant news. I suppose this means no more DAT tapes as
well--or are there other manufacturers for that? thanks, ron


DeserTBoB wrote:
Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording
tape
(and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2,
surprising employees reporting for work. Rumor had been that
Quantegy
had been in financial straits of late and was filing for Chapter 11.
The plant, located in Opelika, AR, is the original tape manufacturing
plant built in the early 1950s by Robert Orr as his Orradio/Irish
plant, later bought by Ampex in 1959 to form its own magnetic tape
unit. When Ampex abandoned the tape business in 1995, a group of
investors bought the plant and patents and started business under the
Quantegy name, supplying not only Ampex's standard products but also
some of 3M's abandoned Scotch formulations.

Personally, this is a shocker to me, as I now no longer have any
supplier of =BC" and =BD" tape stock to use on my Ampexes for various
recording projects. Indeed, all studios who still record in analog
are in panic mode, and prices of remaining stock of Quantegy 456, 499
and GP-9 have skyrocketed in a week's time, especially in the 1" and
2" formats. Prices of 24 track MCI machines have fallen through the
floor overnight. Rumors are prevalent, the most widely circulated
one
being that this is a bank takeover. Another one is that Quantegy
sold
out to a Japanese firm, who will reopen the plant and slash wages and
benefits of its work force, similar to what happened at the Five
Islands TV plant in Knoxville, TN when taken over by Toshiba. Either
way, tape production has been halted, and no there is NO source for
any analog RTR tape except two...RAJ in India, who still makes a red
oxide tape similar to Ampex's old 641 but of lousy quality, and a
company in Korea, who made the last runs of Rat Shack's "Supertape"
and "Concertape"...and we know what kind of quality THAT crap is!

Needless to say, there won't be any more fresh cartridge tape other
than what's in Quantegy's warehouse...at least until they figure out
what they're doing. Meanwhile, analog recorders worth thousands
before New Year's are now going for bargain basement prices, with
many
studios in New York and California pulling the plug on analog
altogether. Despite what people may think, a surprisingly large
amount of production is still done on analog multi-track, and these
facilities are now basically out of business until they find a new,
reliable source for good tape...and there are currently none.
Emetec,
Maxell, Agfa, 3M...all of them...ceased production over the last few
years, and only Quantegy was left. Again, I have a sneaking
suspicion
that there's a Japanese takeover in effect in the Chapter 11
proceedings...further proof of the decimation of US industry and the
relegation of the US to "third world" status. Sad, indeed, but
cannot
say we weren't warned!

More coverage on this story:


http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satelli...1779976767&pa=
gename=3DOAN/MGArticle/OAN_BasicArticle&path=3D!frontpage
=20
dB

On 6 Jan 2005 08:27:49 -0800, "yodedude2" wrote:

Excuse the top post:

This is unpleasant news. I suppose this means no more DAT tapes as
well--or are there other manufacturers for that? snip

The Japanese still market DAT tape under various brands. The big
shock here is that ALL analog format are now unobtainable...from
anywhere. Also, many private industries and smaller municipalities
still use Quantegy 721 for logging recorders and that's now gone as
well. I understand that Quantegy has called back its warehouse
workers to clean out the last stocks of tape in their warehouse, which
is a considerable amount, but once that's gone, everything's up in the
air. From people I know in the business, there have been a run on 1"
and 2" tape over the last week, with price gouging from many retailers
taking place. The US goverment is one of Quantegy's bigger customers,
still buying lots of 641 and 642, a red oxide tape from 1953 that has
shown to be able to last at least 50 years and still be serviceable.
I'm sure there will be some screaming from there, since the government
still uses lots of analog tape for archival purposes.

There is talk that two likely scenarios are developing. One, the bank
called Quantegy's note and will sell off the plant to the Japs (like
everything else in America), probably Maxell, who will reopen it and
produce their own products there with severely reduced wages to
workers. Another is that ATR Services has been developing their own
line of analog tape, which should be ready for introduction soon.
There's a hitch there, however...ATR was going to have the tape made
at the Quantegy plant, which is now not an option.

The reverberations of this action will be severely felt over the next
few months, as many studios doing analog work will have to shut down
unless they can use RAJ (Indian) or that lousy Korean tape. I'm sure
the Chinese will figure out a way to get into the business as long as
a buck can be made, but it will most likely be of lousy quality, much
like their vacuum tubes.

Erratum: The Irish/Ampex/Quantegy plant is located in Opelika, AL,
not AR. Please excuse the typo.

dB

DeserTBoB wrote:

Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording tape
(and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2,
surprising employees reporting for work. Rumor had been that Quantegy
had been in financial straits of late and was filing for Chapter 11.
The plant, located in Opelika, AR, is the original tape manufacturing
plant built in the early 1950s by Robert Orr as his Orradio/Irish
plant, later bought by Ampex in 1959 to form its own magnetic tape
unit. When Ampex abandoned the tape business in 1995, a group of
investors bought the plant and patents and started business under the
Quantegy name, supplying not only Ampex's standard products but also
some of 3M's abandoned Scotch formulations.

Personally, this is a shocker to me, as I now no longer have any
supplier of ¼" and ½" tape stock to use on my Ampexes for various
recording projects. Indeed, all studios who still record in analog
are in panic mode, and prices of remaining stock of Quantegy 456, 499
and GP-9 have skyrocketed in a week's time, especially in the 1" and
2" formats. Prices of 24 track MCI machines have fallen through the
floor overnight. Rumors are prevalent, the most widely circulated one
being that this is a bank takeover. Another one is that Quantegy sold
out to a Japanese firm, who will reopen the plant and slash wages and
benefits of its work force, similar to what happened at the Five
Islands TV plant in Knoxville, TN when taken over by Toshiba. Either
way, tape production has been halted, and no there is NO source for
any analog RTR tape except two...RAJ in India, who still makes a red
oxide tape similar to Ampex's old 641 but of lousy quality, and a
company in Korea, who made the last runs of Rat Shack's "Supertape"
and "Concertape"...and we know what kind of quality THAT crap is!

Needless to say, there won't be any more fresh cartridge tape other
than what's in Quantegy's warehouse...at least until they figure out
what they're doing. Meanwhile, analog recorders worth thousands
before New Year's are now going for bargain basement prices, with many
studios in New York and California pulling the plug on analog
altogether. Despite what people may think, a surprisingly large
amount of production is still done on analog multi-track, and these
facilities are now basically out of business until they find a new,
reliable source for good tape...and there are currently none. Emetec,
Maxell, Agfa, 3M...all of them...ceased production over the last few
years, and only Quantegy was left. Again, I have a sneaking suspicion
that there's a Japanese takeover in effect in the Chapter 11
proceedings...further proof of the decimation of US industry and the
relegation of the US to "third world" status. Sad, indeed, but cannot
say we weren't warned!

More coverage on this story:

http://www.oanow.com/servlet
Satellite?c=MGArticle&cid=1031779976767&pagename=O AN/MGArticle
OAN_BasicArticle&path=!frontpage

dB

now, if this dont beat all:-(
god damned globalisation.
i just wish that people will hurry & wake up to see the damage being done to
the u.s. because of these globalist *******s.
--
i have an 8 track mind

DeserTBoB wrote:
Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording
tape
(and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2,
surprising employees reporting for work. Rumor had been that
Quantegy
had been in financial straits of late and was filing for Chapter 11.
The plant, located in Opelika, AR, is the original tape manufacturing
plant built in the early 1950s by Robert Orr as his Orradio/Irish
plant, later bought by Ampex in 1959 to form its own magnetic tape
unit. When Ampex abandoned the tape business in 1995, a group of
investors bought the plant and patents and started business under the
Quantegy name, supplying not only Ampex's standard products but also
some of 3M's abandoned Scotch formulations.

Personally, this is a shocker to me, as I now no longer have any
supplier of =BC" and =BD" tape stock to use on my Ampexes for various
recording projects. Indeed, all studios who still record in analog
are in panic mode, and prices of remaining stock of Quantegy 456, 499
and GP-9 have skyrocketed in a week's time, especially in the 1" and
2" formats. Prices of 24 track MCI machines have fallen through the
floor overnight. Rumors are prevalent, the most widely circulated
one
being that this is a bank takeover. Another one is that Quantegy
sold
out to a Japanese firm, who will reopen the plant and slash wages and
benefits of its work force, similar to what happened at the Five
Islands TV plant in Knoxville, TN when taken over by Toshiba. Either
way, tape production has been halted, and no there is NO source for
any analog RTR tape except two...RAJ in India, who still makes a red
oxide tape similar to Ampex's old 641 but of lousy quality, and a
company in Korea, who made the last runs of Rat Shack's "Supertape"
and "Concertape"...and we know what kind of quality THAT crap is!

Needless to say, there won't be any more fresh cartridge tape other
than what's in Quantegy's warehouse...at least until they figure out
what they're doing. Meanwhile, analog recorders worth thousands
before New Year's are now going for bargain basement prices, with
many
studios in New York and California pulling the plug on analog
altogether. Despite what people may think, a surprisingly large
amount of production is still done on analog multi-track, and these
facilities are now basically out of business until they find a new,
reliable source for good tape...and there are currently none.
Emetec,
Maxell, Agfa, 3M...all of them...ceased production over the last few
years, and only Quantegy was left. Again, I have a sneaking
suspicion
that there's a Japanese takeover in effect in the Chapter 11
proceedings...further proof of the decimation of US industry and the
relegation of the US to "third world" status. Sad, indeed, but
cannot
say we weren't warned!

More coverage on this story:


http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satelli...1779976767&pa=
gename=3DOAN/MGArticle/OAN_BasicArticle&path=3D!frontpage

dB

NO WAY- in the 1/4" and 1/2" tape widths, there is PLENTY of NOS tape
floating around- cripes I ran across 2 big boxes full myself, many of
them new and unopened. I must have 50+ cartons of 1/4" r2r, and
that's after sellinga about 10-15 reels.

Methinks this is only more liberal "gloom and doom" bs...we are a
MIGHTY **** far away from 3rd world status, what a crock of **** that
is...DB, you obviously had/have a hard life and limited expendable
income due to retirement and health problems- but why do you spew these
crap bs posts like the world is ending cuz of tape shortages ??

go on ebay, there's all the 1/4" and 1/2" tape you want for dirt cheap
prices. Who cares if they make it anymore ?? It's cheaper on the used
and NOS market, and works just fine. Most home recorders use a tape
one time and it sits for years- simply bulk erase.

Another option- take all these crappy easy listening/country/classical
8-tracks tapes, and despool them to r2r, yet another source of 1/4"
analog tape practically for free.

On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 16:33:28 -0500, 8 tracker from hell
wrote:

now, if this dont beat all:-(
god damned globalisation.
i just wish that people will hurry & wake up to see the damage being done to
the u.s. because of these globalist *******s. snip

Actually, I don't think this is the corporate globalists at work,
since there's no real competing nation for this product. The only
sources left are in India and Korea, and the quality of each is
horrid. The RAJ product from India is somewhat reminiscent of the old
Ampex 641 red oxide tape first introduced on acetate in 1953...and the
government still uses this stuff for archival purposes! It's about
the only audio tape I know of that will retain signal and lubricity
for 50 years, at least.

No, I think the culprit here is the banking industry. They held
Quantegy's note and probably called it, because they don't see
"growth." The insistance of "growth" is what drives Wall Street and
the bankers; if they don't see "growth," they get scared. An industry
in slow, steady decline is seen as a danger to their interests.
What's worse about a bank takeover is that they'll let the assets sit
and rot while they sit in their mahogany panelled board room with
their thumbs up their asses trying to figure out what to do with it.
They do this to real property all the time, too. Bankers, like
corporate executives, aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer; they
just know how to screw other people out of their money better than
anyone else. Why else would credit card rates be so high for most
people while the prime rate was below the cost of funds?

If ATR steps up with some capital to bail out the Quantegy operation,
fine, but I don't think ATR has that kind of connection to the greedy
venture capitalists, who these days want 100% ROI in a year, or no go.
The Japs have that kind of money, so I'm betting they'll do just what
they did to Five Islands...buy it out cash and run it to produce their
own products...in other words, more Japanese colonization of the US.
Meanwhile, everyone's panicking, especially owners of Ampex MM1100 and
MCI 2" 24 track machines...there's simply no tape to be had! 1" and
2" is gone, and ½" is getting rare. There are still supplies of ¼"
Quantegy in the usual formulations in stock, but it's also going to go
pretty quick. I spoke to some friends in small multi-track studios in
LA today who are calling clients, informing them that time booked next
month will be cancelled. They're shutting down after their current
tape stocks are depleted, which on 2", won't take long. Reuse of tape
is a bad way to do business, but I'm sure some of that will take place
for awhile, too. Meanwhile, we'll just see if my prognositcations pan
out.

dB

It ain't the "globalists" and it ain't the "bankers", it's the music
industry plain and simple...

they can record, dub, over-dub, mix digital masters a mighty crap
easier than using analog tape- and the digital doesn't degrade

so it's a simple matter of economics- analog is superior in resolution,
digital almost as good, but was cheaper and quicker to use- and more
cost efficient.

similar to sheet rock vs. old style plastering- plaster looks better,
but is way more expensive, and hardly anyone uses it anymore, and it's
hard to find a good plaster man- it's a lost art

same deal as analog

in the 1/4" tape format r2r, there's plenty of tape around for many
decades to come

wrote:

It ain't the "globalists" and it ain't the "bankers", it's the music
industry plain and simple...

they can record, dub, over-dub, mix digital masters a mighty crap
easier than using analog tape- and the digital doesn't degrade

so it's a simple matter of economics- analog is superior in resolution,
digital almost as good, but was cheaper and quicker to use- and more
cost efficient.

similar to sheet rock vs. old style plastering- plaster looks better,
but is way more expensive, and hardly anyone uses it anymore, and it's
hard to find a good plaster man- it's a lost art

same deal as analog

in the 1/4" tape format r2r, there's plenty of tape around for many
decades to come

--
i have an 8 track mind

On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 10:42:37 -0500, 8 tracker from hell
wrote:

wrote:

It ain't the "globalists" and it ain't the "bankers", it's the music
industry plain and simple... snip

As usual, an uneducated and delusional Noodles pees all over himself
yet again.

Noodles, I'm not going to go into another "education" session with you
again to point out what you do not know. Suffice it to say you're a
complete moron with no idea what you're talking about.

dB

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 18:39:49 -0800, DeserTBoB
wrote:

Quantegy, the very last manufacturer of analog magnetic recording tape
(and various digital formats, also) closed their doors on Jan. 2,
surprising employees reporting for work. snip

It looks like ATR will be making a serious attempt to produce a new
line of analog tape products after all. However, their line isn't
ready for production yet, so there will be a lag even if they're
successful.

dB