bradzatitagain wrote:
The tape has to pack *reasonably* flat without a forced tape guidance system on the transport.
It's not just the pack on the reels that makes a difference. Also, I'd qualify the guide rollers on Studers as "forced tape guidance". When Ampex first came out with 499 they had serious slitting problems. One guy I know related that had to re-shim said guide rollers on the A-800s for every new batch of 499 that came in the door, bummer. Some years later, and using Emtec tape, 468 I think, I ran into some similar troubles. We had a client locking out the whole place, three rooms, for an extended period. Setting them up to track in B, I brought along the tones reel from A, as well as the MRL that I had previously set up the machine with. Sure enough, the tones reel was a dB and a half down. Went to check it in A, they were the same. Much head scratching and half a morning wasted before I remembered what that guy had said, the other half wasted shimming the thing (and remembering that the cap on those rollers is reverse threaded) and documenting the shims for later reversal of the process. Basically, in one room the tape was riding 1/4 track width higher/lower than in the other.
So, slitting is a huge deal. Emtec's machinery gone to the scrapyard is a travesty. If Quantegy goes the same way, it will be very difficult to economically re-invent that wheel.
On a hopeful note, there have been boutique tape manufacturers in the past. If anyone remembers Zonal, they made some very nice tape. Perhaps if Quantegy does go down it could convince them to start doing so again, but it ain't gonna be cheap.
As to the race to the bottom, I've never bought anything at Wal-Fart, and have no inclination to. Fair free trade is something I support. Fair in a "sure, no tariffs on your imported products, as long as your workers are guaranteed similar minimum standards of safety, wages, hours and collective bargaining" kind of way. Any other approach is big trouble in the long run.
