Actual number of tapes??

Lampie519

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2021
493
347
65
58
Hoofddorp, Holland
Will it be advisable to refurbish my trusty Revox G36 now? I have not used it for 20 years or so, it looks great but it will need some maintenance i guess...
 
  • Like
Reactions: carolus

astrotoy

VIP/Donor
May 24, 2010
1,547
1,017
1,715
SF Bay Area
It has been nine months since I totaled up all of the available master tapes for sale, and since many of us are retired and at home, I took a few moments to do the update.

As of June 5 2021 there are now
771 reels of recorded master tapes for sale I could not. find how many Genesis had or Straight2Tape had because there site is not up yet.
That equates into 25,443 minutes. 424 hours of listening. 17.6 days of listening. WOW
HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN.
Fone 78 tapes.
R to R Russia. 22 tapes
Analog Mastering. 8 tapes.
Delmark. 2 tapes
Bel Canto. 18 tapes.
Premonition. 7 tapes
Open Reel 20 tapes.
UltraAnalogue. 136 tapes
Tape Project. 30 tapes.
Lyn Stanley. 9 tapes
The Dragon. 16 tapes.
IPI. 54 tapes
Acoustic Sounds. 36 tapes
Hemoilia. 15 tapes
Yarlung. 28 tapes.
2xHD. 13 tapes
Opus 3 43 tapes.
Quinton. 16 tapes
Zavanika. 15 tapes.
Base2 Organ. 1 tape
STS. 41 tapes.
Analog Records. 25 tapes
Horch House. 47 tapes.
Djabe. 12 tapes
Tone Pearl. 4 tapes.
Smart Audio. 12 tapes
Grove Note Elusive. 12 tapes.
Pro Jet. 1 tape
Straight2tape- Site not up yet
Gary at Genesis- Do not know the count or if they are for sale.
That is a lot of listening, and for sure the market for tapes is growing.

Now that I have updated everyone, let me get back to watching the grass grow.
Thanks so much for the update. Definitely some new companies that I haven't heard of. AFAIK, Gary at Genesis did one album, Todd Garfinkle's Bach Goldberg Variations played by Emo Ita, and released on Todd's M-A Recordings. Todd had recorded on tape (I believe on 1/2" tape).

Larry
 

Foxbat

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2020
350
233
113
73
Add Analogy Records to the list, I think they have 26 tapes, their quality is high and they have some very interesting music.
 

astrotoy

VIP/Donor
May 24, 2010
1,547
1,017
1,715
SF Bay Area
Add Analogy Records to the list, I think they have 26 tapes, their quality is high and they have some very interesting music.
Thanks, I looked at their website and I plan to order 2 of their albums - the two classical ones with Vivaldi Cello Sonatas. Do you know whether they charge VAT for US purchasers? Normally European companies don't charge VAT for purchases outside the EU. Thanks, Larry
 

audioguy1958

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2015
139
45
160
Thanks for the corrected count. I must be behind then, I'll have to update my library. Approximately twenty tapes behind, sheesh!
 

astrotoy

VIP/Donor
May 24, 2010
1,547
1,017
1,715
SF Bay Area
I have 69 reels of Ed's tapes. I know that I don't have 7 of his reels, not sure about the other 6. Larry
 

astrotoy

VIP/Donor
May 24, 2010
1,547
1,017
1,715
SF Bay Area
Earl, if you are counting reels, then Tape Project has 60 reels (all of their albums are 2 reelers). I am a charter subscriber so I have all of their albums. If you count that you can get 1/2" tape versions of all the reels, then you can double that to 120. Thanks again for all the work.

I see that you have not included ABC Int'l based in southern China. They have 149 tapes listed on their website (abcrecords.com). Their provenance for some of the tapes may be questionable. I have five of their tapes. I've posted about them before. Dan Schmalle, one of the founders of Tape Project, was visiting the house a few years ago and I mentioned that ABC had taken some of the exact words that Tape Project used in their website and used them (plagiarized is the better term) to describe their tapes. He said he had looked at their website and could not understand how they could have original master tapes (which they claim) for some of the titles that they have. However, they have a very large number of Chinese pop titles, including some quite famous Chinese pop singers. They could well have licenses for those tapes. None of the tapes I bought from them are those.

Larry
 

astrotoy

VIP/Donor
May 24, 2010
1,547
1,017
1,715
SF Bay Area
One more. I looked at the Fone catalogue, since I had bought several of their tapes a couple of years ago. They have 78 listing, but many of them are multi-reel albums, so I counted a total of 66 more reels, or 144 reels. I had realized that they had added quite a few new titles since the time I checked.

Looks like a lot of activity in new releases from multiple companies. More new releases coming from Europe than from North America.

In the US Acoustic Sounds is releasing new titles, though not quite as fast as when they started. Tape Project has been very quiet with new releases. Yarlung has also been pretty quiet. UltraAnalogue (Ed Pong) has been releasing some titles, although he tells me that the pandemic has really slowed his ability to have artists visit and record (often with a live audience at his home). IPI (Jonathan Horwich) continues with new releases, primarily new jazz that he or Anthony Gravino have recorded with some fine local Chicago area jazz groups. He also has the best value in new tape productions - with direct copies of master tapes normally for $150 per reel (15ips 2 track) plus shipping. He has also released a few more vintage 1960's tapes that have never been previously released, including two of my favorite jazz artists: an album by Oscar Peterson from a 1962 concert taped in Paris, and a concert album by the Modern Jazz Quartet from 1961.

Larry
 
Last edited:

earlinarizona

Well-Known Member
Jul 17, 2010
173
44
1,583
BIG UPDATE
On the past as some members have pointed out I only counted one reel per title but it should have been the total number of reels per title. I noticed many have two and three reel so this list is more true. Now there are 975 reels of music for sale, which is great for the Reel To Reel community. That is over 535 hours of music or 22 days of listening. After going to the Long Beach T.H.E. show and listening to tape, there is no question it is the top sound.

As of June 22 2021 there are now

HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN.
Fone 138 tapes.
R to R Russia. 22 tapes
Analog Mastering. 10 tapes.
Delmark. 2 tapes
Bel Canto. 22 tapes.
Premonition. 11 tapes
Open Reel 23 tapes
UltraAnalogue. 81 tapes
Tape Project. 28 tapes
Lyn Stanley. 16 tapes
The Dragon. 16 tapes.
IPI. 57 tapes
Acoustic Sounds. 36 tapes
Hemoilia. 15 tapes
Yarlung. 37 tapes.
2xHD. 13 tapes
Opus 3 111 tapes.
Quinton. 16 tapes
Zavanika. 15 tapes.
Base2 Organ. 1 tape
STS. 41 tapes.
Analogy Records. 26 tapes
Horch House. 108 tapes.
Djabe. 13 tapes
Tone Pearl. 4 tapes.
Smart Audio. 12 tapes
Grove Note Elusive. 22 tapes.
Pro Jet. 1 tape
Straight2tape- 5 tapes
Master Tape Sound Lab 65 tapes
Analog Master Tapes 10 tapes

That is a lot of listening, and for sure the market for tapes is growing.
 
Last edited:

timztunz

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2018
157
103
150
Texas
  • Haha
Reactions: AMR / iFi audio

AMR / iFi audio

Industry Expert
Aug 21, 2019
2,636
1,153
260
43
UK
ifi-audio.com
Interesting. But it seems to me they could do a better job of telling the buyer what is ON the tape(s).

It wasn't easy to find, but doable:


Nevertheless, very strange way of advertising your own product....
 
  • Like
Reactions: timztunz

timztunz

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2018
157
103
150
Texas
It wasn't easy to find, but doable:


Nevertheless, very strange way of advertising your own product....
Thank you. For the difference in price and content I'll probably just get the LP's.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AMR / iFi audio

earlinarizona

Well-Known Member
Jul 17, 2010
173
44
1,583
Check out the GIGANTIC Master Tape spread in the new October issue of The Absolute Sound page 16- 30. Jonathan Valin list most every master tape available for sale
8 PAGES of titles. WOW. Talk about tape getting some exposure.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1582.jpeg
    IMG_1582.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 16
  • Like
Reactions: Ron Resnick

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing