Quantegy did shut down circa 2004, after going bankrupt. They allegedly reformulated to get past
sticky-shed issues with the backcoated types (to be fair, I have circa 1998 Q456 and circa 2000 Q406
and Q457 and have had no issues, YET). But their larger problem was a history of non-perfect
slitting and low quality-control standards. Their tapes are known to have poor polishing, thus
nodules on the surface, poor travel in the tape path, etc. Pre-Quantegy Ampex-branded tapes are the
prime offenders of the sticky-shed era (backcoated types only, of course). Some people are very
loyal to Q63x brown-oxide and red-oxide types, but I don't like them because of the slitting issues.
I have made very few reel recordings for paying clients, but in those few sessions I never used
Quantegy or Ampex tape, and never would. I did work at a studio in the 1980s that used Ampex 456 for
1/4" masters and Scotch 250 for 2" 24-track. Both types all went sticky, but there were few other
choices at the same costs and availability for an NYC studio in those days.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message -----
From: "Shai Drori" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2013 4:34 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Which brand of reel to reel tapes are best?


> Hi John, what's up?
> Well, Quantegy is basically a re branded Ampex. Same horrible stuff. You do not want to use it.
> IIRC Quantegy shut down operations in 2004 but I could be wrong about the exact date.
> Cheers
> Shai
> בתאריך 03/12/13 10:40 AM, ציטוט John Haley:
>> Hello, Shai. Greetings! You roused my curiosity. I totally believe you,
>> but what is wrong with the Quantegy tapes?
>>
>> Best,
>> John Haley
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 3, 2013 at 3:35 AM, Shai Drori <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Jan
>>> Quantegy is a big NO NO. Do not touch. RMG and ATr Magnetics are still
>>> manufactured and both are good. On the used side I love Maxell and Memorex.
>>> YMMV of course, but these have shown great longevity and sound.
>>> Shai Drori
>>> בתאריך 03/12/13 8:26 AM, ציטוט Jan Myren:
>>>
>>> HI!
>>>> I find that there are actually two brands available of new tapes on the
>>>> net,
>>>> Quantegy and RMG. Which one is best for my Tandberg TD 20 A for recording
>>>> music from LP's, CD's and 78's?
>>>>
>>>> Are there also some older NOS that are reccomandable, since they often
>>>> appear at Ebay for reasonable prices?
>>>>
>>>> All the best
>>>> jan
>>>>
>>>>
>>> --
>>> Cheers
>>> Shai Drori
>>> Timeless Recordings
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> בברכה,
>>> שי דרורי
>>> מומחה לשימור והמרה של אודיו וידאו וסרטים 8-35 ממ.
>>>
>
> --
> Cheers
> Shai Drori
> Timeless Recordings
> [log in to unmask]
> בברכה,
> שי דרורי
> מומחה לשימור והמרה של אודיו וידאו וסרטים 8-35 ממ.
>
>