Hi -- Tom Fine wrote: > I think another factor is that few Scully machines survived. > I've never used one so I can't comment > on their reliability or durability. I've only seen two > working, and one of them is Steve's. <snip> > Question for Steve P -- do you have any idea how many > 12-track session tapes there are out there? No idea. Figure roughly 60 machines x 18 months in their short period as trendsetting (and therefore making lots of masters). Then many were downsized to 1" 8-track and/or sold to minor league studios. Scully 2-tracks and 1" 8-tracks were their best sellers. It seems that Tom Dowd had those machines installed in practically every studio he worked in or consulted for. > How many studios actually used 12-tracks? Again, don't know but same concept applies: 60 machines x 18 months and then the trickle down effect. > It was actually a > forward-looking format (precursor to > 24-track with roughly same specs), but didn't have time to > catch on before 16-track appeared. At the time, engineers complained a lot about the S/N of 1" 12-track. Yet, its only a slightly different track width than 2" 24-track which, when it arrived, took off. My take on it is, had the Scotch 206 (3 db quieter than Scotch 202, then current) arrived *with* the Scully 12-track instead of two years later, the format would have caught on and the 12-track machines that survived would not have become recycled into 1" 8-tracks. Of course, 2" 16-track would have eventually rolled over it anyway, but probably not nearly as quickly. Best, -- Steve ======================================================== Steve Puntolillo Sonicraft A2DX Lab - Ultimate A_nalog 2 D_igital X_fers http://www.sonicraft.com/a2dx ========================================================