[JLM]

Just caught this morning that the last manufacturer of magnetic audio tape is "reorganizing" (shutting down operations).

Wow!

[JeffB]

Are you talking about cassette tape or some sort of larger recording studio format?  I have not bought a cassette tape in years, but there was Sony, TDK, Memorex, Maxell, Fuji and probably 100 others.  And what about DAT tape?

[Music Maven]

WOW, indeed!

That news will make many of us feel very old.

Which manufacturer was it, do you remember? Maybe this was only in the US as opposed to globally? Hard to imagine the Maxell, TDK, Memorex brands extinct! Maybe one company actually makes it for many of these brands?

And, there MUST still be some Revox or even Ampex reel-to-reels in studios somewhere. What are they going to eat???        

Jerry

[hmen]

In twenty years people will be selling NOS audio cassettes

[YoungDave]

I have never had any trouble buying new audio tape (1/4, 1/2, 1", or 2" widths).  Lots of studios still record in analog, and lots of artists specify analog recording.  Some even insist on analog mastering, too.  Digital is easier, but the analog sound is the key reason for using magnetic tape & Ampex or Revox (or Studer) recorders.

I buy tape from US Recording Media (http://www.usrecordingmedia.com), with whom I have no connection.  I generally use Quantegy Grand Master 456 tape, the same formula as the old Ampex mastering tape from the 70's.  Most of the better decks had bias settings for this tape, so you could just load & go.

The end of open reel tape is not here yet, and is not coming as far as I can see.

I don't use audio cassettes, but I see a full range of Maxell & Quantegy tapes still available at retail outlets...Frankly, I think that audio cassettes have little to offer, so it just might happen that we will see NOS cassettes on eBay in 20 years!

[Brad W.]

Last American Audio Tape Maker Closes
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4259503

Have a good day
Brad