CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

That's a lot of kabobs you're going to have to sell

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Just found this tape company. High quality means big $$$$

http://www.atrtape.com/products.php

Athanasios

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 3:03 am Post subject:

I believe that this is the company that bought out Ampex when they shut down a few years ago. I heard a few rumors back then, that all the small studios that were still using tape freaked out, and the price of blank tape jumped way up on eBay literally overnight. I know that was true, I did see stupid pricing for new old stock tape for a while.

Then I understand that the new company had startup issues, that every batch of tape was slightly different, so techs had to rebias their machines every time new tape came in. All hearsay of course, but it sounds plausible.

Gonna post some pix of the Revox A810 I am working on.. once it works....

EDIT: Just fixed it! This is one sexy machine, although not as cosmetically good looking as the first one I did a month ago. Gotta change more caps, then I'll post pix.

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

RMGI-Emtex is another tape company in business, although stock is unobtanium due to demand.

I believe that they took over the Quantegy line.

pity noone took over the maxell line, they really were the best.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

I want this one!! the VADER!!!!

http://www.j-corder.com/Gallery_of_Custom_Decks.php

This guy has some crazy ass RTR's!!!!

Nashou

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

ecrabb · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:57 am Post subject:

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:58 am Post subject:

Sexy:

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:59 am Post subject:

Sexier!

ecrabb · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:11 am Post subject:

OMG, that thing is gorgeous, Curt! Friggin' sweet. What is that, mid-90's vintage, Curt? 24-track?

SC

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Jeremy112 · Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 2649 Location: Fond du Lac, WI

That J-corder guy does some nice work, but he's smoking crack if he thinks $4000 is a decent price for a stock looking unit... The Technics 1500 can be picked up on ebay easily for $500 in working condition... Id rather spend my money customizing it myself Razz

If he gets $4000 for those, I should be able to get $500+ for my Sony suitcase stereo R2Rs (which I've already done with 2 of them, they are worth $$$$ once they are restored)

Ahh audio... honestly more expensive than video IMO, it can go on and on and there never seems to be an end in sight Smile

ecrabb · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:08 pm Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:15 pm Post subject:

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Also it say's they increase the performance of the units. Not sure if they are measured but I am sure they are for that kind of money.

Nashou

Jeremy112 · Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 2649 Location: Fond du Lac, WI

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:11 pm Post subject:

No question they're only appealing to the very top end of the market, but the price really doesn't seem out of line to me for what it is... Let's say a completely gone-through deck, but in typical 30+ year-old condition - a scratch here, a ding there, a scuff there, etc. - is $1000. That's probably what guys like Curt sells. It's a perfectly functioning, gone-through deck, and it serves a purpose.

Now, take the Jcorder decks. Functionally, it's the same $1000 deck, but say it has some upgrades or other mods, and maybe that's only worth a small premium, or fine - no premium. The difference is $2k... At $100/hr, that means the Jcorder guys only have to rack up another 20 hours of work on their machine to justify the price. I could see how it could easily run into the 20-hour range to completely disassemble the machine, strip the parts, prime, paint, silkscreen, let it dry, reassemble the whole deck (without marring anything). You're getting a machine which not only functions like new, but LOOKS brand new. That's worth it to some. They want something that's not just functional, but beautiful, too!

In car terms, this is no different than an old Corvette. In unrestored, but perfect mechanical condition, it's a $40,000 car. But, do a frame-off restoration, go through the engine, suspension, interior, paint, and restore the car to perfect, showroom condition, and now it could be an $80,000 car. Functionally, they're identical, but there's a huge difference between the two cars. They're both very desirable and collectable, but they each appeal to a different crowd (with different size wallets). $80,000 for a 45 year-old Corvette is also too rich for most Corvette enthusiasts, but there are people who are willing to pay.

SC

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:32 pm Post subject:

I agree with what everyone said about the Jcorders. I too thought they were on crack, but go to any of the audiofool forums, and those decks are highly regarded. I don't quite buy into the fact that you need to change 200+ caps in the units, but apparently they do, and no question that you've then got a rebuilt deck c/w custom new metal faceplates.

I'm with you Jeremy though, those of us that have the ability would not spend $4K for a deck that we can recondition ourselves, and with my RTR sales, I try and hit the market between the 'as-is' decks, and the Jcorder price point. I do have the test equipment (tapes and frequency analyzers) to set bias and tape head alignment properly, and like with an ISF guy that tweaks a projector, there is an art to get two analog channels of 40+ year old decks to be identical. It's rare that a deck comes in that needs no attention in the tweaking department. Only two recent examples come to mind, the last Revox A809, and an Akai some time before that.