Tape Project Tapes

Check out my thread I started on the analog forum asking how many people still had reel to reel decks and used them. Several people responded that belong to the TP. I personally talked to one of the guys on the phone and he loves the tapes. He said he would buy 20 a year if they could put them out. Also see my response to a VPI Rim thread where I spell out in black and white my feelings for why tape is far superior to LPs and people should stop wasting their money chasing the latest "upgrades" for their LP set-up.

I think some of the Project Tapes are starting to show up on e-bay. Plan to buy one and see what the fuss is all about. I have two decks, many reels including some of the B&C tapes. Well recorded 7.5 tapes sound best. The 3.75 are easily beat by vinyl. As always, condition is everything. Most of the tapes I originally purchased new in the 70's and none are tightly rewind, so they seem stable. One thing most people don't know is that if you have a 4 track deck you can still play two track tapes. Not ready to buy a $5K technics, yet.

I am a charter subscriber to the Tape Project. I am playing them back on a Technics RS1500 modified and optimized for playing back the Tape Project releases. The Technics internal electronics have been bypassed so that the tape heads directly feed a Bottlehead Seduction tape head preamp.

The Tape Project tapes use the IEC equalization curve, not the NAB. They are two track, 15 ips. Each tape consists of two 10.5 inch reels packaged in beautiful slipcases, including cover art. All charter subscribers for the first set of 10 tapes are assigned a serial number so that all tapes arrive with the same number. The Tape Project has licensed the original masters and each copy is duped from slaves in real time.

To date, I have received Tapes 1 & 2, with 3-6 on their way shortly. I do not have the vinyl versions of the two I currently have so I have not been able to do a head to head comparison against my LP playback system. That said, they are damn fine analog listening. Dead quiet, big deep soundstage, and David Alvin's voice on tape 2 (Blackjack David) just hangs in the air between the speakers. Coming releases in the first set include "Saxophone Colossus" and "Waltz For Debbie".

To learn more, check out http://www.tapeproject.com