Tape Project Tapes

i am not trying to fuel a debate or an argument here (well, not intentionally anyway). what i AM trying to say, probably not very effectively, is that a tape project tape for $300 of some music i don't like that much is just not my cup of tea, just as, if i don't see an SACD by the artist, orchestra, and piece of music i desire, i will not pay the extra money for that either. BUT, i fully support the IDEA behind what they are doing, which is to expose people (and probably to alot of curious folks that listen to the demo's at audio shows) to what music sounds like as close to the original source as possible. SO, once again, IF you make a copy ONCE REMOVED from the 15ips tape onto your choice of a 7 or 10 inch reel that can be played on (usually) a quarter track machine, hooked up to a perfectly good preamp or integrated amp, then YES, it would be a blast to check it out. more money to the distributor means more possibilities, more PROJECTS, more INTEREST, more people listening to MORE MUSIC. but perhaps i am mistaken in assuming that the tape project folks have any thoughts beyond their extremely limited (by definition) enterprise.
in that case i and thousands of other people (who dabble in the audio asylum's tape recorder interest group, or the yahoo group, and/or other people who have not taken their tape decks down to goodwill industries yet) will continue to have fun and experiment on our own, until unfortunately, the hardware and the software fade into obscurity. and those of us ipod'less folks are not going to be around all that much longer ourselves...

I want to respond here. I sympathize with what French Fries is trying to say and I think he was a bit misunderstood. If the Tape Project was going to try and maximize their sales vice making the highest quality tape they could, they would have released their tapes as 1/4 track 71/2ips. There are obviously WAY more people that have 1/4 track 71/2ips decks than people who own 2 track 15ips decks. The Tape Project has for the here and now severely limited themselves on their target audience because they are making the best quality tapes they possibly can, not the most profitable tape they could. From what I know, and I have run some numbers, their venture is not one you could take to the bank and get funded. The business case analysis simply doesn't hold up. You could not invest the money necessary in order to duplicate their mastering decks and slave chain, buy the tapes, boxes, engraving, paper, maintenance, and pay for the labor and sell these tapes for $200 each and make any money. If you could sell all tapes for $329, then things look much better.

As for Lp over tape, I still contend that a good 71/2ips 1/4 tape will sound better than the majority of LPs regardless of the quality of your LP rig. I own a VPI TNTIII that sits on a VPI TNT stand with an ET-2 arm fed by dual pumps through a surge tank. I use a Denon 103R cartridge fed into a Counterpoint SA-2 (all tube) pre-preamp into my Counterpoint SA-5.1 that has both line and phono stages upgraded. Most of the prerecorded tapes I have just sound better. Sound snaps off of a tape in a way that makes music sound live vice merely really good on LP. I contend that you can spend $500 on a quality deck like a Revox A-77 and it will embarrass some very costly LP rigs. If you have a really super quality RTR, my personal opinion is that no LP rig at any insane price will come close to beating the sound.

Ken I agree pretty much with all you said, I am replying because I have a few decks and like tape as well. I think the TP is a great service for all who care to get involved.

DUMB POINT #4- I have 4 (out of five) decks that run at 7/15 ips, with half-track heads (two with a fourth head that plays quarter-track tapes as well). i could definitely even go for a 15ips tape SANS fancy packaging, serial-numbered, etc. (i want a metal reel though of course). all of them except for one i believe have NAB equalization- the one deck has a switch. i could offer "someone" maybe a hundred bucks to "try" a tape that runs as close to my musical tastes as possible. but that is about it for me (watch, i'll sneek out one day and spend the $329- IF it will play on a teac or an otari NAB deck). but i think my brain works pretty much the same as everyone elses when it comes to what i MUSIC i can buy for $330 bucks. harmonia mundi or astree cd's? LP's of the new york philharmonic or the cleveland orchestra? OTOH, TO ME, a bill evans recording ain't no big deal (even though i have an XRCD of his anyway- what the hell- it was an experiment). anyway, i am done here. sorry if i ruffled any feathers, because i am sure the genuine article is well worth having. i just wanted to offer some alternative viewpoints and suggestions. i have 5 reel-to-reels for goodness sake!! peace.

You say you have 5 R2R decks!!!!!! and none have the ability to play TP tapes? Well consider downsizing to a couple or maybe even one, that should help you afford the cost of what you may need.