Can you get great analog sound from analog tape?

Since I don't own a reel-to-reel, I cannot attest to this, but I'd be a bit surprised if an analogue tape copy were truly sonically indistinguishable from the vinyl original. Whatever wires you used.

I use a Nakamichi CR-7A, which is calibrated and clean. It makes very acceptable analog recordings. The noise floor is higher, but the imaging is right on with the source. I use this primarily to tape things I either wish to keep stone mint or can not obtain. I also have a Sony ES DAT deck, but I find myself using the Nak more often even with the DAT run through an Ultra Link II DAC. Tom

Bomarc: you're right in yr post above (doubting that tape is indistinguishable fm vinyl). I should have noted "subjectively" indistinguishable!
I find that the musical "essence" is retained i.e. the intrinsic qualities of vinyl are easily perceptible. In my experience, the tape (used to) draw me into the music more than into the reproduction quality of the medium (the latter happening to me when I listen to the cd version of a vinyl I have).

Agreed, Greg. A good tape recording of vinyl playback will certainly capture the "intrinsic qualities of vinyl," as you call them. Whereas a CD made from an analogue master tape will not. (Which just goes to show that it's not being analogue that does it; it's being on vinyl.)

I somehow doubt ( though cannot prove ) that it is vinyl, which "does it". To my mind and experience it is rather the analog process. Classical music on an ADD CD sounds generally better than a DDD redbook CD. But the limitations inherent in the redbook processing, does not seem to capture all of what is on an analogue mastertape even through an ADD CD, even with upsampling, if you compare it to a LP or even a good commercial tape of the same original recording. At least, that has been my experience so far.