Acoustic Sounds Announces The Titles for the Reel-to-Reel Tape Series!

[MylesBAstor]

More to come at RMAF

To Acoustic Sounds series subscribers, Ready your ears for something special! From Acoustic Sounds, Inc., the world leader in audiophile music sales, comes the highest quality analog reel-to-reel tape album reissues — Analogue Productions Ultra Tape! Twelve masterpiece titles are featured in this new reissue series, each a 15 ips, ¼-inch analog tape copy sourced from a copy of the original analog master tape. Transferred real-time, using an ATR-modified Ampex Tape Machine with flux magnetic heads. Each copy is housed in a custom slipcase cover. The first two titles — Janis Ian's Breaking Silence and Ben Webster's Gentle Ben — are slated to be released before 2016 ends. Analogue Productions is the vinyl, SACD and now audio tape reissue label owned by Acoustic Sounds. The remaining titles include: Rickie Lee Jones' It's like This / Hugh Masakela's Hope /Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances (the famous Turnabout recording) / Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Scheherazade (RCA Living Stereo) / Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome (RCA Living Stereo) / Leopold Stokowski's Rhapsodies (RCA Living Stereo) / René Leibowitz and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Power of The Orchestra (RCA Living Stereo) / Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Lieutenant Kije and Stravinksy's Song of the Nightingale (RCA Living Stereo) / Abel /Steinberg - Beethoven Violin Sonata (Wilson Audio) / and Lowell Graham's Winds of War & Peace (Wilson Audio). Each reissue copy is priced at $450. The entire series is available by subscription and subscribers will pay for 11 titles and receive the 12th one free! Acoustic Sounds has enlisted Gus Skinas, of the Super Audio Center in Boulder, Colo., to handle the tape transfers, which are made using the Ampex Tape Machines in the control room at Blue Heaven Studios, here in Salina. For more than a year, at every trade show and on more and more phone calls and emails, our customers have hammered away with the same request: “When are you going to start selling tape?!” You spoke, we listened. We know tape's advantages: greater dynamic range, especially at frequency extremes; minimal signal processing; and unsurpassed richness and realism — it's the closest to hearing the master tape. You're going to be blown away when you experience playback of our Ultra Tape reissues from Analogue Productions! Order your subscription today! Karen Krecklow Subscriptions Manager [email protected]

!

[squasher]

After spending months trying to imagine what the possibilities were going to be, I am extremely disappointed by the titles that have been announced....

sorry to say it....

[MylesBAstor]

After spending months trying to imagine what the possibilities were going to be, I am extremely disappointed by the titles that have been announced....

sorry to say it....

Could you expand on your statement?

[astrotoy]

Just the opposite for me. I am very pleased with the quantity and quality of the classical titles. Very happy that Chad was able to get the permission on the RCA titles. Have no idea about the Rickie Lee Jones and Hugh Masakela titles. Don't know about Ben Webster, except for the Jacintha album "Here's to Ben" which I have on R2R.

I know where my next $5K is going. Larry

[allenh]

Those are great titles in my book! Breaking Silence and Hope are great albums, and the classical titles are to die for IMO!

Now which kidney should I sell...

[Rob]

Kidney? I was wondering which one of my boys would fetch more agreed, they are great titles and at the very least a GREAT start.

[Boblaclune]

They have the first two titles , Breaking Silence and Gentle Ben at RMAFright now in limited stock

[MylesBAstor]

I'm just curious whether too heavy on classical, not enough jazz, etc?

BTW, Gentle Ben is an amazing recording and if you can't get the tape definitely get the LP.

[squasher]

Yes, I'm sure those are fantastic Classical Titles and will sound fabulous. In all likelihood, I'll buy a number of the tapes in the collection.

Bottom line: I was hoping for some classic rock and was anticipating at least a few titles in the catalog....

When it was announced that Chad was getting into the fray (and had "access to all the great music"), perhaps I was expecting too much.

[MylesBAstor]

Yes, I'm sure those are fantastic Classical Titles and will sound fabulous. In all likelihood, I'll buy a number of the tapes in the collection.

Bottom line: I was hoping for some classic rock and was anticipating at least a few titles in the catalog....

When it was announced that Chad was getting into the fray (and had "access to all the great music"), perhaps I was expecting too much.

I understand where you are coming from. When Chad and I talked in April, I mentioned he needed a blockbuster rock title (s). I wouldn't discount some eventually down the line. Me thinks the issue is that the rock titles are the hardest to obtain and probably the most expensive to license. To boot, Chad may want to see that the project takes off before committing the money necessary to secure blockbuster titles. Perhaps some of the rock titles that Chad already reissued on LP like The Doors LA Woman, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Yes Fragile or Cat Stevens TFTT might have been a good place to start.

No classical lover can be upset with the four RCA titles Chad chose especially Kije (actually Song of the Nightingale on the B-side) and Scheherazade. And I'd be happy with a copy of the RLJ tape! Chad's LP reissue is certainly a keeper.

[rockitman]

I pre-ordered 4 titles. I hope they are ccir eq. No mention on the website.

[MylesBAstor]

I would assume so. All the new tapes, save for the Groove Notes or ones that you can choose, are IEC EQ. But I'll double check for you when I see Chad later this week.

[Joe Pittman]

Acoustic Sounds web site indicates they are IEC equalization.

[Madfloyd]

I like the titles and would love to own them. Of course he doesn't seem to be selling an actual tape deck so the tapes won't do me any good.

[Bruce B]

I wish them the most success.

[Johnny Vinyl]

This is obviously awesome news for many tapeheads and it's nice to see at least a few non-Jazz or Classical titles. Chad I'm sure will do a great job and these tapes should be of the highest standard....well, they better be at the price.

However, I have a beef (surprise)....well, not so much a beef as a disappointment.

The vast majority, and I mean vast by miles, of tape owners don't have 15ips capability. Why is only that segment being paid attention to? Yes, I know about quality and such, so I don't need an explanation as to the attributes of 15ips versus slower speeds, but why not put out 7.5ips as well? Does the industry not think such a market exists?

[MylesBAstor]

I think it's a matter of time and demand. There's only so many machines for duping (I think TTP has six and Chad will have six) and the 15 ips tape production take them up full time. I would take a look at the Horch House website though. They are producing both 71/2 and 15 ips tapes.

[JCOConnell]

Is this the last time you guys are going to buy those RCA titles?

[JCOConnell]

This is obviously awesome news for many tapeheads and it's nice to see at least a few non-Jazz or Classical titles. Chad I'm sure will do a great job and these tapes should be of the highest standard....well, they better be at the price.

However, I have a beef (surprise)....well, not so much a beef as a disappointment.

The vast majority, and I mean vast by miles, of tape owners don't have 15ips capability. Why is only that segment being paid attention to? Yes, I know about quality and such, so I don't need an explanation as to the attributes of 15ips versus slower speeds, but why not put out 7.5ips as well? Does the industry not think such a market exists?

I agree, a real time mastered 7.5 ips tape can sound quite good indeed. Much better than the mass produced high speed copied tapes of old.

[astrotoy]

This is obviously awesome news for many tapeheads and it's nice to see at least a few non-Jazz or Classical titles. Chad I'm sure will do a great job and these tapes should be of the highest standard....well, they better be at the price.

However, I have a beef (surprise)....well, not so much a beef as a disappointment.

The vast majority, and I mean vast by miles, of tape owners don't have 15ips capability. Why is only that segment being paid attention to? Yes, I know about quality and such, so I don't need an explanation as to the attributes of 15ips versus slower speeds, but why not put out 7.5ips as well? Does the industry not think such a market exists?

I think the question for Chad will be what is the difference in cost for him to do 1/4" tape at 7.5IPS (NAB eq) in real time vs. 15ips. And most important, what is the market for such tapes. Also I think the vast majority of tape machines that Johnny is talking about are 4 track stereo machines (that is the tapes are recorded in both directions), rather than 2 track machines. So one would only have 1/4 the amount of signal on the tape compared with 15ips 2 track and there are issues with bleed through from the signal coming from the other direction.

If one compares the tape price (since the labor is about the same) of a 1200' foot reel of 1/4" tape, vs. a 2500' foot reel of 1/2" tape, it is about $25-35 per reel. That means for a 2 reeler (most of Chad's announced titles are 2 reelers) the differential cost would be about $50-70. So If that were applied to the retail price, a 7.5in 2 track album (2 reels) would price out at $380 per album, vs. $450 per album for the 15ips 2 track.

If Chad were to make 7.5ips 4 track stereo tapes, the labor would be at least the same (having to flip over the tapes to record the second side, all in real time) or he would have to get 4 track heads and machines the record simultaneously in both directions (like the prerecorded 4 track stereo tapes used to be made - only in real time rather than sped up multiple times). It would take a major investment in equipment to have enough machines to get the price down, which I think would be a necessity for regular non 15ips tape machine owners.

Larry

[Johnny Vinyl]

Thanks for that explanation Larry!

[MylesBAstor]

Good point. But there are 2-track and the Technics machines for instance can do 2 and 4-track tapes.

I think HH is 2-track 71/2 ips.