How cool would this be? A few years ago, I lobbied hard for ATR to make a 1.0 mil "Classic" tape to complement (not replace) their existing "Master" tape as an effort to be a little more inclusive to us home hobbyists who prefer the long play tapes but also want ATR quality. PYRAL LPR-35, the only 1.0 mil tape still in production is of unstable supply and is of so-so quality. Old tapes such as Maxell, are only available on Ebay, usually at exorbitant prices and many of us reelers resent having to turn to private sellers to keep our decks going. This is where you can enter the picture. If you were to make a tape like this and with the same care you put into "Master", it would blow away any other tape out there including Maxell XLI and Quantegy 457.
I once spoke on the phone direct with the late Mike Spitz and he was not at all receptive to this idea and made it clear to me that he thought very little of home hobbyists such as us. I really urge ATR to at least give this idea [a] fair second look in light of the companies new leadership. There is a lot of untapped potential here....if it's done it right and not half baked. A lot of us do like flair, style, and substance where modern technology meets Old School aesthetics.
They were already almost there when, for a time, their tape came in these beautiful printed setup boxes. ATR even went so far as to include as a backdrop, a stylized rendition of a Sony type reel, even though I think there are only maybe a dozen of those actual style reels with the ATR emblem in existence. On a hunch, I suspect that this style I'm showing here reel would have far more appeal, since it seems to rank second only to that of the Maxell Double M as far as favorites amongst us tapeheads. The Maxell could never be duplicated or borrowed by any other brand, but the "Coke Bottle" is a timeless, venerable style. Because it was used by many different brands, that also affords us the creative license that the Maxell reel can't. This is a brief, crude rendition I drew up to show what such a reel could look like. Have these reels made up, your logo stamped on it, load it up with your famous thick tape that's almost overflowing out of the reel (a-la 3M # 996) but 3600', and bring back your gorgeous blue boxes. I realize that it would not be cheap as far as retail price, but if you saw what people are paying for old Maxell tapes and how often, your jaws would drop. Just for comparison, I have included a second rendition of a slightly different style reel that leans a little more towards the "pro" style, but could still pass for a "home hobbyists" type.
Give this some thought. We are not out to unseat your existing product and we know that professional studios and home hobbyists are different breeds. And you could capture both segments. And make a little money too, to say nothing of how thrilled many of us would be since we could tell the Ebay sellers "ta-ta" once and for all.
I know that many of us would love a lower priced tape that we could stock up on in a second. I'm sure all of us would, but economic realities of 2015 make that a highly unlikely possibility for something like this. The purpose of my proposal isn't necessarily an attempt to drive down prices per se, although it may have that effect to a limited degree if you factor in what tape and similar style reels frequently sell for a-la carte. Maxell's usually go for anywhere from $75-$100 ea and I'll posit a guess that ATR's retail price for "Classic" would likely be in the same ballpark. $24.99 ain't happening. Ever. Get that idea out of your head now. However, with "Classic Tape", the benefits are 1) quality that's at minimum, on par with Maxell and at most, far superior to it. 2) is fresh and modern tape. Even the "newest" Maxells are now approaching two decades in age and their lines of ownership (and storage) are hazy and lost. So with this idea, you'll get the best of both worlds: fresh, modern, and very high performance tape sold new from a trusted, still-in-the-business entity while still retaining the Old School look and feel that comes from buying NOS. And this tape, if it ever came to fruition, would kill off a good chunk of the Ebay market. You'll never eliminate it completely since there will always be spendthrift types out there content with buying $5 used Scotch 150's and Maxell LN's. But this proposal would not draw appeal to them anyway, so it's largely moot.
I am just now setting in motion a preliminary and exploratory exercise to "test the waters". This idea took life on Facebook, but I am spreading it out from there.
So if this were really available, would you buy it?
I once spoke on the phone direct with the late Mike Spitz and he was not at all receptive to this idea and made it clear to me that he thought very little of home hobbyists such as us. I really urge ATR to at least give this idea [a] fair second look in light of the companies new leadership. There is a lot of untapped potential here....if it's done it right and not half baked. A lot of us do like flair, style, and substance where modern technology meets Old School aesthetics.
They were already almost there when, for a time, their tape came in these beautiful printed setup boxes. ATR even went so far as to include as a backdrop, a stylized rendition of a Sony type reel, even though I think there are only maybe a dozen of those actual style reels with the ATR emblem in existence. On a hunch, I suspect that this style I'm showing here reel would have far more appeal, since it seems to rank second only to that of the Maxell Double M as far as favorites amongst us tapeheads. The Maxell could never be duplicated or borrowed by any other brand, but the "Coke Bottle" is a timeless, venerable style. Because it was used by many different brands, that also affords us the creative license that the Maxell reel can't. This is a brief, crude rendition I drew up to show what such a reel could look like. Have these reels made up, your logo stamped on it, load it up with your famous thick tape that's almost overflowing out of the reel (a-la 3M # 996) but 3600', and bring back your gorgeous blue boxes. I realize that it would not be cheap as far as retail price, but if you saw what people are paying for old Maxell tapes and how often, your jaws would drop. Just for comparison, I have included a second rendition of a slightly different style reel that leans a little more towards the "pro" style, but could still pass for a "home hobbyists" type.
Give this some thought. We are not out to unseat your existing product and we know that professional studios and home hobbyists are different breeds. And you could capture both segments. And make a little money too, to say nothing of how thrilled many of us would be since we could tell the Ebay sellers "ta-ta" once and for all.
I know that many of us would love a lower priced tape that we could stock up on in a second. I'm sure all of us would, but economic realities of 2015 make that a highly unlikely possibility for something like this. The purpose of my proposal isn't necessarily an attempt to drive down prices per se, although it may have that effect to a limited degree if you factor in what tape and similar style reels frequently sell for a-la carte. Maxell's usually go for anywhere from $75-$100 ea and I'll posit a guess that ATR's retail price for "Classic" would likely be in the same ballpark. $24.99 ain't happening. Ever. Get that idea out of your head now. However, with "Classic Tape", the benefits are 1) quality that's at minimum, on par with Maxell and at most, far superior to it. 2) is fresh and modern tape. Even the "newest" Maxells are now approaching two decades in age and their lines of ownership (and storage) are hazy and lost. So with this idea, you'll get the best of both worlds: fresh, modern, and very high performance tape sold new from a trusted, still-in-the-business entity while still retaining the Old School look and feel that comes from buying NOS. And this tape, if it ever came to fruition, would kill off a good chunk of the Ebay market. You'll never eliminate it completely since there will always be spendthrift types out there content with buying $5 used Scotch 150's and Maxell LN's. But this proposal would not draw appeal to them anyway, so it's largely moot.
I am just now setting in motion a preliminary and exploratory exercise to "test the waters". This idea took life on Facebook, but I am spreading it out from there.
So if this were really available, would you buy it?
