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Several years ago I acquired a dozen or so London 4-track classical tapes duplicated in 1959-1960 by Ampex. Most are Ansermet/Suisse Romande recordings that are of Decca/UK origin. All sound absolutely gorgeous, a reminder of how good the format can be if the tape is in physically good shape. Currently listening to Debussy Images on LCL 80085.It always seemed to me that the earlier Ampex duplications (from 1959 to around 1963) sounded better than the later, and am wondering whether they changed their duplication speed along the way.
Edits: 12/06/14 12/06/14 12/06/14Follow Ups:
Those generally sound better than the later ones which were sold through the Columbia House tape club (which eventually became the only way to buy them). The later ones were still manufactured by Ampex, or at least they say that they were. They are easy to spot because they have white labels. They still sound good, but the early ones are better. As time went on and sales dropped, they were duplicated at higher and higher speeds.
the advantage to the later tapes is that were duplicated on polyester-base tape, meaning they stored and aged well. i believe, though, they were duplicated at a higher speed.
I've heard a couple of these and own one, both blue label, and they're severely overloaded, Especially the Rite of Spring, where the bass distorts big-time and makes them pretty much unlistenable. Too bad. I love the performances ... on vinyl.
I've never heard that one. I've found that the early duplications in the plain card boxes are better than the later ones, i.e. those in the dark blue or black boxes.
You're correct, though. There are some pretty miserable sounding 4-track tapes.
nt
all the best,
mrh
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