MASTER TAPES: Where to find them 

Woohoo! I've been waiting for this to drop

I find that the alignment of the machines and the tape formulation has everything to do with how the final copy is going to sound. You can have the recording machine aligned perfectly for SM900 and use the same machine aligned for Ampex 456, and those two copies will sound worlds apart. That is something that you cannot change. Each tape formulation has a unique musicality that is different from the next. This is why different artist will use different tape formulations due to the way the tape compresses, its high end smoothness and its low end response. It's not to say that one will have more bass over the other or high end for that matter, it's how that bass and high end is translated. Tom Scholz of Boston loves 3m 250. That was one of the tape formulations that was available when I was aligning analog multitracks in the New York Studios in the late 70's to early 80's. Ampex 456, to my ears, has a much more musical high and mid frequency response. SM900 is an actual high output tape that will accept more level, yet it sounds less musical. SM911 is more like Ampex 456, in that it is a +6 tape and compresses better than SM900. In order for you to compress SM900, you need to push lots of signal onto the tape since it is a +9 tape in the same family as the Ampex GP9. All of the master tape companies that are out in the market selling copies of masters that at the time of the artist recording session was probably done on a +3 or a +6 tape (Ampex 406 and 456 respectively.) These companies are transferring these recordings onto high output tapes that require more signal. When you don't hit analog tape at the required fluxitivity, the recording will sound sterile. Playback equipment is similar in the sense that most high end "home" machines are not designed to handle the high output of a tape in a clean manner. Guaranteed that if you played back a quarter inch 2 track high output master on a Teac 2000M and you setup playback levels correctly, you will still have distortion from the head windings as they are not designed to handle the high output of a "hot" tape. Same goes with Pioneer, some Studers, Technics and other brands. The reason that these companies use high output tape to make master copies is to reduce adding the self noise from the final master that is shipped to your house. They crank the level above noise floor in order to mask some of the noise. I would prefer to deal with a bit of noise/hiss and obtain a nice, fat sounding transfer from their 3rd generation master which are probably made using high output tape as well. Ampex 456 or SM911 @ +6, instead of SM900 or Ampex GP9 @ +9 any day. It will sound more musical.

19:00, I remember they did "chasing the dragon" direct to disc recording! Glad to see they put it to tape!

Thanks for clarifying the differences between "Session" and the various types of "Master" tapes! I'd often thought - As no doubt many others did too - That the "Master" was the one recorded in the studio by the artist! :-D In today's world of high-bandwidth media though (Whether digital or analogue) it seems strange they don't offer mini versions/copies of the session tapes for audiophile use. I can think of many albums across a wide range of genres where the "Master" mix has been done pretty badly and I'd like to be able to raise/lower the level of different channels per my own listening preferences! :-)

Good info here. Many tapes that one finds on eBay seem to be falsely billed as one would often expect from packaging alone. That isn't to say that there are not second generation masters from which actual LPs were cut, but those are more rare and usually have, as noted, hand-written as well as corporate production info sheets. Even so these could be duplicated making them another generation down. It seems to me that if one wants his favorite music on R2R there's a couple of paths. One would be to set up the best analog front end for vinyl and then painstakingly dub those tracks to the tape. Another would be to buy the HD version of a recording and then use a very good digital to analog converter, again painstakingly dubbing these tracks to tape. To preserve the best of the recording itself the tape should be high quality and the bias and eq on the deck should be set for optimal results. Lastly the ultimate warmth and beauty of the R2R sound will be directly affected by track width, tape speed, and the quality of the electronics of an otherwise solid tape deck. If this sounds like an even greater degree of commitment than establishing a top vinyl playback chain it is. I think that is part of the lure. It gets you involved quite deeply to make a really stellar R2R tape. That said one can enjoy all the fiddling and care every time that tape is cued up for a fair number of years into the future. I first started making dubbed R2R tapes as a 12-year old child. Crudely at first by recording radio shows actually using Radio Shack Shure clone mics placed in front of speaker with quilts over the speakers and microphones. The fun of it hooked me, but I had to progress quickly to rec out jacks and pre-amp level in to the tape recorder. That became the process I used from the early seventies up until about 1981. By then I went through 2 decks, an initial Wollensak and in 1976 an Akai. I had to chunk the Akai in about 1985 as it ceased to function well (probably belts but I actually threw it away). I even Dolby B encoded my tapes with an outboard Teac unit which sat above the Akai. Now, many years later, I'm jumping in again. I bought a crackerjack Pioneer R1020L.

When you hear of digital recordings transferred to tape, it's done purely for creative purposes to impart the analog characteristic in the recording.

Love finding obscure master tapes especially of unknown bands. I have a few on my page.

Thanks for that, trying to decide whether to buy from some sellers in Italy and your info has helped. Besides the sound a good reel to reel ( e.g. my Tascam BR20T) they look magic, even when just sitting there. However, prices are getting crazier by the day. The comments re your sniffles and camera angle are fair but you are putting great FREE info out there so many thanks from me . Keep up the good work.

@starlightgrecording559 Anadialog Master Tapes*** Gerard Stroh!!! I Was Impress of the Sound of Your Copy of Miles Davis Kind of Blue!!! It Blow My Mind and it Sounded Better an the one You Had to Pay For!!! Ether Though Your VU Meters Were in the Red Your Studer Reel to Reel Was Still Clean Anadialog*** Is Your Studer open Reel to Reel A Class A Machine on Record and Reproduce on the Electronics*** Your Master Copy Kin of Blue Sounded Awesome!!!!

Ho boy , thumbs up already , WOW !!!

Session tapes are very hard to find. They are locked in the vault by the major record companies to be set on fire at a later date.

I like Analogy records also from Italy. Yes I know the analog tape is sourced from the digital mixing console but the quality is superb and the overall package is really nice if you go with the metal reels :-)

Hello my friend, thank you for your amazing video. I'm a big fan of American Jazz, and i would like to know what i need to do to initiate my journey on the fantastic world of Master Tapes? Can you tell me what i need to buy first ? I love Frank, Nat, Bing, Russ, Al and lot of the old American Crooners. If i could hear Sinatra, Nat or Bing with this tapes, i felt just like be in heaven. Sorry about my poor English. Thanks again!!!

wow! i wouldnt have imagined there were so many sellers.

A 60 year old lady gave me her dad's stuff hundreds of tapes, 71/2, 3, 2, and old production equipment, Sony mic, mixer, all reel to reel, all the reels are either sound stage and Thoro test, he directly recorded the whole woodstock, I have it. So far I heard Arlo Guthrie, Crosby stills and Nash, Joe cocker, I'm hoping I have Joplin and hendrix.

I have the IPS15 analog transfers of pink floyd albums, and the sound is outstanding. Even better then the 2.0 stereo of the 2011 remasters and other bluray mixes.

Wow! Very interesting video indeed if a little off-putting for the average audio enthusiast due to the high cost. I must say that when you see 'From the Russian Federation' in an Ebay ad that usually means hokey stuff. PS hope the cold goes soon...

This information is very informative thank you very much can you also tell me where you can get blank 10 1/2 inch real tapes

What about a copyright? Are all those copies on ebay legal? I mean not a boxed set, but a card boxes with handwritten hieroglyphs.. If I buy some, make a copy for myself, and then sell it back on ebay, will this cause some problems?

4/ ALBUM MASTERS. Also it would be nice to discuss the UMG fire in LA in 2008 that destroyed masters...is it possible that those destroyed could be copies or something else.

Traveling in 2019 I met a Croatian with direct access to Yugoton Safety Masters I have bought 4 Agfa reels of Costello and one BASF reel I have lists of available albums !

I’m just here to say, what a cool RU-vid channel name! But i’ll watch some videos too.

There may also be master tape As was used to produce pre-recorded cassette tapes

When I listen to a good quality record, I always envision the master tape running in my head! When I listen to a CD it's different, not that I'm saying its bad because it's not! It's just something about the LP that sounds like a tape! I just love analogue tape, there's nothing like it!

Sadly the Universal Fire (Hollywood) in 2008 ..killed more than 170.000 original master-audio-tapes from various artists all over the world....

lordy i'd love to find an actual master tape copy of Verve's "Conrad Salinger Orchestra-A lovely afternoon" in stereo! there are many LP2CD copies on the web that have subpar sound quality. i have it on good authority that the master tapes still exist in southern california. i'd also like to know what local recording studios can and will do dubbing of master tapes onto CDR.

Another name to buy copy master tapes, Horch House , amazing Juan Carlos

You are in your element here, teaching, keep it up and the masters are rediculous. I had a pioneer 707 and I'm looking for another reel to reel, I want a 15ips deck and they are harder to find, but I'm just looking for a great deck at this point. I saw a Teac x10R, which isn't 15ips, but what suggestions would you have for me?

The problem is also that the record companies can use different mixes for different releases. . an example is sound technicians say we make the recording so that it will also sound good on a cheap boombox. or cheap stereo. results they make in mixing specifically for it. reel to reel tape was probably never for someone with a cheap stereo that might be why they sound better in many ways. It's different with CDs and cassette tapes. perhaps apart from CDs published from 1985 to 1990. because then CD players were expensive and those who bought CD players had more expensive stereos

Great video, thanks

Smart audio recording lab from Russia not bad too. Price around 200 euro.

Cant wait to watch it :-)))

Hi, two labels from Russia to explore: Zavalinka Records and SmartAudio Recording Lab....

Very good video and a lot of information. I have several copies of master tapes and looking to buy more. The prices are a little ridiculous for most of them, but every once in a while I find some at a reasonable price. Most of new tapes are IEC eq. How will the playback on NAB machine affect the sound quality?

What about pre-recorded albums on open reel that they used to sell back in the day, 7.5 ips? How would you compare that to a digital format?

I have session tapes (3 boxes) for a Rosemary Clooney album from the 70s. Any ideas where I can sell them? I had a studio transfer a copy onto ProTools for me few years ago...lol

i saw the web, but at this moment i cant buy (prices and ignorance) one R2R but i saw the Live in Berning BBB and i bought it in Amazon Music. Amazing modern jazz, I recommend to listen for free in a sample or in youtube, Very very good, just saying

ABC is a Chinese company located in HongKong.

There doesn't seem to be much information out there about session tapes. Could you make a video specifically about them? Such as why they are two inches width compare to master tapes, do they run at 15 ips or 30 ips, and what kind of machine can they be played on etc..

I recently came across a collection of tapes. Not sure what to do with them or how to determine the value.

All that you say in this remarkable video is absolutely true. As you say, too, the real problem is the insane prices of: a) Machines; and b) Tapes themselves. Time has gone by and this excellent sound system is now a "Sleeping Beauty" waiting for a kiss of many, many dollars to wake up. By the way: IPI Records sound fantastic. Throu High Def Tape Transfers I was able to buy two albums (in hi-res digital) via Internet. They are among the best of the best sounding I have in my music library.

I wonder who owns jackson 5 Michael jackson session tapes?

There was a 2 inch Whitney Houston session tape for sale on eBay about a year ago. It went for $500 I believe. It was one of her more obscure B-side tracks I believe. I should have snagged it even though I don't have a 24 track machine to play it back on.

Hey, is there a lot of difference between a original reel-to-reel and the original master tape?

Um, when I recorded my engineer referred to the original (16 or 24 track in my case) as *the* master tape. Anything else is a mixdown copy. 'Master' usually mean first generation.

Im torn on this. Spend a crazy amount of money on a 2 track player but the reel choices out there are extremely slim. I may just pass on this whole ordeal and stick with my 4 track player.

Unfortunately, there are probably artists that you unfortunately can not get real analog sound from. especially not artists who became popular in the 2000s

So if I get like the OTARI mx 5050 lll-2 can that playback record mastered at 30 ips or

How is it legal to sell copies of a master tape? Isn't that the same as copying a CD and selling it??

I think the reels the tape is spooled onto is calls the "flanges"!

Hi can you play a 30ips copy on any tape deck or do you have to have a tape deck that can play and record at 30 ips thanks

Amazon and Flipkart sell link

Scusa, ma come fai a riprodurre delle copie di sessione che sono multitraccia? Il downmix come lo fai?

So I’ve been speaking to many R2R enthusiasts on Facebook groups and they say 80% of eBay tapes are fake including those that say copied from master, 1st gen, production etc. hand written box and tape notes means nothing. Seems like it is really hard to know what is genuine

Could.really use opinion and help,on some master I found

Or you could just listen to K2 HD Discs ...cheaper alternative that's for sure and excellent qaulity

Could you also do a video on how to re-issue songs or records?

I'll just stick with cassettes (under $10) on my vintage 1980 yamaha K1000 deck.

Is it possible to digitalise a master tape to a hi res file, then make a copy of the master tape from the hi res file? sorry if this is a bad question.

dumb question but why are the record companies selling their masters or even their session tapes?

I have some 1:1 Transfers or EQed Master Copies (early to mid 80ies) from a recording studio, and came to realize that they are worth nothing but the price of the metal spool...

have you ever checked out tannoy the speaker company in Scotland they're supposed to sell master tapes real to reel

I think it would be nice if you said something as an End Quote in your videos, which softens the pure technology focus. For example: "And remember, the most important thing is: enjoy the music!" I think that would be very sympathic!

what happened whit the mic are you recording birds :_)))))

What turntable do you use???

Session tapes? 9/10 Nobody is getting those for any price. If they are around, they are stolen.

Привет любителям магнитной ленты)!

is it not possible that albums were actually released on reel to reel tape in the 70's and 80's?

Nice video :-)

i like Master Tapes that i can removed the Lead Vocals,,so that i can Sing and Jum for it,is it possible my idea?

I've been told listening to the master tapes is almost like hearing a recording for the first time. _If true? I want to get my hands on Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side'!_ (thats one reason I envy Joe Biden. He can listen to that LP or CD every day, and it's *ALWAYS* the first time) 🤣

Once, You linten to "It" from A820 or Tascam 32 or Teac 35-2T, You can Never Go Back to HD Digital.

Is there such things as dvd masters?

I've seen some pink floyd master tapes available on ebay.

Sorry, no master tapes are for sale. Masters are kept under lock and key. What is sold is 2 nd generation masters or alternative mixes. And record companies today really keep them hidden away. A lot of them after 1967 will be Dolby A encoded. All you will get is a safety copy or a vinyl production copy. You will know it's real by the slices. But the word "master" refers only to the two or one track mix down from the muti-tracks.

So many sellers and each one of then sells ORIGINAL.

Are modern "remastered" albums usually sourced from session tapes?

Nice...fantastic. help me to find a good tape machine.

are these 2 tracks or 4? thanks.

Can the eBay master tapes be trusted ?

4:00 Hehe, Jugoton...😂👍

2:21 Rudy Van Gelder! (RVG)

Notice that every tape on eBay had zero bids, no bids at all on all those tapes lol.

You mean with "fake", someone played a CD onto a 15 ips - quarter inch tape

🤯

Need your help brother. I may have found treasure.

Mark Walderp has an article in which he notes one label that is making tapes from digital mixes www.realhd-audio.com/?p=5613

In recording a master is the 2 track to where you mix down the multitrack. So a true master tape would be that original 2 track tape : )

Have you got a cold???

Boomin

How can a copy be a master tape?

ABC records in Chinese not Japanese

Clean you NOSE! I had to shut it down!

Fucking universal music group lost all the artists tapes

"Ka-TEG-oh-ree"? Hope you are over the sniffles, too.

Get the microphone out of the frame... There is literally a shadow on your face Its very distracting and makes no audible difference from your other videos

nice mic with some random bloke ;/

I doubt if ANY master tape you buy is anything close to a 4th generation copy. Original masters are mixed down to 1/2" full track 30ips dolby 'A' encoded. Any copy you may get is never a one to one copy-- usually several machines are dubbing at once-- nothing wrong with that.

Great content. But please adjust your camera angle. There's a reason no one else puts the camera above the face. It's because very few enjoy looking inside your nose every time your look up. No one really wants to look up your nose the whole video. Lol. Please!!!

Ppl who use digital files on analogue tapes and vinyl, should be punished!! At least 10 years in jail, MINIMUM!!🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬😎😎