Quantegy
Encyclopedia
Quantegy Recording Solutions is a manufacturer of magnetic tape
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...
and professional external hard drives based in Opelika, Alabama
Opelika, Alabama
Opelika is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. According to 2010 Census, the population of Opelika was 26,477...
. Their tape products are primarily used in analog audio and video recording studios, but they also have some use with digital data storage
Data storage device
thumb|200px|right|A reel-to-reel tape recorder .The magnetic tape is a data storage medium. The recorder is data storage equipment using a portable medium to store the data....
devices and instrumentation recorders.
The company was created at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by Major John Herbert Orr
John Herbert Orr
John Herbert Orr was an Alabama entrepreneur who formed Orradio Industries, Inc., a high-technology firm that made magnetic recording tape....
as Orradio Industries. This was a result of the US Army requiring an American supplier of magnetic tape. Magnetic tape was a German invention and after the war, the German manufacturing ability was destroyed.
- In 1959, AmpexAmpexAmpex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
acquired Orradio Industries and it became the Ampex Magnetic Tape Division. - In 1995, Ampex divested this division, then called the Ampex Recording Media Corporation. This became Quantegy, Inc. which later changed its name to the current Quantegy Recording Solutions.
- In January 2005, having previously filed for bankruptcy protection, Quantegy closed its manufacturing facility in Opelika. This event received substantial media attention.
- On April 18, 2005, Quantegy resumed operations under new ownership.http://prosoundnews.com/articles/article_1908.shtml
- In January 2007, Quantegy announced that it will cease production of magnetic tape in April 2007 and is taking orders up until February 22. http://www.quantegy.com/DiscPR07.pdf The only remaining manufacturers of new magnetic tape for sound recording are RMGI and ATR Magnetics.
- In April 2007, Reel Deal Pro Audio purchased the majority of Quantegy's reel to reel audio tape and accessories and began to sell it on their web site Reel Deal Pro Audio. http://www.prosoundnews.com/article/14512
- In June 2007, Quantegy ceased sales of the FHD and Black Diamond FHD3 series of hard drive products to the professional audio recording industry.
As of 2009 Quantegy are working on reviving Quantegy 456 Studio Mastering Tape, Quantegy 499 Gold Studio Mastering Tape, GP9 Platinum Studio Mastering Tape, as well as the Black Diamond Series of products.
See also
- Reel-to-reel audio tape recordingReel-to-reel audio tape recordingReel-to-reel, open reel tape recording is the form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording medium is held on a reel, rather than being securely contained within a cassette....
- Audio tape length and thicknessAudio tape length and thicknessSince the widespread adoption of reel-to-reel audio tape recording in the 1950s, audio tapes and tape cassettes have been available in many formats. This article describes the length, tape thickness and playing times of some of the most common ones....
- Magnetic tape sound recordingMagnetic tape sound recordingThe use of magnetic tape for sound recording originated around 1930. Magnetizable tape revolutionized both the radio broadcast and music recording industries. It did this by giving artists and producers the power to record and re-record audio with minimal loss in quality as well as edit and...
- VideotapeVideotapeA videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
External links
- Corporate Homepage (Warning: mostly FLASH)
- NPR story on 2005 plant closing/bankruptcy
- Rolling Stone story on 2005 plant closing/bankruptcy
- More info on new ownership
- An old advertisement for Irish brand ferro-sheen tape.
- Reel Deal Offers Last Quantegy Tapes
