Anyone know a reputable reel to reel audio tape transfer service with prices that won't rip a hole in my wallet?
I have a 1" Ampeg studio mastering audio tape recording, (16 track 30 ips), and a 2" Ampeg studio mastering audio tape, (24 track 30 ips), from the late 80's early 90's. They've been stored since 1992.
 
I would like to salvage and restore these recordings and have all the tracks burned onto a DVD @ 24 bits for the current industry standard of digital mix-downs, (they were never finished but with Sonar I think I finally can).

I assume you mean Ampex. If so, it's probably 456 or 457. The black, "rubberized" backcoating on those tapes will come off in sticky shreds and gunk up the tape path of any machine you play them on (depending a little bit on if you stored them in any kind of climate-controlled setting). There is a technique, originally described by Ampex themselves, to "restore" the tape enough to play at least one time. It doesn't always work, and you have to assume you'll only get one chance -- that is, one pass over the heads, so no foolin' around. Set your levels as quickly as you can and transfer to digital format on the first pass. If the tape hasn't completely fallen apart by then and you need another pass to get a better level, lucky you.
 
Here's one recipe for doing it yourself. I can't vouch for the validity of that link. It might work, it might not. Here's a guy who says he can do it. I wouldn't want to try it myself if you can find someone who's pulled it off successfully.
 
I wish you the best, and I hope you'll come back and report on the results.

You're absolutely right. The ones I've researched "bake" the Apex 456 before transferring. There are a few folks out there and I was wondering if anyone knows of a reputable one. I'm thinking of going with these folks: http://www.precision-ar.com/index.htm#pro%20audio
 
But I want to always check my options. Thanks for your informative help.

I use Select Sound Studios in Buffalo NY (I live near there). The owner has done several transfers for me of tapes from old projects I'd done in the late 80s and never had an issue. He knows how to bake and then test the reels before transfer.
 
http://www.selectsound.com/

Steve Puntolillo is the man you want to talk to. His business - Sonicraft A2DX - is chock full of machines for just about every tape format you can imagine. He does meticulous work, I would trust him with my transfers if my tape decks ever fail.
 
His web site is http://www.sonicraft.com/. The company is located in Northern New Jersey (Freehold to be specific.)
 
And I know it sounds hokey, but feel free to tell him I sent you, pretty sure he no longer adds a surcharge for that<G>!

This thread is very timely.
 
I've got some old tapes (1" / 16-track / can't remember if 456 or other). I'd previously transferred these into my ADAT's approx. 10 years ago (and then from ADAT to my DAW). That was at 16/48, but I'd love to get 24/192 or 24/96 transfers. 
 
I'll need to get the tapes out and figure out what format they were, and hit up some of these recommendations.
 
 

I've heard of Steve actually. We were going to use him to transfer a pile of DATs from the early 90s. Ultimately my other source matched his prices so we stayed local.
 
DATS are a tricky transfer these days, it's pretty much a dead format and we've had the terrible luck of one of them getting "eaten" on our old machines a few years back.
 

http://www.lp2cd.com/

 
I've used them on some very old (1982) Masters and they did a GREAT job.   I trusted them and they came through 

Wow! Ask and you shall find....yous guys are gods. And I thought I would have to kiss my old masters goodbye. Thanks!

I heard from a former songwriting partner recently, and he has 2-inch 16-track tapes (analog) of some of our old projects from the early 80s recorded on -- you guessed it -- deteriorating Ampex 456 tape. The recordings were done professionally but the tapes haven't been well cared for. We're thinking it might be interesting to do modern mixes of some of the material. I know this is an old thread but I'm hoping my post today will bump it to the top so I can ask -- does anybody know of a transfer facility in the Los Angeles area who can do the "baking" and direct transfer to digital format? I'm searching Google but thought I'd check with y'all.
 
Thanks!