Thanks everyone - interesting responses.  Seems the consensus is the flexibility that digital provides far outweighs any supposed sonic advantage provided by the tape medium.  How much time we used to spend doing things that are now so simply done on a computer.  Shows how far we have come with our new tools.  I had forgotten about the "album art" aspect though (thanks Bob Bone!) - as I recall double albums  also came in handy for "deseeding" purposes :)  By the way, the Otari went up for auction yesterday.  Sold in 4 hours.  I assume they already have the head cleaner, demagnetizer, isopropyl alcohol, splicing tape, empty reels, cotton swabs  - - - and tape.

Technically no, I'm glad tape is mostly dead.
 
Only one thing I miss....
When you rewound the tape you sometimes had time to have a conversation with the band and have a little break, it felt more civilized.
 

robert_e_bone
 
I would say that the ONE thing about that whole era I TRULY miss with all my heart and soul is 'Album Art'.  I spent MANY evenings lost under the headphones while quite stoned, staring deeply into the beautiful imagery of Roger Dean and listening to Yes or Jon Anderson's Olias of Sunhillow.
 

Wow...   spot on, Bob.    In fact, I still have them all (including Olias) on vinyl.  
 

As a hobbiest, my tape experience was not with reel to reel, just a Fostex 4 track cassette prota-studio. I had fun, but would never want to go back. As I was sequencing using harware synths and drum machiens one track was lost to the sync track effectivly leaving three tracks for recording and bouncing.
 
 
 
 

I think if anything I am glad I lived through the tape era because it makes recording with the tools we now have sooooo easy. Not a day goes by that I am not thinking about how any given task would have taken day's and day's and $$$$ for the materials needed. It is so frigging cheap now we are spoiled beyond reason. I don't want to hear any whining from you young whipper snappers now. 
 
Every time the world of computers screws up I curse it because of the wasted time sorting things out, but most of this is my time and rarely costs anything in the way of cash but, that said, when your tape machine screwed up it was $$$$$. And you really did have to know what the f your were doing. 

About using tape, I had a better feel of control.  In SONAR I can't really slow down the playback or swing the tape across the heads manually.  Although the digital realm gives us unbelievable options and abilities, back then you had to be more creative or inventive at times.  And that lent itself to discoveries of technique and sound.  So, even though it was a challenge, it was also rewarding...More so, because it was something you actually did (physically) as opposed to clicking and dragging and the like in an interface.  It was like you actually made something in the process of recording and mixing.  That made it fun.
 
Kind regards,
 
tecknot

Those who clamor for the superiority of tape are nothing but elitists. The most I can afford would probably be an 8-track machine. Yes, there is something to be said about analog warmth, but everything else is just nostalgia and a way to feel superior to everyone else. There's no way I could record the music I want to with just 8 tracks.

tecknot
About using tape, I had a better feel of control.  In SONAR I can't really slow down the playback or swing the tape across the heads manually.  Although the digital realm gives us unbelievable options and abilities, back then you had to be more creative or inventive at times.  And that lent itself to discoveries of technique and sound.  So, even though it was a challenge, it was also rewarding...More so, because it was something you actually did (physically) as opposed to clicking and dragging and the like in an interface.  It was like you actually made something in the process of recording and mixing.  That made it fun.
 
Kind regards,
 
tecknot

Ever tried scrubbing? With a Mackie Control it works nicely. 

I still use a Tascam MSR24 because of the sound and it's only a 1". For me there definitely is a big difference in sound of tape being superior. As far as hiss, it has Dolby and I don't hear hiss especially with all the other noise introduced like a guitar amp, preamps or microphone etc. And certain things seem easier and more strait forward recording to tape. I mean, your not going to be tweaking a performance after the fact. Either it's a good performance or its not.

That being said, a good performance or song or what ever is still good wether it's tape or digital and I enjoy a lot of the computer tools and recording.

Oh, and the whole razor blade thing? I never did it. If it's bad, do it again.

I'm glad I got an appreciation for the technology and process during the tape days. It makes me more tolerant. About today's digital technology especially when something goes wrong with software. But do I want to go back to tape. No way, no thanks!