RTM Industry News - July 2026
If you’re passionate about music production, recording, mixing, or the craft behind great records and analogue sound, you won’t want to miss this!
We’re excited to announce our next event, taking place on October 9, 2026, in Amsterdam grab them while you can, tickets are already selling fast!
Our first confirmed speaker is Dom Monks, the acclaimed engineer and producer whose credits include Big Thief, Laura Marling, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Michael Kiwanuka, Paolo Nutini, Nick Cave, and many more.
Concert pianist Nicolas Van Poucke, described as "a true poetic pianist," will perform live while being recorded directly to analogue tape by Dom Monks. Immediately afterwards, the audience will experience a playback of the very same performance from the tape, offering a unique opportunity to hear the remarkable warmth, depth, and high-fidelity sound that analogue recording can capture.
Dom will be sharing insights from his career, his approach to making records, and the creative and technical decisions behind some of the most celebrated music of the past two decades.
And this is just the beginning.
We’ll be announcing the rest of the speaker lineup over the coming weeks, with more world-class producers, engineers, and artists joining us for a full day of conversations, learning, and community.
🕒 Date: October 9, 2026
📍 Location: Studio 150 - Amsterdam
Reserve your spot now and be among the first to experience what promises to be our biggest event yet: LINK TO TICKETS HERE
We can’t wait to see you in Amsterdam!
Check out last year’s RTM event on the links below 👇
RTM London 2025 on Instagram
AAA – Analogue Self-certification
We’re proud to introduce our logo design as a mark of analogue self-certification for your releases, inspired by the SPARS code system. These logos are intended for your own use, allowing you to self-certify your analogue releases. At a time when so much music is generated with little to no human involvement, giving your audience insight into your recording process can add a strong sense of authenticity to your work.
If your band is able to connect and record live to tape, it makes a powerful statement. It signals to listeners that what they hear is real, and that you’re a band capable of delivering that same quality in a live setting.
We announced the launch of the logos with the release of Middle Farm Sessions volume 4.
AAA- All analogue release.
AAD- Recorded analogue, mixed analogue, digital release.
ADA - Recorded analogue, mixed digitally, analogue release.
ADD- Recorded analogue, mixed digitally, digital release.
Rhino Records continues to grow its acclaimed reel-to-reel catalogue.
Rhino Records has continued to elevate the reel-to-reel renaissance throughout 2026 with an exceptional series of premium analogue releases, bringing some of the most celebrated albums in music history back to their original recording format. Following the success of the inaugural releases in late 2025, Rhino expanded its programme with a remarkable catalogue that includes Grateful Dead – Workingman's Dead, The Stooges – Fun House, Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly, Fleetwood Mac (1975), ZZ Top – Tres Hombres and Crosby, Stills & Nash's iconic self-titled debut….and there’s many more titles on the way in 2026 and 2027! The series has been widely praised by audiophiles and tape enthusiasts for delivering an authentic master-tape listening experience while helping to introduce a new generation to the unrivalled sound of analogue tape.
A key part of the programme's success is the manufacturing and duplication expertise of RTM (Recording the Masters). Every Rhino High Fidelity reel-to-reel release is duplicated by RTM in France using premium LPR90recording tape, produced to the same exacting standards trusted by recording studios around the world. Working from high-quality analogue production masters supplied by Rhino, RTM performs real-time duplication to preserve the dynamics, warmth and detail of the original recordings. The result is an audiophile product that offers listeners an experience remarkably close to hearing the original master tapes themselves.
The collaboration between Rhino and RTM represents a milestone for the modern analogue revival. It demonstrates that reel-to-reel is no longer simply a nostalgic format, but a thriving premium medium capable of showcasing legendary recordings with breathtaking realism. With carefully limited production runs, archival-grade packaging and uncompromising manufacturing standards, these releases have become highly sought-after collector's items. As the catalogue continues to grow, the partnership between Rhino Records and RTM is setting a new benchmark for high-end analogue music reproduction while reaffirming reel-to-reel tape as the ultimate format for discerning music lovers.
Stella Tapes
There is a moment — the instant the tape starts to roll — when everything else falls away. That is the only moment Stella Tapes is interested in.
We are a straight-to-tape recording company, and we mean that literally. From the microphones on stage to the Studer 827 capturing the performance, through mastering, to the first-generation copy that reaches your home, nothing digital ever touches the signal. No plug-ins. No "fix it later." No ctrl+Z. Every take is the take — which means every performance carries the tension, the risk, and the humanity of music made in real time, the way it was made before anyone thought to ask if it could be undone.
Our recordings happen live, in an intimate room, with an audience present — not isolated in a booth. We invite the artists to talk between songs, to tell the story behind the music, because that atmosphere is part of what gets captured to tape. It's also why no two listens of the room ever feel quite the same, and why the tape that results feels less like a recording and more like a memory you can play back.
This is what only tape can do, and it's why, gen after gen, tape is still the only medium where you don't just hear a performance — you feel it, in your own home, the way the room felt the night it happened.
Short cable runs. Vacuum tube and discrete analog electronics throughout. No noise reduction. Limited, numbered pressings that are never remastered, never reissued, never "improved." This is not a sound we're chasing — it's a discipline we hold, shared by only a handful of people left still doing it this way. Stella Tapes exists for the people who can tell the difference, and for whom that difference is the entire point.
Want to know more about Stella Tapes? Check the links below:
Reels on Wheels Tour
Earlier this year I was sitting in my office staring at a large whiteboard. Out of nowhere I stood up, grabbed a dry-erase marker, and sketched out a map of the U.S. with cities to visit for a newly minted idea I called Reels On Wheels.
For years we'd done the traditional trade show circuit: hundreds of people walking by, a few brief moments to explain our company and our restored tape machines before they moved on to the next booth. Lots of people. Very few real connections.
It was time to try something different.
Smaller cities. Smaller groups. Real conversations.
A few minutes later I had a 13-city route mapped out, a plan for a 90-minute live show, and an email off to Recording The Masters asking if they'd like to co-headline the tour.
But it had to be different.
We've all sat through long-winded product demos filled with slide decks and spec sheets. That wasn't the experience I wanted to create. Instead, I took inspiration from Ed Sheeran, who builds songs live on stage using looping pedals.
I wanted people to watch music come to life in real time while showing that analog tape machines are even more relevant today than when they were first built.
In each city we booked a local recording studio and rolled in two fully restored Mara Machines: a ¼-inch two-track and a ½-inch two-track, along with a full Pro Tools system, Focal monitors, and a large TV display. Rather than simply talking about tape, I pulled up real Pro Tools sessions and used the machines to add saturation, effects, created new exciting moments in songs, and finally mix processing across a variety of genres. Everyone could hear the changes immediately, ask questions, suggest ideas, and become part of the process instead of just watching another presentation.
What transpired exceeded all my expectations. We sold out events in nearly every city, added additional dates due to demand, and were treated to an endless stream of thoughtful questions, creative suggestions, and plenty of laughter. Night after night I was reminded that people don't just want to learn about tape, they want to experience it.
The response has been so overwhelming that we've already added another 12 U.S. cities beginning this September, with plans for a Northeast tour next spring. And who knows... maybe Europe too!
Whatever comes next, one thing is abundantly clear: the analog tape community is alive, well, and incredibly passionate.
Thank you to everyone who came out, shared your stories, asked great questions, and reminded me why we do this. Reels On Wheels has become one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and I can't wait to see where the road takes us next.
Recording Vundabar With Alex Garcia-Rivera
@Mystic Valley Studio
Long-time clients and friends VUNDABAR returned to Mystic Valley Studio to record an analog do-over of the song “I Need You” from their recently released digitally recorded album. The goal was to give the song a bit more vibe and emotion this time around, and to capture the changes that evolved during the many live performances throughout the tour that followed the release of the album.
The band arrived at 10am and after some setting up, we started getting sounds for the recording. We took some extra care checking phase, equalizing and compressing on the way to tape, so that when I mix, I put the faders up and I’m 90% there. The band was well rehearsed, having just completed a tour where they undoubtedly played this song most nights, and the band is so good that they were able to get the definitive version in just a few takes. The guitar was split into two rigs, each in their own isolation room, and the bass rig was also isolated in its own room, away from the drums. This allowed us to use drum room mics, without getting any bleed from the other instruments. Guitar, bass and drums were recorded live, with the musicians performing together in the same room. Vocals and a few overdubs were done afterwards.
I chose to use RTM SM911 for the session, and I ran it “hot” at 520 nWb/m (+9) so that it sounded more “tape-y” and saturated. This is about 3dB more than is recommended for this tape, but I recently discovered that it’s possible to work this way, the theory being that I don’t necessarily have to run my signal hot through the console… only the tape is being hit hard. I figure if it’s standard practice to calibrate to +6 and be pegging the meters anyways, I might as well make it official and cal to +9 and give those meter needles a break. It’s not for the faint of heart, but I digress…
The band came back for mixing, which was also done all analog, with no automation, to 2-track tape. I used SM911, but this time at the regular +6 operating level. I love mixing this way; you play the song over and over and make emotional reactions with each pass, refining along the way. With the band there in the room with me, all I have to do is to turn around and ask “do you like this?” and I get an immediate answer; I can immediately make a change and things start shaping up very quickly. Everyone in the room is involved and invested in the mix and there are rarely any revisions. It’s great!
I find working with tape more interesting and gratifying than the alternative. I like having a purpose-built machine capturing the sounds. I don’t like staring at screens, clicking a mouse, and “looking” at music. All my decisions are made purely with my ears and emotions. Tape offers plenty of editing options (punching in/out, razor edits/splicing) and the way I work, I don’t need more than that. With a limitation of 24 tracks, and limited reels of tape, we do not save a multitude of takes of ANYTHING. Decisions must be made immediately to keep or discard any take. I find that liberating. I don’t even LIKE most modern “rock” records… everything sounds fake and inhumanly played… because IT IS! Honestly, have you ever heard a well tuned snare drum in a nice sounding room, played by a person? It is a thing of beauty; each hit, subtly different from the last. This is exciting to the human brain. When we hear the same exact sound over and over, perfectly timed to a grid, the brain quickly understands it and stops paying attention. This is what samples and modern editing do to drums. The same applies to guitars and vocals. People are editing out the very thing that I connect with as a listener: the humanity. I want to hear fingers on strings, an exasperated singer running out of breath, dynamic drumming, imperfect human emotion. To me, the imperfections and limitations of analog tape add to this concept of keeping things “human” sounding. You can hear this in the Vundabar recording, and I suspect this is why they returned to Mystic Valley Studio to make an analog version of this song that they love.
Chris Taylor - Recording the Coral ‘388’
Watch the full behind the recording of the 388 album on YouTube
Setting out to record 388, we wanted to step away from modern digital tracking and channel the raw energy of Lee "Scratch" Perry’s dub plates and our favourite 1960s Joe Meek records - arguably the two biggest influences on The Coral’s sonic palate.
James (Skelly) suggested limiting ourselves to an 8-track machine, and the vintage Tascam 388 reel-to-reel became the literal heart and namesake of the record. To capture that deep-grooved Jamaican warmth without losing definition, we loaded it with RTM SM900 tape.The high-output SM900 provided the perfect foundation, delivering beautiful, natural tape compression and the rich low-end saturation needed for rocksteady basslines, all while keeping the band’s psych-pop textures crisp and clear.
The workflow at Liverpool’s Kempston Street Studios was fast and intuitive: we recorded the band live without headphones in the morning, overdubbed vocals before lunch, and mixed down each afternoon.Chasing the ghost of Perry's Black Ark studio meant there was no room for digital safety nets; every mistake, tape hiss, and bleed-through stayed in.Drums were captured on a single microphone, backing vocals were cut huddled around another. This workflow succeeded because the physical limitations of the tape forced us to rely entirely on vibe and performance. Combined with the band's phenomenal playing, the SM900 tape delivered an album that feels incredibly alive, cohesive, and proudly analog. It’s a record I’m super proud of.
Duplication.com
"We've worked with many different tape formulations since opening in 1989, and SM 900 has set a high standard for audio cassette duplication. Over the past few years, we've come to love its reliability and frequency response. Past audio tape suppliers have sent us pancakes that have been inconsistent in quality, and sometimes even a nightmare to work with. The consistency of SM 900 is world class, always extremely clean running without clogging the heads. We receive orders spanning every genre - from indie rock to metal to bass-heavy beats to high-frequency electronic music - and SM 900 has handled it all with ease."
Duplication.com is a subsidiary of Analogue Media Technologies, Inc. We've been in business since 1989 under the name Analogue Media Technologies Inc. (AMT), focusing on audio cassettes, compact discs, and print for musicians locally and abroad. As digital music distribution rose, we kept on manufacturing analog media, servicing merch tables worldwide. For three decades we've been the main source of physical media releases for artists, labels, and distributors alike. In 2024 we opened a plant in Cleveland, Ohio, solidifying our standing as a premier North American destination for high-quality media manufacturing.
What We Do
Duplication.com is a one-stop shop for artists, bands, labels, and distributors. If you have an album release on the horizon, we can provide all your manufacturing needs from beginning to end. We serve smaller bedroom artists to major record labels alike.
Audio cassette duplicationpre-recorded audio cassettes with stunning fidelity, fully customizable package, and in nearly one hundred different cassette shell colors.
Blank audio tapesaudio cassettes custom-loaded to your desired length for home duplication.
CD pressing replicated using professional industry quality glass masters or duplicated for short-run releases.
Vinyl pressingwith a minimum order of just 50 pieces, you can press your own vinyl with a wide variety of incredible color effects.
DVD, Blu-Ray, and VHSmanufacturing: we don't just specialize in audio --- we love home video media, from high-resolution to retro VHS throwbacks!
Print we have a massive printing press at our disposal, which allows us to manufacture high quality cover artwork as well as specialized custom jobs.
Packaging our online store has everything you need for DIY releases, distribution, and home collection upkeep.
Dealer Focus - Der Reparateur
Based in Winterthur, Switzerland, derreparateur.ch—run by Pascal Vogel—is a highly respected name among enthusiasts of classic hi-fi and analog audio equipment. Specializing in the repair and revision of vintage electronics, particularly ReVox and STUDER tape machines, the service is dedicated to giving high-quality, long-lasting devices a second life. This commitment to preservation and audio excellence explains his choice to officially resell and use RTM (Recording The Masters) tapes.
RTM, the successor to the legendary French tape manufacturer Pyral (formerly BASF and AGFA), produces newly formulated magnetic tapes specifically for professional and audiophile use. For a specialized repair service like derreparateur.ch, using RTM tapes is a logical decision. These modern tapes, such as the widely used SM911 and LPR35, are produced without the aging binders that caused the notorious "sticky-shed syndrome" in older tapes.
By using RTM tapes, derreparateur.ch ensures that the classic machines he meticulously restores—often involving the replacement of all electronic and mechanical components—can be precisely calibrated and tested with new, high-quality media that meets the original studio standards. This combination of expert revision and premium tape quality guarantees that customers can enjoy their revitalized vintage gear with optimal performance and reliable longevity.
Cassette Express
Cassette Express (operated by Side-B Creations Inc) offers a one-stop service for cassette tape production for major and independent labels as well as everybody. We handle everything from duplication to magnetic tape insertion, jacket and label printing, and packaging all in Japan. We stock over several thousands of cassette shells in a wide variety of hundreds of colors, including solid opaque, transparent, glitter, fluorescent, etc. Standard specifications can be delivered in 2-3 weeks. In response to customers who say, “Even if I buy cassettes, I don’t have a player to listen to them,” we also manufacture “portable cassette players” with original designs that can be printed on them.
Side-B Creations Inc operates the representative office for CASSETTE WEEK (formerly Cassette Store Day) in Japan. CASSETTE WEEK is an annual international event that calls attention to the usefulness of the cassette as a music format. Artists and labels who support our aim to promote cassette culture are invited to make an official entry for the 3rd week of October for a limited release on cassette.
The reason why we like RTM tapes is we offer a dedicated ‘Studio Pro for Music’ range designed for discerning artists. As for high-quality tapes, RTM tapes are stable, clear sound quality, this product boasts some of the finest sound quality available amongst currently manufactured standard tapes.
Rafal Jaskiewicz on the Sea Poetry Release
Studer A827 at Custom34 Studio, all the way through to RTM's duplication in France. Was a reel-to-reel release always the plan, or did it feel like a natural conclusion once you heard how the recordings sounded on tape?
Yes, right from the start we knew we wanted to record this album on analogue tape and that this method of recording would form the foundation of the entire project. From the outset, we also planned to release Sea Poetry in four formats: on CD, vinyl, via streaming, and on reel-to-reel tape. So the tape wasn’t an afterthought or an exclusive addition to the finished album — it was part of our original vision.
The very fact that the music was recorded entirely in analogue, from the very first sound right through to the final product, meant that the tape became, for us, the most complete way to present this album.
RTM have built a strong reputation in the reel-to-reel world. What was it actually like working with them? Did anything about the process or the communication surprise you?
Working with RTM was a unique experience for us. What surprised me most was their openness, commitment and very personal approach to the whole process. Right from the start, I felt that this wasn’t just a technical fulfilment of an order, but that there were people on the other side who truly understood the significance of this format and respected the music.
During my visit to RTM, I was met by the company’s director himself, who personally showed me round the premises. I also had the opportunity to see the tape-duplication process and witness just how much precision and attention to detail is required to prepare each copy. It was a very inspiring experience and allowed me to appreciate even more the sheer amount of work and expertise that goes into creating such a release.
The sea runs through this album as a metaphor for mystery and connection between humanity and nature. Do you feel analogue tape, with its warmth and physicality, is a better vessel for that kind of meditative music than a digital release could have been?
Yes, I definitely think that analogue tape complements the character of this music very well. What’s more, the very process of recording onto tape means that the musicians approach their performance in a completely different way. There’s always an awareness in the back of your mind that every moment counts — you have to be fully focused, present and give it your all, because there’s no possibility of endless retakes, splicing together multiple fragments or building a track from individual elements.
Of course, the very sound of the tape is also hugely important — its natural warmth, depth and the way it captures the dynamics of the instruments. I feel it helps the listener immerse themselves even further in this music. Even if someone is listening to the album via streaming, the character of the recording remains present.
With only 100 hand-numbered copies in existence, this is a genuinely rare object. When you received the finished tapes back from RTM and played them for the first time, what was that moment like? Did the result match what you'd imagined?
It was a truly special and emotional moment for us. Receiving the finished tapes was the culmination of the whole process — from the initial ideas, through the studio recordings, right up to the final production at RTM.
Interestingly, the first copies went to our loyal fans, who were probably even more eager than we were for this cassette. Their reactions and their sheer amazement at the quality of the album were incredibly important to us.
However, when we saw and heard the finished product for the first time ourselves, we were delighted. Everything looked exactly as we’d imagined — from the build quality, through the format of the release itself, right down to the sound. That was the moment when we felt that reel-to-reel tape was the perfect medium for Sea Poetry and that all the effort put into this project had been well worth it.
We are all the more delighted that the album has been very well received by both the jazz and audiophile communities. Sea Poetry was named among the best Polish jazz albums of 2025 by AllAboutJazz.com, and was also selected by Marek Śmietański on the programme Jazz Okruchy as the Polish Jazz Album of the Year 2025.
Another very important and extremely gratifying honour was the excellent review of the tape release in HiFi Pig magazine. This is particularly valuable to us, as it shows that not only the music itself, but also the way it is presented — the choice of reel-to-reel tape as the medium — has been appreciated by discerning listeners and the audiophile community. This reinforces our belief that the decision to create such a unique, limited-edition release was the right one.
For other musicians or small ensembles considering the reel-to-reel route, what's the one thing you'd want them to know? Whether that's about the creative decision, working with a duplication partner like RTM, or simply holding the finished product in your hands?
First and foremost, I’d say it’s worth experiencing tape recording at least once. It really is a different world — it changes the way you think about music, about performance and about the creative process itself. Musicians begin to approach every phrase and every note with greater awareness.
It’s also worth remembering that reel-to-reel tape isn’t just a sound medium. It’s a whole ritual and experience — from the moment you load the tape, through watching it run during playback, right up to the physical contact with the finished album.
I believe this is a very valuable form of connection for an artist with their audience. Nowadays, when most music exists solely in digital form, the opportunity to create a real, tangible object is of exceptional significance.
We’d love to hear about your experiences with our tape.
Cool projects, interesting experiments, etc.
Please send them to sales@recordingthemasters.com