Cassette Tapes

[SithZedi]

When I play vinyl, I let it play through and rarely lift the tone arm half way through a song. I can honestly say that there is very little difference if any between my cassette recordings and the vinyl source.

Interesting, well that's great you can get enjoyment out of your cassettes. I always liked cassettes for the convenience, especially because they were a smaller format than 8 Track (yes, i confess I used to record onto 8 Track tapes). With cassettes, I used to have a problem with Dolby B & C because I could hear the suppression of sound using it but then you get the hiss if you don't. This is despite spending too many weekends at CBGBs in my youth.

 

[rjharle]

Interesting, well that's great you can get enjoyment out of your cassettes. I always liked cassettes for the convenience, especially because they were a smaller format than 8 Track (yes, i confess I used to record onto 8 Track tapes). With cassettes, I used to have a problem with Dolby B & C because I could hear the suppression of sound using it but then you get the hiss if you don't. This is despite spending too many weekends at CBGBs in my youth.

My cassettes were mostly to archive my vinyl while it was new because it will never sound better. I also made tapes of my greatest hits that I would play at home and in the car (pre CD) I used DBX for noise reduction and just found it better to listen to, in the car I had to use Dolby C. I know (back when) I went to a lot of concerts at Fillmore East/West, Electric Circus and a bunch of other places I just don't remember much of what was played. Better living through chemistry. Oh, the days of waking up in Washington Square Park.

 

[WookieGR]

I use to transfer my cassette tapes to Maxell Gold metal tapes in my Sony dual tape deck and listen to those copies because I thought they sounded better. I was 16 and had nothing better to do but I still think there was an improvement. Once I bought my first CD that was the end of that nonsense.

 

[SithZedi]

My cassettes were mostly to archive my vinyl while it was new because it will never sound better. I also made tapes of my greatest hits that I would play at home and in the car (pre CD) I used DBX for noise reduction and just found it better to listen to, in the car I had to use Dolby C. I know (back when) I went to a lot of concerts at Fillmore East/West, Electric Circus and a bunch of other places I just don't remember much of what was played. Better living through chemistry. Oh, the days of waking up in Washington Square Park.

Funny, you write that. I spent so much time recording vinyl to 8 Track, then cassettes, then CDs, for the car.
Then the famous mixtapes made for myself and for women I was interested in. I had been told it was effective seduction technique but didn't seem to work very often. I might have been misinformed.
Who knows, we might have been in WSP at the same time if it was the early 80s...

 

[MaxInValrico]

Looks like Tascam might be getting back in the cassette manufacturing business.

Tascam is making brand new cassettes for its ancient four-track recorders

I preferred 8-tracks since they would play continuously.

 

[rjharle]

I preferred 8-tracks since they would play continuously.

Eight tracks, the universal sound source for riding, bumping, and getting busy in the car; when you get to the end it all starts again. Kind of like the movie Ground Hogs Day,

 

[SithZedi]

Eight tracks, the universal sound source for riding, bumping, and getting busy in the car; when you get to the end it all starts again. Kind of like the movie Ground Hogs Day,

I especially loved that large click when the changed tracks. I miss them too sometimes.

 

[lovinthehd]

I preferred 8-tracks since they would play continuously.

Well, there were auto reverse cassette decks too. My favorite part of 8 tracks would be when they'd play two tracks simultaneously, to save you some listening time....

 

[rjharle]

How about trying to fish out the tape after it got caught on the capstan ? If you got it out, there would be a point on the tape that blurred after you rewound it with a pencil. If the tape broke, you sat there and cried. If you rewound/fast-forward it too much, it wouldn't stack right in the case and the tape would get stuck. Not to mention cleaning and demagnetizing the heads.

 

[3db]

How about trying to fish out the tape after it got caught on the capstan ? If you got it out, there would be a point on the tape that blurred after you rewound it with a pencil. If the tape broke, you sat there and cried. If you rewound/fast-forward it too much, it wouldn't stack right in the case and the tape would get stuck. Not to mention cleaning and demagnetizing the heads.

I never had that issue even with my cheap Toshiba deck back in my college days.

 

[sterling shoote]

I see how vinyl sales could pull interest in cassette recorders. After all, back in the day I might find only a few songs on LP attractive enough to want to hear, so I placed those songs on cassette. Now there's reason for that process again when downloading songs does not produce the desired outcome.

 

[sterling shoote]

IHO, you are still missing two factors, involvement and the physical media. More too it then simple nostalgia.

For sure, I listen to LPs still today because I sometimes prefer the lifelike tone of it over CD.

 

[rjharle]

I never had that issue even with my cheap Toshiba deck back in my college days.

View attachment 53566

I was referring to the tape decks in cars

 

[3db]

I was referring to the tape decks in cars

Yup.. that happened to me too.

 

[SithZedi]

I never had that issue even with my cheap Toshiba deck back in my college days.

View attachment 53566

Sweet! I'll see your Toshiba and raise you my Realistic SCT 22!
BTW, I found this site some time ago on cassette decks: https://www.cassettedeck.org/

 

[rjharle]

Sweet! I'll see your Toshiba and raise you my Realistic SCT 22!
BTW, I found this site some time ago on cassette decks: https://www.cassettedeck.org/

View attachment 53578

All in with

 

[SithZedi]

All in with

Wow, I fold... ....We're not worthy!!!!

 

[davidscott]

These days I mostly listen to my WIIM pro plus streamer. Still, it's nice to have some physical media.