Cassette Store Day

[manmower]

That exact model black Sony with the MEGA BASS lettering was the Walkman to have when I was in high school. I had a later model Sony, and it just wasn't the same.

 

I've been wanting to get a deck for some time now, but I'm not sure what features to look for.

[joshuatxuk]

That exact model black Sony with the MEGA BASS lettering was the Walkman to have when I was in high school. I had a later model Sony, and it just wasn't the same.

 

I've been wanting to get a deck for some time now, but I'm not sure what features to look for.

 

The older the better is usually the rule of thumb - early 90s or older. 80s is probably your best best in terms of tech. 70s decks are good if they work - quality of build was pretty solid back then. I would browse thrift stores and take some headphones and cassettes you don't mind being eaten to test decks out. They are often broken at goodwill and places like that.

 

3-head decks are usually ideal (most are 2-head) for sound quality both in recording and playback. Regarding other features I wouldn't worry too much unless you want to record onto tape and try to mess with Dolby or bias control. Dolby reduces hiss and EQs sound so ironically it actually makes the playback less "tape" ish.

 

Nakamichi, JVC, Teac, Akai, Onkyo Tascam, Yamaha, Pioneer, Sony are ones I see mentioned a lot. Naks are king - if see one for a good price get it. Avoid brands like Fisher, Panasonic, Magavox, etc. (anything that looks like it's JC Penny or Sears mailorder or department store) - same with combo units or boomboxes.

 

Tascam still makes decks too if you want absolutely new.

 

You can always look up a deck here too: http://www.tapeheads.net/

[Guest jasondonervan]

Hah, wasn't expecting Mike from Norman Records showing up on my telly this morning!

 

 

 

[acroyear]

[soma333]

Hey guyz, you are just not rockin that portable player unless you got that 3-band eq up on derrr

[acroyear]

 

That exact model black Sony with the MEGA BASS lettering was the Walkman to have when I was in high school. I had a later model Sony, and it just wasn't the same.

 

I've been wanting to get a deck for some time now, but I'm not sure what features to look for.

 

The older the better is usually the rule of thumb - early 90s or older. 80s is probably your best best in terms of tech. 70s decks are good if they work - quality of build was pretty solid back then. I would browse thrift stores and take some headphones and cassettes you don't mind being eaten to test decks out. They are often broken at goodwill and places like that.

 

3-head decks are usually ideal (most are 2-head) for sound quality both in recording and playback. Regarding other features I wouldn't worry too much unless you want to record onto tape and try to mess with Dolby or bias control. Dolby reduces hiss and EQs sound so ironically it actually makes the playback less "tape" ish.

 

Nakamichi, JVC, Teac, Akai, Onkyo Tascam, Yamaha, Pioneer, Sony are ones I see mentioned a lot. Naks are king - if see one for a good price get it. Avoid brands like Fisher, Panasonic, Magavox, etc. (anything that looks like it's JC Penny or Sears mailorder or department store) - same with combo units or boomboxes.

 

Tascam still makes decks too if you want absolutely new.

 

You can always look up a deck here too: http://www.tapeheads.net/

 

Go for a direct drive deck if you're going for any type of vintage model. If you don't, you will most certainly have worn out belts, and have to replace them. Direct drive decks have no belts, except usually the tape counter. I use mine weekly, and it's flawless.

[manmower]

Thanks guys, the maintenance on cassette players is a bit of an unknown to me, not sure how much there is to it, I remember cleaning the heads with cotton swabs but that's about as much as I ever did. So I guess a direct drive deck could save me some hassle, but are they common at all or rarities? I don't really want to overspend on a tape deck.

[QBLA]

Still have a few!

 

 

http://architectsandheroes.bandcamp.com/album/exit-the-dragons-mouth-a-h012

[joshuatxuk]

 

 

Go for a direct drive deck if you're going for any type of vintage model. If you don't, you will most certainly have worn out belts, and have to replace them. Direct drive decks have no belts, except usually the tape counter. I use mine weekly, and it's flawless.

 

Good point - if you do buy anything belt-driven (70s and early 80s) be ready to replace them and/or buy one with new belts. My cassette decks are both direct-drive.

 

Vintage aficionados like belt-driven turntables and tape decks a lot but it's an effort keeping them up and running. 60s and 70s era gear are like classic cars I suppose - their excellent and arguably "the best" in some cases but inherently less reliable and more costly because of their tech and age.

 

Thanks guys, the maintenance on cassette players is a bit of an unknown to me, not sure how much there is to it, I remember cleaning the heads with cotton swabs but that's about as much as I ever did. So I guess a direct drive deck could save me some hassle, but are they common at all or rarities? I don't really want to overspend on a tape deck.

 

I think direct-drive became standard at some point in the early-mid 80s. You'll see "Quartz" and digital synthesizer tech in stereos from the 80s and 90s too. It's really just the mid-90 to present day BPC (black plastic crap) that's worth avoiding.

 

Now back to cleaning...

 

- the heads have nothing to do with direct drive or belts. They are the point where the tape passes: i.e. this is where playback and recording occurs. I used 91% (you can get 99% too) isopropyl alcohol with cotton swabs. Lightly but firmly scrub the tape heads with the swab. You'll often on old or dirty decks notice rusty brown colored dirt come off - that's actually magnetic tape dust. Likewise, clean the pinch rollers (the moving metal part that moves the tape) the same way. Some decks have the pinch roller move for you to clean automatically when it's turned on and the door is left open.

 

I'd keep the alcohol off of plastic parts - you could accidentally wipe off decals and labels. Otherwise it's harmless on other metal and evaporates.

 

- the other thing is demagnetizing - do this with caution and I would recommend doing this if you have a deck that looks really used - they're $10-15 on ebay

 

the reason for demagnetizing is to prevent the cassette deck from getting a charge from use and therefore stripping away the magnetic force off the cassette - when that happens the tapes start to degrade and the sound quality is compromised

 

the wand ones are the best imo - not too strong (i.e. heavy-duty pro ones) nor ineffective like the car audio ones (they look like regular cassettes and are meant for vehicle decks you can't take out)

 

I have one of these and it works just fine:

 

 

this is a great tutorial - just do it slowly and carefully and at least a few yards away from cassettes b/c they can wipe them clean and ruin them:

 

http://youtu.be/98GIAWHSW2I

 

http://youtu.be/BCSIaithd_I

 

hope that helps - might seem a bit overkill but it will keep you deck free of problems that most people run into because they didn't maintain their equipment (see, this is why most just go with digital :P)

[joshuatxuk]

I had an excellent day at End or An Ear records in Austin, which was my first visit to the store as well. Didn't actually get anything from the site's list but that's ok because there was so many new local and regional tape releases to choose from.

 

Ran into fellow AFX and AE fans, a metalhead friend of mine, and got some nice local electronic/experimental tapes at my record store. (I gave myself a $20 limit so I passed on the copy of Meat Bingo I saw there for $13) Pics to come...

[doorjamb]

I found this!it's pretty cool!

also copped a promo copy of Grails' Black Tar Prophecies 4-6 & Forest Swords' Engravings (in Compact Disc rather than the day's exhalted audio storage format)

, neither of which groups/individuals I am familiar with as of this dispatch, but by whose sonic recordings I am simultaneously fully prepared to be both decisively entertained and utterly unmoved. & some local stuff, too. free noises! for free! noises!

 

but who buys $5-15 enigmatic cassettes with crayon sunsets or polaroids of toddlers or at best label-maker gibberish & a magic-markered tape inside just, like, on impulse?

[Guest abusivegeorge]

I still use a bomb proof 70's NAD triple deck, with 2 cassette decks, for recording. Tops YO!

[manmower]

I think direct-drive became standard at some point in the early-mid 80s. You'll see "Quartz" and digital synthesizer tech in stereos from the 80s and 90s too. It's really just the mid-90 to present day BPC (black plastic crap) that's worth avoiding.

Ah, great. I was thinking maybe DD decks weren't very popular (like with turntables, where DD is basically dead in the hi-fi market), so this is good news.

 

The cleaning doesn't sound so scary after all, I was thinking about the speed and alignment and things like that but maybe that's the sort of stuff you're not supposed to do yourself anyway.

[joshuatxuk]

 

I think direct-drive became standard at some point in the early-mid 80s. You'll see "Quartz" and digital synthesizer tech in stereos from the 80s and 90s too. It's really just the mid-90 to present day BPC (black plastic crap) that's worth avoiding.

Ah, great. I was thinking maybe DD decks weren't very popular (like with turntables, where DD is basically dead in the hi-fi market), so this is good news.

 

From my experience reading online and talking to people IRL it's audiophiles = vintage belt drive. Vinyl junkies = vintage direct drive. Translated to stereotypes, geek dads with money with mancaves to play their Pink Floyd discography on the weekend = belt drive, hipsters and aging indie record collectors that play music all the time = direct drive.

 

The only really good new, non-digital equipment is usually niche specialty stuff that's very pricey.

[manmower]

 

 

I think direct-drive became standard at some point in the early-mid 80s. You'll see "Quartz" and digital synthesizer tech in stereos from the 80s and 90s too. It's really just the mid-90 to present day BPC (black plastic crap) that's worth avoiding.

Ah, great. I was thinking maybe DD decks weren't very popular (like with turntables, where DD is basically dead in the hi-fi market), so this is good news.

 

From my experience reading online and talking to people IRL it's audiophiles = vintage belt drive. Vinyl junkies = vintage direct drive. Translated to stereotypes, geek dads with money with mancaves to play their Pink Floyd discography on the weekend = belt drive, hipsters and aging indie record collectors that play music all the time = direct drive.

 

Haha, spot on. You forgot idlers though.

 

And I'm a 1200 man, those are hardly vintage, but I suppose they were the last truly "hi-fi capable" mass-produced DD tables before they were discontinued.

 

Anyway, I'm looking at the local classifieds sites and there are a surprising amount of semi-decent-looking decks for sale, lol. Going to take me a while to sift through all of them.

[NI64]

I got an LFO - Frequencies cassette! The US Tommy Boy version, which is allegedly rare, according to the single Discogs seller haha. But I just think it's a cool release to have on tape.

[soma333]

This stupid day was so trendy that a friend of mine ended up going ham on the Internet as a result and bought me some cool ass über limited team supreme tape for me Cus it was like 5 bucks. What a load of shit!!

[malaria]

Happy CSD everyone! Did anybody get that Ssaliva tape? My store never got a copy.. :(

[QBLA]

I got this today.

 

[zlemflolia]

 

 

all what i want is draft 7.30 cassette :(

http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?release_id=156930&ev=rb

 

 

 

Seems MisterE is selling one?!?

 

And it's never been played but he's sad to see it go

 

i got one for like 4 bucks on ebay lol

[manmower]

Since my posts here last year I've ended up buying a deck to listen to the Crystal Cult 2080 mixtape but I haven't seen any other cassette releases that I couldn't resist. So I've mostly been going through my parents' stash and listening to stuff like 70s disco compilations, the Car Wash soundtrack and Geoff Love versions of Ennio Morricone.

 

(Turns out direct drive decks are super rare here and cost more than I was willing to spend on such a fringe interest, so I ended up getting a basic but recently serviced 2-head belt drive Denon. Still sounds a good bit better than the cassette quality I remember from last century. May be because I was listening to a lot of stuff that I taped off the radio without really knowing what I was doing back then.)

[petina]

i'd love to be able to participate in this day, unfortunately all that's available where i live atm is weird old chinese cassettes...

[joshuatxuk]

Happy CSD everyone! Did anybody get that Ssaliva tape? My store never got a copy.. :(

 

Mine didn't either. I might just order it later.

 

Also passed on Madvilliany. Cheapest I saw was 10.99 - that's just too steep, especially considering Stones Throw has more distro access than the little DIY labels selling theirs for $5-7 or so.

 

Since my posts here last year I've ended up buying a deck to listen to the Crystal Cult 2080 mixtape but I haven't seen any other cassette releases that I couldn't resist. So I've mostly been going through my parents' stash and listening to stuff like 70s disco compilations, the Car Wash soundtrack and Geoff Love versions of Ennio Morricone.

 

(Turns out direct drive decks are super rare here and cost more than I was willing to spend on such a fringe interest, so I ended up getting a basic but recently serviced 2-head belt drive Denon. Still sounds a good bit better than the cassette quality I remember from last century. May be because I was listening to a lot of stuff that I taped off the radio without really knowing what I was doing back then.)

 

Nice. Yeah most of the cassettes I buy new are drone, ambient, electronic, etc. that aren't on LP or CD. That's actually a gripe I have with CSD, they promote a lot of needless big indie label reissues and tape releases. Also they charge to be on their "official" list, most CSD releases are unofficial technically. I don't blame them.

 

I think most decks are belt - even the hi-fi Nakamichis and Teacs. I have a direct drive JVC 3-head but when I had it serviced it still had belts (FFWD/RWD maybe)? Denon is a good brand. Most of the stereo decks are surprisingly good, I think in the past so many used portables and dubbed tapes with a lot of distortion on boomboxes or cheaper dual decks at 2X. It's actually something Autechre mentioned in the AMA - they said the unique sound of 80s era mixtapes is the most overlooked aspect of cassette culture. So many people absorbed music from that era in that format.

 

I got this today.

 

 

This looks awesome - I didn't see it at my local stores.

 

i'd love to be able to participate in this day, unfortunately all that's available where i live atm is weird old chinese cassettes...

 

Hah, I actually love old Chinese cassettes...tell me if you find anything really weird!

[malaria]

Mine didn't either. I might just order it later.

 

Stones Throw has the Ssaliva tape up now; get it while it's hot!

 

https://www.stonesthrow.com/store/album/spit/pantani

 

lol @ /spit/

[Tricone RC]

For the last 6 months I have driven a Volvo S70 from the mid 90s, which naturally has a cassette player. I've been digging out old 90min cassettes and making mixtapes again like the Good Old Days

 

I'm after a proper 80s hifi setup, I had one growing up but the poor thing bit the dust around 2004. Value Village (Canadian thrift store type thing) sometimes has decent stuff