Cassette tape decks, what is the fascination?
- Thread starter z-adamson
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bshorey
Super Member
I was big into cassette back in the day. Mix tapes were like the iPod shuffle of the time. Cassettes were a reasonably high quality format that you could carry in your pocket. You could carry your own mix, or choice of artist, easily in your car or pocket (Walkman). There was no other format at the time that allowed that.
Today I wouldn't bother. The equivalent is digital tracks on whatever device you choose. Now you can fit 50,000 tracks on an iPhone without batting an eyelid, and you don't have to worry about melted tapes or jammed transports.
Cassettes are nostalgia for me at this point, I keep a deck running for those few precious tapes I need to convert to digital.
bs
Today I wouldn't bother. The equivalent is digital tracks on whatever device you choose. Now you can fit 50,000 tracks on an iPhone without batting an eyelid, and you don't have to worry about melted tapes or jammed transports.
Cassettes are nostalgia for me at this point, I keep a deck running for those few precious tapes I need to convert to digital.
bs
MannyE
Exterminate!
The fascination? Cassettes are cool. Plus they cost 3 cents a pound at any thrift you walk into. I drive a 2006 Lexus LS 430 and Lexus was, for some reason, very stubborn about not letting go of cassette in their cars. I believe they had it until 2009. So... I get to pop in a copy of Combat Rock I got for $.50 and rock out.
Later on, the availability of excellent tape players at thrifts (I found a mid-range Nakamichi in perfect working order for $20) made me try out cassettes at home and I was pleasantly surprised at how good they sound!
So now I have a drawer, soon to be two drawers full of great music I got for next to nothing. It's what LPs were ten years ago.
Later on, the availability of excellent tape players at thrifts (I found a mid-range Nakamichi in perfect working order for $20) made me try out cassettes at home and I was pleasantly surprised at how good they sound!
So now I have a drawer, soon to be two drawers full of great music I got for next to nothing. It's what LPs were ten years ago.
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revox-b77
Super Member
I got into cassettes:
1) To expand my music collection by recording friends records and even cd's
2) To make mix tapes for party's saving my TT from certain death
3) To cheaply share music with others
4) To help preserve my most played albums
5) To make music I could carry around and drive with
6) Because a nice tape deck is cool
1) To expand my music collection by recording friends records and even cd's
2) To make mix tapes for party's saving my TT from certain death
3) To cheaply share music with others
4) To help preserve my most played albums
5) To make music I could carry around and drive with
6) Because a nice tape deck is cool
I've recently gotten back into cassettes, and am using them to record all my favorite LPs. With a high-quality deck, tape, and preamp, you can make a cassette tape recording of an LP that's nearly-indistinguishable in quality from the original. (And, again with the right unit, you can also bypass all analog-to-digital conversion, processing, etc., making cassette tape the only really practical way of copying an LP in pure analog format rather than digital.)
This way, when I'm doing more "casual" listening, I don't have to subject the LP to the inevitable (albeit, tiny amount of) wear-and-tear -- I just put on the cassette tape instead. It's like listening to a high-quality copy, and thus not subjecting the original to unnecessary use.
(Plus my two-year-old is awfully intrigued by the turntable, especially when it's running -- more than once he's sneaked his little hands up under the dust cover to touch the record and/or stylus. He's less curious about the cassettes, and even if he does get past the guard dogs and laser fencing and to the tape deck I care a lot less about that than I do the vinyl and stylus.)
This way, when I'm doing more "casual" listening, I don't have to subject the LP to the inevitable (albeit, tiny amount of) wear-and-tear -- I just put on the cassette tape instead. It's like listening to a high-quality copy, and thus not subjecting the original to unnecessary use.
(Plus my two-year-old is awfully intrigued by the turntable, especially when it's running -- more than once he's sneaked his little hands up under the dust cover to touch the record and/or stylus. He's less curious about the cassettes, and even if he does get past the guard dogs and laser fencing and to the tape deck I care a lot less about that than I do the vinyl and stylus.)
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Worried Man
Super Member
For home recording, mainly.
I like to tape a lot of my albums. I used to do this even more when I drove a Lexus, one of the last of its kind to feature an awesome cassette stereo sound system. These days I do so because it's fun... I enjoy editing some albums that I don't enjoy playing through. I also like to "preserve" some of my LPs that I don't want to see get a lot of stylus wear. And for some LPs, I just like making a cassette so I don't have to turn over sides... these days, a lot of new stuff is getting pressed on four sides instead of two, which often provides better sound quality, in my opinion, but which also makes listening to a whole album a bit more cumbersome.
I also make the occasional mix tape.
And sometimes there's something on the radio that I want to capture, a "live" performance or other special programming.
Beyond home recording, I also like having another format option available, should I find something on cassette that I can't find on LP or CD.
I like to tape a lot of my albums. I used to do this even more when I drove a Lexus, one of the last of its kind to feature an awesome cassette stereo sound system. These days I do so because it's fun... I enjoy editing some albums that I don't enjoy playing through. I also like to "preserve" some of my LPs that I don't want to see get a lot of stylus wear. And for some LPs, I just like making a cassette so I don't have to turn over sides... these days, a lot of new stuff is getting pressed on four sides instead of two, which often provides better sound quality, in my opinion, but which also makes listening to a whole album a bit more cumbersome.
I also make the occasional mix tape.
And sometimes there's something on the radio that I want to capture, a "live" performance or other special programming.
Beyond home recording, I also like having another format option available, should I find something on cassette that I can't find on LP or CD.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
So -- there're a couple of good cassette decks here.
Some of them even work... but this is the only cassette deck here that actually really gets any use (and it was a dump find).
Optimus Pioneer cassette deck by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
It is convenient, flexible, easy enough to use, reliable and sounds -- OK.
Some of them even work... but this is the only cassette deck here that actually really gets any use (and it was a dump find).
Optimus Pioneer cassette deck by Mark Hardy, on FlickrIt is convenient, flexible, easy enough to use, reliable and sounds -- OK.
These days you can hear anything and everything right from your phone...it didn't used to be like that.
When i was a kid you could really only listen to the music that you owned ( except for FM ) and records were expensive...you couldn't buy everything, i had to spend my lawn-mowing money wisely.
So that made having a cassette deck a very big deal, you could record other peoples records, thereby expanding your music collection very cheaply.
And you could listen to tapes in the car...a big plus.
I got rid of my vinyl years ago, because i never listened to any of it anymore and it was a really heavy thing to keep moving from place to place.
But i kept my cassettes, so i still have those copies of everything i ever listened to.
I listen to them once in a while. They still work, take up little space, and are a bit of nostalgia.
When i was a kid you could really only listen to the music that you owned ( except for FM ) and records were expensive...you couldn't buy everything, i had to spend my lawn-mowing money wisely.
So that made having a cassette deck a very big deal, you could record other peoples records, thereby expanding your music collection very cheaply.
And you could listen to tapes in the car...a big plus.
I got rid of my vinyl years ago, because i never listened to any of it anymore and it was a really heavy thing to keep moving from place to place.
But i kept my cassettes, so i still have those copies of everything i ever listened to.
I listen to them once in a while. They still work, take up little space, and are a bit of nostalgia.
Worried Man
Super Member
Yep. I tape a lot of my double LPs.
MannyE
Exterminate!
I have to admit, the availability of streaming music makes cassettes a fun nostalgic exercise for me. It's cool to read that some folks still make the most of the format.
Markoneswift
Quartz locked n ready to rock
Interesting thread ! I do wonder why I accumulate cassette decks some times.....
I think primarily because I find them interesting from a mechanical standpoint. I enjoy diving into the guts and fixing them changing belts etc.
The other reason is probably cool factor, a bit like the Akai R2R that I had and never used. I did record some stuff on it but then wondered why i wasn't just listening to the source instead.
Cassette tapes are hard to find here. Every so often I hit a bunch of them for a buck a piece but its been a while since I found anything good.
I think primarily because I find them interesting from a mechanical standpoint. I enjoy diving into the guts and fixing them changing belts etc.
The other reason is probably cool factor, a bit like the Akai R2R that I had and never used. I did record some stuff on it but then wondered why i wasn't just listening to the source instead.
Cassette tapes are hard to find here. Every so often I hit a bunch of them for a buck a piece but its been a while since I found anything good.
Quadman2
Lunatic Member
Nostalgia, I think for the most part.
Most on board have had one in their past still kicking around, either in the house or in the car...and with the cassettes as well, as most seem to go forever... we keep with them, blow the dust off and play them. Great garage gear!
Plus, the 90 or 120 min lengths can go on for some time without have to change the music. Then too, a lot of us have put our fav tunes on them, so don't have to think about the order of selections.
Would like to add that some material was only found in this format.
The better cassette machines along with the upper ender tape would still give the CD a run for its money. Mind you couple of beers tend to level the playing field.
Q
Most on board have had one in their past still kicking around, either in the house or in the car...and with the cassettes as well, as most seem to go forever... we keep with them, blow the dust off and play them. Great garage gear!
Plus, the 90 or 120 min lengths can go on for some time without have to change the music. Then too, a lot of us have put our fav tunes on them, so don't have to think about the order of selections.
Would like to add that some material was only found in this format.
The better cassette machines along with the upper ender tape would still give the CD a run for its money. Mind you couple of beers tend to level the playing field.
Q
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analoge4ever
Active Member
Anyone that has ever owned a properly working super deck already knows.
- Cassette is a superior format, the tapes do not deteriorate, no sticky shed like with R2R.
- Unlike a R2R super decks calibrate to different tape formulas, no need to buy all the same lot number for consistent recordings.
- The cassette mechanism protects the tape, but of course clever idiots have learned how to ruin the tape anyway and will tell you all about it!
- S/N in excess of 70db and frequency response beyond 20 kHz is typical, but a stand alone DBX-II processor can extend performance just shy of the best digital equipment.
- Tons of tapes in every conceivable formula and length are available, including metal, cobalt doped, pure chrome, ferric, etc. many of which were manufactured to extremely high standards.
- Also plenty of innovation in the decks for example B&O ended up with this.
Markoneswift
Quartz locked n ready to rock
Has anyone seen the YouTube channel 'Techmoan' where Matt reviews the Akai cassette auto reverse 'done the hard way' deck ? Crazy engineering but mesmerising to watch !
I like cassettes and cassette players a lot, because they're an electro-mechanical marvel. To get that kind of sound quality out of such cheap, small, and simple mass produced equipment, from the era they're from is really impressive. Reel to reel is a brute force solution.. make it as good as possible, don't take short cuts. Cassettes on the other hand are a polished turd, but near the end it was so well polished you could hardly tell its turd origins.
johnebravo
I should be practicing
Oh yeah -- the Akai Invert-O-Matic! I had one of those; it was so early in the cassette years that it was even pre-Dolby.
dontmindme
Creature
Exactly, the difference between R2R and cassette was the equipment, and cassettes were generally used for home entertainment and car audio, while the R2R were used for recording equipment in sound studios. Therefore, the quality was much, much better. That said, I just installed a Pioneer Supertuner cassette player from 1981 that I put new belts in and cleaned up into a 1981 CJ7 I'm tinkering with. Had to go period cassette player with the old Jeep. Looks and sounds great (at least like it did in 1981)...... I've also got a Kenwood cassette deck attached to my home system in case I've got the urge to pop in an oldie! Carry on,
Those are cool, I almost bought a corvette which had one of those, but the car needed too much work!
The problem with cassette is the track width is too narrow for excellent dynamic range, and the speed is too slow for excellent high frequency response. If you use Dolby, and High bias tape, etc you can make it sound better, and dual capstans can help too, but it's still crappy. Half track 1/4" tape running on a decent machine at even 7.5ips blows cassette out of the water.
Then again, portable cassette machines are really neat to use and work on. The typical design of making two flywheels spinning in opposite directions, to make a machine more immune to movement, was a very clever and widely used design.
