Can anyone recommend me a good deck for recording?

MezzoForte

Eczemé Genesis
That is, just a good sounding deck that I can use to capture some demo cassettes onto my PC. I'm not like a super audiophile or anything but I need some direction for a quality deck that won't burn my wallet. I know that there are probably zillions of options out there but I'm not very familiar with the names to look for and I would rather not blind-buy, if that makes sense. Again, I'm mainly looking to have a good analog setup for getting some tapes into my computer, next to casual listening of course :music:.
 
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I have a Yamaha dual cassette that I've used for playing prerecorded tapes in sequence. I went through it and performed some maintenence on it. I was very impressed with the quality and sound for something post 70's.
 
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Every cassette deck I've used is plagued with the problem of if it wasn't actually recorded on that deck it usually sounds flat. Any deck will do that's not a BOTL POS from the $5 bin at the thrift. You'll just need a small watchmakers screwdriver to tweak the azimuth for every tape.
 
3 Head JVC decks are cheap and do a good job. A Nakamichi DR-1 is also cheap and has adjustable playback azimuth. Or even a BX 300.
 
I'd recommend finding an inexpesinsive Nakamichi. Some of the two-head models such as the BX-100 or BX-125, or CR-1 should be more than adequate for your purposes.
 
i've had a couple ct-f series pioneer decks and they pulled in the best recording signal to my ear, from what i've owned which isn't much. you can find alot of those models cheap enough and get them operational with a little work.
mike
 
the akai gx-52 is another nice tape recorder which can be had cheap.. direct drive and accurate meters..bias adjust.. dolby b/c hx pro..etc..
if you don't need a 3 head machine.. they do make excellent recordings for a 2 head machine
 
Every cassette deck I've used is plagued with the problem of if it wasn't actually recorded on that deck it usually sounds flat. Any deck will do that's not a BOTL POS from the $5 bin at the thrift. You'll just need a small watchmakers screwdriver to tweak the azimuth for every tape.

I fix the azimuth after it is loaded on the computer. Just zoom into the waveform and align them. Perfecto! For a deck I would look for a Tascam 122 MK II or III, they sometimes go pretty cheap.
 
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A Nakamichi DR-1 is also cheap and has adjustable playback azimuth.

I second this suggestion. The adjustable playback azimuth is an important feature when playing tapes not recorded in the same unit. I've got a Nak CR-7 and use that feature with almost every commercial used tape release I buy.
 
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