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New tapehead finding tape.........

VintageFreq

VintageFreq

I'm your Huckleberry...
Hey guys!

I'm totally new to this Wacky World of Magnetic Tape just recently buying and refurbishing a Sony TC-WR701ES dual cassette deck. After getting the deck working again, I was out at our local thrift stores looking over their stocks of prerecorded tapes and started finding sealed packages of blank cassettes.

Being new to this game I grabbed all I could find at .50 cents apiece. Here is what I ended up with:
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7 TDK D90 cassettes, 6 Sony HiFi 90, 1 TDK D60, 1 Scotch BX60 all of which are Type I Normal Bias. I did manage to find 1 metal, a TDK MA 110. So with the Fuji DR-II 90 CrO2 that was stuck in the Sony, I've got about 24 and 1/2 hours of recording material here.

I figure that ain't too bad for $8.00

Mike :D
 
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That TDK-MA is very highly sought-after. Don't waste it on that machine. The TDK-Ds are built well, but are not anything special. I have no experience with those Sony's or that Scotch tape.
 
That TDK MA tape sells on the auction site for twice as much as you spent for the lot - at least. The TDK D grade tape isn't bad at all, just a bit higher noise level and poorer high frequency response than the better AD and AR grades TDK used to make.
 
i've got quite a few tdk d90s i recorded on ~25-30 years ago. i had planned on replacing the music on them but on hi bias tapes.
however, after playing them recently, they still sound pretty good, enough so that i'm not gonna bother replacing them.
anything new i record nowadays tho, i use hi bias.

but if just starting out, i would just go straight to hi bias tapes.
and keep those recorder heads clean and degauss them once in a while.
 
Thanks for the info guys!

Roger that jayk, on keeping the heads clean....:thmbsp: I guess I need to pass on any more normal bias I find (unless of course they are dirt cheap - or FREE) and look for hi bias tape.

At least I found one good one though! :yes:

Mike :D
 
Look for hi-bias Chrome or Metal tape. The Sony is a nice deck, but save up and find one with three heads, dual capstan, bias adjustment or auto bias adjustment. Normal tape is okay for causal listening, but if you want to archive music use Chrome or Metal tape.
 
AnalogDigit said:
Look for hi-bias Chrome or Metal tape. The Sony is a nice deck, but save up and find one with three heads, dual capstan, bias adjustment or auto bias adjustment. Normal tape is okay for causal listening, but if you want to archive music use Chrome or Metal tape.
Click to expand...
Actually, the better that a machine is, the less that the type of tape matters. A really good deck can sound better with a modest TDK-D than a medeocre deck will sound wth a TDK-SAX, or and TDK-MA. A really good machine with a metal tape can sound better than the cassette format has any right to sound.
 
AnalogDigit said:
Look for hi-bias Chrome or Metal tape. The Sony is a nice deck, but save up and find one with three heads, dual capstan, bias adjustment or auto bias adjustment. Normal tape is okay for causal listening, but if you want to archive music use Chrome or Metal tape.
Click to expand...

Okay, I'll be looking for a 3-head deck then.

I was wondering though, the Sony has a calibration feature for both decks, which I assume would set the proper bias for a given tape. It records, rewinds and plays nine samples to calibrate the heads before recording. Would that not set the proper bias?

Would a three head deck be better for recording or playback, or both?

Mike :D
 
goldear said:
...A really good machine with a metal tape can sound better than the cassette format has any right to sound.
Click to expand...

I bought the Sony on a whim, plus the price was right and I still think it is a good deck in it's own right BUT, I think I'll search the forum for a best deck list and see what I should keep an eye out for.

I'm sure you guys have already discussed that before! :thmbsp:

Mike :D
 
A three head deck would be better for recording and then playback those tapes. Unfortunatelly a good deck can't really make a bad recording sound much better.

The trick is in the gaps the heads have for recording on the tape. The rec head needs a large gap to make a nice strong field. The play head needs a small gap to pick up the faintest detail.

So, a two head deck (single rec/play head) is a compromise.

If you go for a new deck "shop carefully". It's impossibel to list all the good buys, so chime in for suggestions on candidates.

A three head deck is good.
Adding separate capstan / reel motors helps.
Adding bias fine adjust is better
Adding dual capstans is even better.
Adding Dolby S or dbx is even better. These noise reduction systems don't work well with bad decks so they "stamp" a good deck. Funny thing is with such a good deck and a good high bias tape, you don't really need the noise reduction...
 
WAIT A MIN. no one seams to be mentioning that that TDK MA tape being metal is only usable on a deck with metal capabilities so even if you used that tape in a good 3 head machine like my Pioneer CT-F900 without Metal tape capabilities the tape would be wasted.

My suggestion would be to hang on to the deck you have learn how to get the best from it and then decide if you want to be into Cassette as a format deep enough to be speeding $15.00+++ per tape for metal tape. Even before you bother upgrading your deck.

If that ain't where your headed you would be money well ahead to buy a Nice three head deck sans the metal tape abilities (unless one just happens along on the cheap) and instead invest in some Maxell XL-II or TDK SAX tape much more available and MUCH more affordable.

I have 2 real nice decks a Pioneer CT-F9191 which is TOTL for an early 2 head deck and a CT-F900 which was Pioneers 1978's TOTL 3 head deck right before metal tape came on the market. And I use Maxell XL-II and TDK SA and SAX tape along with a few Misc. other formulations I have gotten real good deals on.

I have no need of the expensive metal tape and I have made the choice to be able to do a lot of recording then only a couple ounce and a while when I happen to win a bidding race on ebay for metal tape. Sure those recordings might sound a hair better but at a cost of $15.00 for a 90 min tape I doubt I would have 50 home made tapes in my library.

You should decide before you spend a bunch of money.,

IMHO
 
Thank Mark W. and SaSi and everyone else who took the time to reply to my newbie post. Everyone has brought their point of view to the table and a lot of good points have come out.

I do need to get to know my deck better and to see what it can and cannot do. I'm not sure myself how far I'm going to go with cassettes - I do know that it does open up some different avenues for music collecting and prerecorded cassettes are cheap around here AND I have found some great ones!

As far as recording goes, I'm just going to try some recording on this deck and see how good it can do. If it is a least good, then I'll probably be happy with what I've got and if not, then I will need to move up into a better deck.

What I do know is, if I ever need a question answered, I know who to come to! :yes:

Mike :D
 
Some good points Mark. I so rarely ever consider machines withough metal tape capability, that I completely forgot about the fact that pre 1979 machines lack metal tape.

But frankly, on a good Nak, Tandberg, or similarly high-quality machine a high-quality High-bias tapes can sound surprisingly close to metal.
 
A tape update....

Just thought I'd update everyone on my taping progress. I know this is old hat for you guys but it is still a learning process for me. For my first try, I used my turntable as the source running through a Pioneer SX-737 receiver/amp.

I managed to find a .pdf manual for my Sony ES deck and read through it. According to the manual the TC-RW701ES is metal tape capable and also will calibrate itself for whatever tape bias is being used.

I have a Fuji DR-II Type II (CrO2) tape that was already in the machine when I took possession of it and used that for my tape session. I put it in deck B and ran the calibration sequence according to the Sony manual. I then started the LP (The Police - Synchronicity) and set the record level. Once the level was set I re-started the LP and started recording.

Short story long, The tape playback was absolutely wonderful, at least to my ears. I am very happy with the quality from this first attempt at recording. I even taped some off the FM receiver using the MPX filter and it sounded great. I know that there are better machines out there, but this Sony is going to do me just fine as I learn more about taping and dubbing!

I do wish to thank you all again for your tips and suggestions! I've got plenty to keep me busy now!

Mike :D
 
Good quality chrome tapes on a decent deck will yiels nice results. Metal is kind of on the fringe for most casual users. Most of my decks are not metal capable.
 
Update to the Update.....!

Broke out a TDK D90 and used it to record "Jazz with Bob Parlocha" off our local NPR station WMUK Sunday night. I used the calibrate function to set the bias, turned on the MPX filter and set the Dolby to "C".

I am listening to the tape right now and I must say that I am impressed with this deck and it's performance with normal bias tape. I'm sure that I don't have as discerning an ear as some of you guys but, Damn, it sure sounds good! :music: There is just the slightest hint of hiss but it really doesn't register until you get the volume cranked up and while the bass is there, the high response doesn't seem too bad.

I also tried a Sony HiFi 90 normal bias and recorded some streaming content from one of the 'net radio stations. I recorded that with no Dolby and it turned out great with no hiss that I can hear, of course it was "techno" music so there is no "quiet" spots to really check! The only real problem was that I should have set my recording level higher.

I am really having a blast with cassettes right now, I know I've got a lot to learn but so far my results have shown me that cassette can be a viable music medium.

Mike :D
 
Congrats Mike! Taping is a blast I think! I was a taping fool when I was younger and just got back into it in recent years and I love it! :D :thmbsp:
 
Thanks for your comments StevieDude and jkay!

I'm going to keep my eyes open for deals on CrO2 tape to see how it does on this deck. So far both the Sony and TDK normal bias are more than adequate for my uses but I want to see if there is any difference on this deck.

BTW, I did get a demagnetizer ordered....can't hurt! :thmbsp:

Mike :D
 
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