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Vintage Cassette Decks - Collectors/Anyone Bother?

ejecta

ejecta

Member
Currently, in my setup I run an integrated amplifier, tuner and speakers, this is all that I have vintage wise connected up although hidden away is the dvd player & home theatre pc.

However, for no apparent reason, I have a unexplained compulsion to purchase a matching silver vintage cassette deck - I have no cassettes (well outside of my son's Lion King & Atlantis audio books that he listens to for bedtime) - yet I still feel that it would add to the collection to have a matching cassette deck sitting with the amp/tuner.

Does anyone else have gear they don't use and have bought purely "because"? If so what were you reasons, or am I just crazy and moved into hoarding territory!
 
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Mostly, having a stereo system is about listening to music, at least for me. A cassette deck provides another source for listening to analog music.

I don't know what the thrift store/resale consumer goods market is like down under, but there are dozens of resale shops in the Kansas City area, not counting many more pawn shops. The price of pre-recorded cassettes has run from two for a dollar, to four for a dollar in the thrift stores. The selection varies considerably, but getting a deck, IMHO, would be a good way to maximize your music listening options.

Regards,

D-Ray
 
There's a fair amount of material available on cassette down here and you've got the recycling/thrift stores that have huge bins of vinyl that are a bag for $1 however they're mostly 1930-50s records, not so much thereafter.

That being said however, I think the last thing the missus will let me do is buy more music, we've already got under our stair case filled with cds... 1057 albums stuffed under there in fact, they're all stored on the computer now though and played through itunes connected up to the amplifier. So the purchase of the cassette deck for me, unless I run across something I have to have, will purely be for cosmetics.
 
I started down the road of itunes with cds and downloaded music but prefer to load up a cd in my old Trio or newly aquirred Hitachi Da-1000 cd players or just plonk an lp on the GA312.

Old fashioned I suppose but for some strange reason I can't (or won't) explain it don't feel the same coming out thru' the pc wirelessly.

Something to do with the tactile feel I guess.
 
Yeah, they tend to collect here, but I don't actively collect them. I really don't have any of the classic good ones, although I do have a Pioneer CTF-1000 and and a CTF-900. The former has some operational issues, but it does work and it sure is attractive in that "more is more" late-1970s way.

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http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24173&highlight=CTF-1000

Most of the rest of 'em are dump finds; I usually try to find homes for them, but interest is low and (being mechanical gizmos with lots of moving parts) they have a tendency to need TLC at this late date.

I do sort of have this Yamaha monstrosity... it's at Merrylander's (not sure if he ever made any progress on it). I bought it off eBay, a long time ago for $50. Basically a waste of money but it is awfully cool looking (again, to a child of the '70s).

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OK, I'll shut up now...
 
I feel like I am the only one who doesn't find cassette decks at thrifts ever. After 3-4 months of continual thrift shopping, all I seem to ever find are VCR's. Its sad too because I have been occasionally buying good cassettes that I find at the SA (can't go wrong for 50 cents for good condition copies of some good stuff).

I would just like to find a decent cheap player to fool around with. Guess I will have to keep at it.
 
TheCrunge said:
I feel like I am the only one who doesn't find cassette decks at thrifts ever. After 3-4 months of continual thrift shopping, all I seem to ever find are VCR's. Its sad too because I have been occasionally buying good cassettes that I find at the SA (can't go wrong for 50 cents for good condition copies of some good stuff).

I would just like to find a decent cheap player to fool around with. Guess I will have to keep at it.
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If you're looking for one, and not focused on the high end, I'd be happy to fix you up with one, gratis, when you're in MA! :-)

As to VCRs... smoe of the old HiFi VHS (and Beta) VCRs make excellent audio recorders. You just need to find one that has variable input audio level controls (and not just always-on "ALC").
 
Gary Francks said:
Old fashioned I suppose but for some strange reason I can't (or won't) explain it don't feel the same coming out thru' the pc wirelessly.
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For me the lacklustre part is browsing. Scrolling through a list is nothing like flipping through LPs or running your finger through a pile of cds looking for the one your after. Plus, no booklets :(
 
@mhardy6647: The Pioneer unit looks sweet, although I have to confess I'm usually not one for gear with rackmount handles, not sure why.

@TheCrunge: "I would just like to find a decent cheap player to fool around with. Guess I will have to keep at it." Heh, pop down to Australia you can pick up low-mid level Akai's Pioneer's Teac's etc for $5-10 or so. Killer is the postage if you aren't picking up.

I'm currently looking at both an Akai GXC-704D (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...m=150240078794&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005) & a Teac CX-270 (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...m=300219905135&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020).
 
I don't collect vintage cassette decks, but I do have a Realistic SCT-17 and a SCT-19 from my youth. I had a lot of fun with those decks when I was a teen. It's for display only. They work, but I don't use them for any serious recordings.

There are a lot of black dual cassette decks at the thrifts. I bought one for $8 since it had double auto reverse. I also have a Pioneer CT-5R cassette changer in the living room for playing back tapes. I have a lot of interviews, old time radio shows, prerecorded music tapes and tapes I recorded through the years that I listen to.
 
TheCrunge said:
I feel like I am the only one who doesn't find cassette decks at thrifts ever. After 3-4 months of continual thrift shopping, all I seem to ever find are VCR's. Its sad too because I have been occasionally buying good cassettes that I find at the SA (can't go wrong for 50 cents for good condition copies of some good stuff).

I would just like to find a decent cheap player to fool around with. Guess I will have to keep at it.
Click to expand...

The day you're ready to take a ride down the turnpike instead of to a thrift, I'll hook you up at more than fair prices.
 
:banana:
I prefer R2R sound and don't even play that much cassette.
Yet, I still have a weak spot for that silver look from the 70s.

I already have four cassette decks (all black, not BPC), but if I come across a minty Pioneer (as seen in this thread) to match my newly acquired Pioneer TX-9500 II tuner - for less than $80 or so - I'm going to have hard time walking away. :no:

I am still attracted to silver face and don't care for those itty bitty square buttons as seen in the Yamaha.
 
I can relate to the urge for more equipment, even if it is just for display. I fear I may succumb to the desire to have a reel to reel deck once again just for the cool factor. Doubt I would ever use it.

Cassettes however, I really went off the deep end last year and bought around twenty odd decks or so, mostly Nakamichis. As others have posted, due to MP3's and CD's convenience, cassettes have fell in to disfavor here in the states. Pre-recorded tapes are being dumped constantly for practically nothing. Play back one of these on a good deck like a Nakamichi and they're really quite good. Granted, some are just garbage.

If you want to pick one up for just display, may I suggest you try to get a direct drive unit. The less belts and rubber parts in a deck, the better. The rubber parts really are the weakness of most decks, particularly decks that don't get much use. The ideal situation would be a deck with NO rubber parts at all, but there are not too many of them out there. I know I don't have any that are rubberless.

As for suggestions for a nice looking display unit in silver, the Pioneer CT-F flouroscan units are quite nice looking.
 
I have to say that a cassette deck is a worthwhile purchase and since they are not exactly a sought after medium at this point you can pick up an excellent unit for cheap. If you are a tinkerer, you can even get a very collectible unit which needs belts for as low as a $1.00 at a yard sale. I personally have good memories of cassettes due to the fact that growing up I never really bought pre-recorded cassettes, but bought records and taped them on good Maxell, BASF and TDK tapes with excellent results. I actually did not buy many pre-recorded cassettes until I got a car and the local stores were selling good cassettes for next to nothing (mainly due to the rising popularity of CDs).

About ten years ago, I bought an 8-track recorder without owning any cartridges and got some enjoyment out of it and got some interesting carts as well recording some. When the novelty wore off, someone bought the whole kit and caboodle from me for more than I paid for it (he actually made the offer). So if you realize cassettes are not for you, there will be someone to take it off your hands. Keep your eyes open for old Maxell XL II tapes, they are quite nice to record on.
 
Honestly the worst part about the cassette interest I have had for the past few months is that my dad just tossed a decent Teac dual deck. It likely wasn't the greatest, but it sat in our living room for like 10 years not working. Now that I am somewhat in the know, I figure I could have fixed it cheaply. Doh!

Actually my dads best friend has an Aiwa F880 I believe which is supposed to be a pretty good deck. Might need to try to convince him to part with that in the future.
 
Those Aiwas can be nice. A very old man gave me his F660 and I used it for years. It was loaded feature-wise, and sounded great. I'd imagine the 880 was even more capable.
 
I just finshed refurb'ing a F660, nice deck with some great features. The only thing I really don't like about it is that there is a big metal plate that swings out over the capstans and heads when you open up the door. Kind of makes cleaning the transport a pain.

One really cool feature on this deck that I haven't seen on just about anything else is auto deguassing. Every time you power up the unit, it degausses the head for a couple seconds.

Anyone have a service manual for one of these?
 
I listen to a lot of my own tapes in the car during my long commute.
I have a bunch of decks, mostly bpc but I pick up dual ones when I see em cheap because I tape a conference event and make copies once a year - a bunch of old people who still have tape decks want them. My main one is a Yamaha from about 1989, still going strong, nothing too fancy though. I can relate to 'just having it' - esp. to complete a rig with a certain look.
I recently was given a heavy Realistic silver face deck and the head doesn't retract right - looks to be stuck in the rotation between forward and reverse. I have another dual deck where the door won't open and the tape is stuck inside - I think because the head is not retracting. I wish I knew how to fix tape decks. It would be nice to have some kind of primer on AK or maybe there's on elsewhere on fixing simple stuff. I'm pretty mechanical but I wouldn't know where to start with replacing belts or even how to tell they're bad.
 
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