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Remember those things from 30ish years ago we all used to shove pencils into? Turns out they also have music on them. Let's talk about them. Who are they? What are they about? Why they gotta be so square all the time? That's right, we're talking about CASSETTES. With cassettes starting a resurgence similar to vinyl records, let's have a place to talk about them, show off our collections and scores, etc. I'm not much on the technical side, but I'll try to cover at least some of the basics as I understand them. If anyone more knowledgeable than me on this sees a mistake I made or something I forgot to cover that I should have, chime in! Post your collections, post your finds, post anything cassette tape related. ----- Small Q&A from a tape novice to a tape newbie. Q: They still make tapes? A: Yes indeed. Thanks to the prison system of all things keeping cassette manufacturing alive for the last several decades, cassettes have persevered beyond CD, MiniDisc, UMD, HDDVD, Ultraviolet Digital and into the modern age. Due to the cheap production cost, many indie artists are attracted to the format as a simple way to distribute their albums to a wider audience. Q: Don't tapes sound like poo poo? A: Any format can sound like poo poo with the wrong hardware. With the right kind of tape and the right hardware, a cassette tape can sound just as good as any CD. Q: Where do I find tapes? A: A lot of places, surprisingly. Discogs is a great place to find that album you had as a kid that you'd love to own again. For new indie stuff, Bandcamp is a great source. A lot of vaporwave albums specifically will see cassette releases, as well as other obscure formats. If you don't want to wait for shipping or don't know what you want, bumming around your town's local thrift stores and the occasional yard sale can be a good source of tapes as well. Q: I got some tapes, now where do I put them in my iPod? A: Wu-hoooh there, chief. Slow down. Tapes don't go in your iPod, they go in something called a "Cassette Tape Sound System Music Player Box", or cassette players for short. They can come in all shapes and sizes, even pyramid shaped, but usually you'll see them in the form of a hifi deck for home stereo use, Walkman portable players for on the go tunes, or older model cars sometimes still have them built in. Regardless of which one you get, there's some things to consider both before and after purchase. First off, as with record players, older is typically better. That new USB Bluetooth compatible cassette Walkman on Amazon might sound neat and have the best features, but the sound quality of new cassette players leaves a lot to be desired. Things like Dolby Noise Reduction aren't a thing anymore, and the modern parts being manufactured are usually of pretty low sound output quality. Your better option is to poke around eBay and find a model from the 80's or 90's, like my Yamaha KX-W900 here. You'll probably have to put a little bit of love (i.e. cash) into it, but it's worth it if you want the best sound quality.  Not looking for a home system? You can pick up something like my Sanyo M-G41 here. To get a really good sounding one, you're probably going to be spending a small sum, but even this little guy sounds great while not being top of the line. (Really I just loved the way it looked).  Q: Alright, I bought one of these players. So I just put the tape in and- A: Not so fast, we're not tape worthy yet. At least most likely we aren't. While I have had the odd player that ran fine out of the box 40 years later, odds are you're going to have to do the one most common bit of maintenance on the player: changing the belts. After decades of existing, the rubber belts that drive the cassette mechanism will turn to goo. Thankfully, you can fix this pretty easy usually. Look up your model if you have questions on that and to find the correct size belts you'll need, then replace them. If you don't, you could run into playback issues, like slow speed and whatnot, if it even plays at all. If you don't feel comfortable fixing them yourself, look into local repair shops. Q: Alright, alright, I got the player, I got it fixed, I got the tape, now what? A: Put it in the player, hit play and jam out. If you have any more questions about tapes, I can't recommend checking out Techmoan's YouTube channel as a resource, especially these two videos, one on tapes in general and one on picking out a good Walkman, but there's a lot of good information from this man that I haven't linked here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVoSQP2yUYA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9wT2Y4W-T0
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Apr 17, 2020 23:28
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I think it's important to counter the idea of tapes as a nostalgic revival of an obsolete medium, since that gets brought up a lot on the internet now whenever they're mentioned. While usage of tapes did dip down significantly in the early to mid 2000s, they've never stopped being used entirely in genres like punk, black metal or noise, so what you're seeing isn't really a revival so much as a holdover from an older period, and it's a holdover that has occurred because tapes as a medium have qualities that can't be replicated by any other format. And in terms of economics, if you're an artist with a niche audience or a small diy label there just isn't really a more cost effective way to release music on a physical format, since CDrs are complete poo poo that no one likes.
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Apr 18, 2020 02:38
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Agreed, that's why I said resurgence instead of revival, as cassettes have always still been around, but I still think that probably wasn't conveyed the right way. What I mean by that is we're starting to see more people noticing them.
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Apr 18, 2020 02:50
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For the first time in a month thanks to the virus stuff, one of my tape orders came in. Two new additions to the collection.
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May 8, 2020 19:38
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This has been a surprisingly good past few days for my orders coming in. Just got these two in today. Wiseauwaves 1 and 2. Pretty decent pair of albums. Unfortunately, my copy of 1 came with a nice crack in the case. There's still a couple left on bandcamp too I think.
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May 12, 2020 02:01
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LastGoodBoy posted:
gonna need a link here pal
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May 13, 2020 04:35
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Giga Gaia posted:gonna need a link here pal https://cloudvault.bandcamp.com/album/wiseauwave https://cloudvault.bandcamp.com/album/wiseauwave-ii Cassettes are all sold out, but the digital album is pay what you want.
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May 13, 2020 04:48
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Got a few more in over the last few weeks. Wanted to get a bunch in one post, so I waited until today's tape came in. "슈퍼마켓Yes! We’re Open" by 식료품groceries was the one that I just got in today. Some chud on Discogs is trying to fleece people by charging $105 for a used copy, more than double the price of a mint copy. Picked this one up from the same release page for $40. His listing has been up for a while, but he quickly pulled it when this other guy I bought from listed his. As soon as I bought it and the $40 listing was gone, surprise surprise, the $105 listing came back. Don't get ripped off, folks. Also, bonus pic: floppy disk album 
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Jun 2, 2020 04:12
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I don't rememerr which is in my back car. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Hy7uAb_eU
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Jun 2, 2020 13:44
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Glad to finally see a cassette thread! I have a Panasonic RS-256 which is circa 1970 and has big chunky/clicky buttons that are super tactile and make me very happy.  I buy most of my tapes at thrift stores and record stores. I almost made a huge score of 100+ 80s/90s hip-hop cassettes on FB marketplace a few weeks ago but the guy ended up selling it locally instead of shipping it to me, which was kind of annoying. But the unit overall sounds great and it's a fun add-on to my vinyl setup. But as long as we're talking about tape, there's this other thing I own...  Reel to reel is amazing and the sound quality is killer but everything you have heard about it being just a endless pile of  is correct. I'm hoping as cassettes get more popular and people start enjoying tape again that reel to reel will make a comeback too. It would be amazing to see the record labels start putting out pre-recorded 7" 7.5 IPS tapes like they did back in the day. Think how good something like the new Lady Gaga album would sound! Oh well. A man can dream...
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Jun 9, 2020 18:35
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My uncle has the same reel to reel player in his garage workshop. Someday I hope to get my hands on it.
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Jun 9, 2020 18:52
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LastGoodBoy posted:My uncle has the same reel to reel player in his garage workshop. Someday I hope to get my hands on it. If it's not working, or needs service, tell your uncle he might want to think about getting it done sooner than later. There is literally one guy in the US who still has the knowledge and spare parts to work on Crowns with any degree of quality. I think he's in his 60s and he took over from the previous old-timer guy who retired from being the only guy servicing them. If you do any reading about them, they're somewhat fiddly to work on. But it's one of those things, once he services it it'll be ready to go for the next 50+ years. If you want his name and contact info just DM me.
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Jun 9, 2020 19:10
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I think it works. It's in pristine condition. If I ever get my hands on it, I'll let you know.
LastGoodBoy fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Jun 10, 2020 |
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Jun 9, 2020 19:38
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New stack built up. I didn't even order Peachy, power_lunch just knows I like Azuresands大麻. Real cool guy!
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Jun 12, 2020 03:12
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https://imgur.com/a/oBys6qr Here's my uncle's reel to reel, somewhat obscured behind a box, but it still looks pristine.
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Jun 21, 2020 23:25
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Xarthor posted:
Yeah my buddy has a spare reel to reel deck that he says I can have if I want to get into that game, but gently caress, I've been looking and yep, . I don't need to spend 100$ on ANOTHER copy of Electric Warrior, my vinyl obsession is enough.
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Jun 22, 2020 18:53
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some cassettes got delivered, i hope you enjoy them here in these end times
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Jun 28, 2020 18:51
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Nice grab on Precursor. Been considering that one myself. I got a couple more in, including a Tiger Blood Tapes release, so naturally it took almost six months to get. No joke, I ordered it December 27th, 2019 and it just got here like four days ago. I had opened a PayPal dispute and everything on it. 
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Jun 28, 2020 19:19
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Aww hell yeah! Got this in finally! Not the Tracking Waves one, those loving scammers. Got the GOOD version from Aloe City.
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Jul 7, 2020 04:07
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Latest arrival And this in the mail: Nice 90's indie pop, shoegazey, Mazzy Starr, kinda has a New Order feel... https://softblueshimmer.bandcamp.com/album/nothing-happens-here
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Jul 7, 2020 14:35
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New tape day. Palm Mall Mars and Atlantic Memories.
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Jul 11, 2020 20:19
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Didn't want this thread to die like the CD thread did, so here's a few tapes I've picked up over the years from used stores, thrifts, library book sales. I never really set out to "collect" tapes, I just had beater cars with working tape decks so anything interesting got bought...
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Jan 31, 2021 18:45
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Yeah, I should post my hauls since I last posted, I just didn't want to make a hundred posts a month and be 99% of the thread. I've filled another 100 loader since then.
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Mar 3, 2021 18:36
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Listening to Baha Men's seminal 2000 hit record "Who Let The Dogs Out" today. Next up is Shaggy's "Hotshot". It's a good day to listen to some tapes
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Mar 11, 2021 18:24
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OP post your collection or come clean as an RIAA agent
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Mar 22, 2021 02:24
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My tapes for reference - I've recently been exposed to dungeon synth and really like it.
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Mar 22, 2021 16:33
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Not the OP but why not? I keep my nerdy shame in a closet, hence the dim lighting among other things. Turbinosamente fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Mar 23, 2021 |
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Mar 23, 2021 03:14
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Turbinosamente posted:I keep my nerdy shame in a closet, hence the dim lighting among other things. Several packs of Ultra Pro 35pt. toploaders, eww! *shudder*
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Mar 23, 2021 14:01
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Empty Pockets posted:OP post your collection or come clean as an RIAA agent Yeah I'll do it in the morning if I don't forget.
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Apr 4, 2021 10:24
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Empty Pockets posted:My tapes for reference - I've recently been exposed to dungeon synth and really like it.
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May 17, 2021 12:31
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bowmore posted:I need to get me a couple of these tape holder things, what do people usually call them so I can skim ebay etc Tape holder things.
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May 17, 2021 21:35
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bowmore posted:I need to get me a couple of these tape holder things, what do people usually call them so I can skim ebay etc https://www.kingdom.com/100-capacity-wooden-cassette-rack-unfinished-wood.html
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May 22, 2021 21:45
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From time to time they show up in thrift stores, you might even score an old Napa Valley one. Why the gently caress is an old name brand one like that so expensive online anyways? Is it purely the cost of shipping a large size one?
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May 23, 2021 00:19
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bowmore posted:I need to get me a couple of these tape holder things, what do people usually call them so I can skim ebay etc A cassette rack? Not sure there’s one official term these days but Napa Valley is the big popular brand and what I’d suggest searching for. I see them on Facebook marketplace now and then for about $50, mine was a little more though.
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Jul 16, 2021 22:33
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current tape status: I’ve been listening to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac a lot lately, but the cassette has a different track order than I’m used to so it’s a bit off-putting. Is this common and I just never noticed? Cassettes aren’t as limited on playback per side as vinyl, so I’m really not sure why they’d do it.
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Jul 16, 2021 22:38
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Empty Pockets posted:current tape status: I’ve been listening to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac a lot lately, but the cassette has a different track order than I’m used to so it’s a bit off-putting. I don't know if it's done so that there's an evenish amount of play time on each side of the tape? When organizing my 8 tracks the other day I noticed that some of the tracks listings had notes that there was like 1:45 of silence at the end of program 2 so everything lines up. And I know I have tapes that have a huge amount of silence at the end of one side as well. Could be talking out my rear end on this one though.
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Jul 16, 2021 22:45
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Empty Pockets posted:current tape status: I’ve been listening to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac a lot lately, but the cassette has a different track order than I’m used to so it’s a bit off-putting. It was more common in the 70s, but it fell out of style. Basically, to minimize wasted tape, they would try to get both sides to be about as even as possible. It was far more common to mix up the playing order for 8 tracks, so that way you didn't have a ton of silence at awkward times, so they just carried that over to the cassette. However, they stopped doing that for the most part. And that's why there will be that notice on some cassettes that goes "to preserve continuity, there may be silence at the end of one of the sides" or something like that. Honestly, most people didn't care about the silence.
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Jul 17, 2021 14:00
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Cemetry Gator posted:It was more common in the 70s, but it fell out of style. This makes sense, it’s definitely an older tape.
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Jul 17, 2021 19:39
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I wanna get back into cassettes. I bought a vintage radio with cassette that I am gonna restore, but I also want a cassette deck of some kind.... But I have no real idea of what I want except it should be a silver model. I want to record from digital (my PC) and radio to cassette tapes which I think any deck will do. I don't want to sink a lot of money ino it so I am looking at 50€ and below. I read somewhere an opinion that decks peaked between 1982 to 1987. Though I have seen some nice looking late 70s versions. I have here a list of models I have found and am considering: JVC KD-V11 35€  Luxman K-230 45€  Missing two buttons, tried to haggle but seller didn't want to. I think I could machine new buttons from aluminum or steel. JVC KD-V100 50€  Haggled this down to 40€ but seller is technically impaired, don't want to take normal forms of payment (bank transfer or mobilepay, I would probably have to send him cash in a letter). Pioneer CT-F600 40€  Also looks interesting, seems to be a late 70s model. These are mostly basic cassette decks, they all got two heads but that's all I need I think. I am not an audiophile at all. i don't need metal tape capacity either. I think the JVC KD-V100 is the one I am most interested in, but i also think maybe I don't got the knowledge to determine which is the best model for the money. I've also initiated a search with my relatives for an old cassette from the 1980s we recorded when I was maybe 6-7 years old, me and my cousins and my granddad and whatnot, it was a recording of his 70th birthday and I think it's the only extant recording of his voice. As a kid we used to listen to it a lot at his place I remember. It'd be great if I could digitize the old tape and save it, and make new copies to send to my cousins.
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Sep 10, 2021 06:40
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His Divine Shadow posted:I wanna get back into cassettes. I bought a vintage radio with cassette that I am gonna restore, but I also want a cassette deck of some kind.... But I have no real idea of what I want except it should be a silver model. I want to record from digital (my PC) and radio to cassette tapes which I think any deck will do. I don't want to sink a lot of money ino it so I am looking at 50€ and below. The Luxman is the best one there, and I’d put the pioneer 2nd. Shame about the buttons on the Luxman, though.
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Sep 10, 2021 11:02
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