Hey guys,

I miss playing tapes. I loved the experience of the whole thing much better that an ipod with 65 trillion tunes on it that I couldn't possibly listen too in 5 lifetimes.

Please, don't go on about how I don't want a cassette deck, I do.

I have the facility to record 24 bit masters of anything I want as do we all these days. But there was a time when it was nice to just stick a tape on and let it play away.

So im not loosing anything here. All my vinyl etc is already recorded very well. Thats not what I want a cassette deck for. I want a cassette deck to make collections of favorite tunes without having to go near a computer and also to be different.

So, what bargains are out there to be had? Anyone recommend any particular model? Rack mountable would be nice but not essential.

I've got a Teac AD-800. This is a combined CD player and cassette deck, which makes it quite space efficient. Out of the box it isn't rack mountable, but you can buy rack wings for it, which I did.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Hi mate. Hey, it looks like you can still buy them new. Canny pricey.

Had new from 400 quid down to 250 on Ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Teac+AD -800&_sacat=0

Does it have space for rack lugs or is it a DIY? Whats your opinion of it?


EDIT - 100 quid for the rack mounting kit!!!

Edited by Kolakube (25/03/12 07:50 PM)

Strewth! I paid £12.50! But I've just checked the site I bought the kit from and they're sold out, sorry. I think the AD-800 is a perfectly decent machine and I've had no problems with it.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Hi mate. Thanks for the info.

I may need something cheaper. Im on a buying spree at mo with other bits of studio kit. Bloody cabling alone is costing a bomb.

So there still making new cassette decks then? Thats good to know

Look at this lot!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A2%257C39%2 53A6%257C72%253A6003&rt=nc&_nkw=dolby+cassette+deck&_dmd=2&_dmpt=UK_CE_Cas sette_RL&_ipg=96&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1514

Ok, you could catch a cold but anything by Denon, Sony, Technics, Yamaha is potentially fine.

I have in fact just re- housed my Sony TC-611S Dolby S deck with my Sony MDS-JE500 Minidisc record stacked on top in an old Audax rack. Just finished wiring the breakout patchbay for them both.

I would eschew all frill on a cassette machine such as auto reverse and twin decks (if you ever need to copy tapes just bounce them into the pc and and out again). My 116s is just one deck, one way but 3 heads and boootiful with it.

Dave. (send you some pics)

I was almost going to tell you about this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Teac-AD-500-CD-Tape-deck-3U-rackmount-/290688037 348

But I wanted it :-)
Tape section may not work though but for a little over £30 I can't complain.

However plenty of technics units going cheap on ebay, always were good qualtity, the one that is built into my SA-X900L (which my gran almost chucked!) sounds excellent (although no pause on technics models (I have yet to see one anyway)

Ooo! Ooo!
Had one of these...Denon DRS-810 3 Head High End Dolby BC NR HX Pro

Super machine. I actually got it for nothing because the guy had dropped it and I saw some print damage and the flat capstan motor would not work so I qouted him a big estimate since I had to guess the cost of the motor with integral control board and save my A if the job took ages due to hidden problems. "Keep it for spares" he said and "What do I owe you so far?" I took nothing and forgot about the machine until a few weeks later when I decided to phone Denon for a price for the motor assy' About 8quid!
So one of them and a few hours linking print and I had a S of A cassette machine!

Dave.

OK, so it was some years ago now, but I bought a Sony deck just as they were falling out of use and as I don't use it a lot it's fine; it also has the most accurate pitch of any cassette deck I've had with the possible exception of the Neal 103 I had back in the 70s, which may have been a bit better but I had no means of measuring it then. It's a TC-KB820S. There must be plenty about not in use any more - maybe you could advertise for one. You'd probably get none or too many.

MIne is occasionally used to transfer spoken word cassettes to computer - I use the unit in my car for playback, having taken over my mother's 2000 model Jaguar which has no CD. I fully agree it's nice to just play a tape and I do remember with affection making compilations for myself and friends. I'm not doing this now as I have something like 400 cassettes which I select from, pretty much at random, and bung in the car to see whether I still like 'em. There is something more personal somehow having the choice of half a dozen tapes rather than 10,000 song on a iPod.

Favourite re-discovery so far is Garrison Keillor reading his novel 'Radio Romance'. I thought I'd hate it as GK's voice is a bit over-used now, but it sucked me right in ...

How good a quality one do you want?

There's a twin tape deck going free near me, you'd just have to pay postage.
I can find out the make later this week if you're interested?

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I've never liked a solo violin, you need at least five for a proper fire.

i have an old Yamaha one in the loft somewhere with remote but one side don't work, 1 wheel wont go round and eats tapes and it needs a new bulb for the 1 half of the display but the other side was ok.

that was 7 years ago tho and it was not cheap but ill dig it out and see if it still works and you can have it for postage cost if you want it but its heavy.

cant find it on Google images so must have been a good one but cant get up there till the weekend to find it but will pm you the model no if you are interested.

Tascam 122s go for cheap these days... rack mountable and lit VUs. Good stuff. Nakamichis are also good some allow for automatic azimuth adjustment.

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I'm All Ears.

Not used a cassette for years

Why not look for a second hand cassette based portastudio.

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Madman_Greg

I've just had to junk an old Denon somethingorother because of vast amounts of ugly noise on the wobbly outputs - even after a good resoldering. If you're buying used, I suppose there's a list of things to look out for...

Still got a fairly basic TEAC V-615 in the hi fi stack, which does a decent job.

i found the remote but cant find the pic of the deck atm.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-RS-KW9-KX-DUAL-TAPE-DECK-REMOTE-CONTROL-/26 0837021240#ht_520wt_1163

Aiwa AD series were always pretty bullet-proof units. I've got one in the loft which see occasional outings. Not sure which model but dolby b,c & a bias trim control I never fully understood. I seem to recall it was recommended in a making 'four-track recording' book by John Peel.

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Not much in life worth running for. Or from.

I've used the basic Aiwa decks for ages - they work pretty well and some of ours must have done thousands of hours of real time duplication without any problems. I also liked the old Pioneer CT200 that I had - until the belt stretched.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

Had (well still have but broken) and AIWA AD-F450 good deck, plus got it for free :-)

lol, I should get paid by SOS. All my threads seem to generate a million replies. (Down to a great community I say, and my amazing good looks)

Im thinking about buying something new now that I know they still make these. I just worry all them moving parts and I just like things to work. Currently scouring Ebay

@ Rino and Necro. Thanks for the offers guys. Really appreciated. Think im going for new though as said. Scared of buying 10 units to find one good un.

Anyone know if 3 headed is the way to go? My wife has two and she seems fine

@ ef37a

Is your model not a Sony TC- "K" 611S

Cant find anything on Sony TC-611S




Anyone know if TDK are still making tapes?

Quote Kolakube:

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Anyone know if TDK are still making tapes?

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Apparently still available at various places, this was the cheapest result that I saw for one

http://247electrical.co.uk/tdk-audio-cassette-d-90-single-100pb-500pp.html

For a pack of 5 - £7.88

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/19476450/TDK-D90X5-Audio-Co mpact-Cassette/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccat:19476450%7Cprd:19476450

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote Kolakube:

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@ ef37a

Is your model not a Sony TC- "K" 611S

Cant find anything on Sony TC-611S




Anyone know if TDK are still making tapes?

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Same deck, some Sony literature drops the K for cassette after they stopped making open reels, BTW for some really anal info the T stands for Tape the C for Corder and the K for cassette, TapeCorder used to be a Sony trademark before they used Sony, TDK sold the tape & CDR operation to Imation a few years back and they still make the cheaper formulations such as SA chrome tapes, the Sony 611 is biased for a Sony tape that is compatible to the TDK SA so it would be a great fit

I still haven't given up mine. It is in my entertainment center next to my minidisc. I have a Yamaha currently on display, a Technics with only one side working in the studio just to bounce tapes off and a working but older one in the garage

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www.descentintomadness.com

I picked up a bunch of TDK SA-90 on Amaz*on a little while back - I often used to use those back in the 90s, and had no idea they were still around!

If you are going to spend good money on a cassette tape deck.... Make it a Nakamichi 3 head machine and really don't bother considering any other junk you have been looking at.
If you are Seriously considering dropping £300-400 you would be chucking your cash into a fire if you don't look at Naks.

Also don't get anything with auto reverse.

A Sony ES series deck is also good.

I'd by-pass Technics unless you have them modified, out the box they don't sound anything special.

If you want your deck serviced and working like new, PM me I know a guy.
I was lucky enough to buy a modified Technics off him for really cheap, I'm savvy like that with deals lol Usually it would of cost a lot more as all the work done on it:

Normal service for the mechanics.

All mech switches cleaned

All control switches on the front panel are replaced by new Alps switches.

JFET buffer installed to reduce the PB noise.

Recording amplifier modified to provide 10 dB more headroom - enough to record on top quality metal tape.

The original (worn) MX permalloy head is replaced by NOS Canon S&S (laminated sendust) long life sandwich head.

All required playback and recording adjustments done.

4066 monitor switch IC replaced with the ANT4066A

Headphone amp is modified for better sound.

All pots are cleaned and greased

May I also suggest

http://www.tapeheads.net/forumdisplay.php?f=6

Copying your music to cassette is illegal.

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http://soundcloud.com/orgasmo-sonore Revisiting Obscure Film Music

Quote Frank Rideau:

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Copying your music to cassette is illegal.

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No it isn't. Copying OTHER PEOPLES' music might be but what a can of worms THAT has been over the years!

Going 'tother way. I have found a cassette in sons' room "Coleman Hawkins & Benny Carter in Paris" (with Django and Grappelly) rec' 1935-46. That is now preserved on hard drive and will be several times over.

Dave.

I picked up a Tascam 112 from sleazebay for less than a ton and, rump me obliquely, but the bastard actually worked.

It's great listening to some of my old composition in true 3 bit, 8 dB dynamic range. Kinda added some natural bit crushing and SRC all at the same time and in a 4 bit FP domain.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

Quote Zukan:

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It's great listening to some of my old composition in true 3 bit, 8 dB dynamic range. Kinda added some natural bit crushing and SRC all at the same time and in a 4 bit FP domain.

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I also love the way that you value your recordings even more, knowing that each time you play them a little more rubs off until eventually there's nothing left to listen to

But the very best part is when the tape gets grabbed by its goolies inside the innards of the mechanism and then after you've done your best to flatten it out again you get that wonderful 'crumpled distortion' as the new folds pass over the replay head


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Quote Martin Walker:

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Quote Zukan:

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It's great listening to some of my old composition in true 3 bit, 8 dB dynamic range. Kinda added some natural bit crushing and SRC all at the same time and in a 4 bit FP domain.

---

I also love the way that you value your recordings even more, knowing that each time you play them a little more rubs off until eventually there's nothing left to listen to

But the very best part is when the tape gets grabbed by its goolies inside the innards of the mechanism and then after you've done your best to flatten it out again you get that wonderful 'crumpled distortion' as the new folds pass over the replay head


Martin

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Yep, that effects is known as the 'gnat's buttock'. A little band-widthed if I may be bold?

Additionally, once your rec ordings have all but disappeared, with the faintest of 'pixel' noise left, then it can be used to layer digital recordings for added warmth and wax realism.


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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

Cassette, even pretty good stuff is like a BR sandwich, don't look too hard!

I had not used my TC-K611S for some time so I ran a 1kHz tone thru' it onto some bog-s TDK D at 0"VU" (about +3Dolby) and the 3rd harmonic is "only" 48dB below that, nice bit of "warmth" tho'at -56dB 2nd har'. Baseline noise is at -72dB rev 0vu but I have an annoying 50Hz hum at just -46dB and 150Hz at -47dB. The 150Hz harmonic tells me this is mains traff into the head? Need some mu-metal tape!

And AFAIK TDK SA was not a chrome tape but a high energy ferric but used on type 2 bias/eq. TDK AD was almost as good and a bit cheaper (SA was NOT cheap!)but most decks were not biased high enough for it.

Dave.

Quote Martin Walker:

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But the very best part is when the tape gets grabbed by its goolies inside the innards of the mechanism and then after you've done your best to flatten it out again you get that wonderful 'crumpled distortion' as the new folds pass over the replay head


Martin

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I have a few tapes like this, it actually does add a little something. It would pain me if it was on an album that was my only copy, but it seems to work on dance mixtapes quite well. I wish something could emulate it, it is a combo of reverse, pan shift and filter in one go.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote Richie Royale:

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I have a few tapes like this, it actually does add a little something. It would pain me if it was on an album that was my only copy, but it seems to work on dance mixtapes quite well. I wish something could emulate it, it is a combo of reverse, pan shift and filter in one go.

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So, a wow and flutter plug in with some printhrough control...

Hahah... Funny how we spent so much time making sure these things weren't introduced in the first place on analogue tpae only to desire them on digital!

love it.

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I'm All Ears.

Quote Martin Walker:

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Quote Zukan:

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It's great listening to some of my old composition in true 3 bit, 8 dB dynamic range. Kinda added some natural bit crushing and SRC all at the same time and in a 4 bit FP domain.

---

I also love the way that you value your recordings even more, knowing that each time you play them a little more rubs off until eventually there's nothing left to listen to

But the very best part is when the tape gets grabbed by its goolies inside the innards of the mechanism and then after you've done your best to flatten it out again you get that wonderful 'crumpled distortion' as the new folds pass over the replay head


Martin

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IIRC there's an Aphex Twin tune on "Ambient Works 85-92" or "Polygon Window" where the "master tape" was a crumpled cassette that had orange juice spilt on it.

(However I gather some people contend that lemonade gives a more authentic 'acid' sound, etc etc)

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~~~ A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen as you are tossed with! www.feline1.co.uk ~~~

Quote feline1:

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IIRC there's an Aphex Twin tune on "Ambient Works 85-92" or "Polygon Window" where the "master tape" was a crumpled cassette that had orange juice spilt on it.

(However I gather some people contend that lemonade gives a more authentic 'acid' sound, etc etc)

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Wasn't the whole of AW1 mastered from cassette that had been through everyone's car stereos?

Some old mates of mine recorded their first album in their kitchen on a 4-track cassette - that ended up being used as the master. No amount of proper studio time could get the same vibe, apparently (we're talking a proper and successful release by the way, not some web download or promo freebie type thing).

If it does what you want...

Quote nathanscribe:

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If it does what you want...

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Indeed - sometimes 'the vibe' is far better on elderly compact cassette band recordings when there was no 'red light' to put you off


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Wow tons of replies.

Vinyl Junkie. Where the hell do you think im going to spend 400 quid? No mate, hoping 150 absolute tops. Thanks for mentioning the tech you know. Ill no doubt be in touch re that as whatever I get will no doubt need a service.




Yeah, all of Aphex Twins first ambeint works LP was masterd to tape. (Well according to Aphex Twin who frequently lies on interview anyhow )




Analogue tape is well know for adding its own compresssion. This is due to the tape mechinisms squashing the music together on the acctual tape itself apparently.

I got my deck from him for £110 with all that work done and service usually it would cost a lot more but it was one of his personal units and like most weirdo collectors there comes a point where you have too much clutter in your house and need to let go of the less desirable stuff.. Luckily for me it does the job just fine and it's a nice deck.

FYI and my test.
Dave.
Ah! Got that cracked then!

Edited by ef37a (30/03/12 06:54 AM)