How do I make a cassette shorter?

[N8nye]

So I happened to receive somewhere between 200 and 300 cassettes from this woman who didn't need them anymore. I believe they are 60 minute tapes but i want to cut them down to 30 minute tapes so that they are easier to listen to (I plan to release demos on them and give them to people). Is there a way I can make the deck stop playing at a certain point automatically so that it will only play 1 side for 30 minutes?

 

[SteveM]

So I happened to receive somewhere between 200 and 300 cassettes from this woman who didn't need them anymore. I believe they are 60 minute tapes but i want to cut them down to 30 minute tapes so that they are easier to listen to (I plan to release demos on them and give them to people). Is there a way I can make the deck stop playing at a certain point automatically so that it will only play 1 side for 30 minutes?

If it's a 60min tape one side already is 30 mins. so any deck will stop at the end. I don't see how you can make any deck stop playing mid tape. You can't encode any thing like that on the tape if that's what you mean. The only other way to shorten them, is if they are the type with screws (always the best tapes) then you can open them up and cut tape out. But then you need to tape it back together securely. And it's not a whole lot of fun. Sounds like a lot of work.

 

[N8nye]

yeah, I already tried that. Not too much fun and it didn't work.

 

[thewonders]

The other thing you can do is just duplicate your demo on the second side. When the tape ends it can be turned over and your demo starts over again.

 

[Wish]

Have you heard of CDs?

 

[kip4]

I'd go with the cd option if i where you.
consider the possibilty of pen drives with mp3s on too.
If i recieved a tape demo i dont even think i'd give it a listen. If its not quick and easy i couldnt be bothered to strike up the deck.
Enclose photos a brief synopsis and a well presented cd and i will look

 

[AtoDeficient]

i want to cut them down to 30 minute tapes so that they are easier to listen to (I plan to release demos on them and give them to people)

I think the listener is going to decide if, and how long they are going to listen to them, no matter what you do. . . The last cassette tape I listened to was of a personal friend karaoke vocalist demo. . I wouldn't bother with a cassette for a relative stranger's demo. . . If you want to reach as many people as you can, you'll have to go with CDs . .

As for the cassettes, if they're Type II's they're worth something to someone. . . For instance, there's this guy in New England. . .

 

[Beck]

Put it on CD or small capacity inexpensive thumb drive. Not many people have cassette players these days, and many of those that do don't have anything that will do your demo tape justice.

If you're set on using cassette all you can do is take the shell apart, remove the end of the tape from one reel, cut the tape to desired length and snap the end of the shorter tape back in the reel. IMO it's a lot of work for little return and you lose the leader tape on one side., which gives you a slightly better chance of the tape breaking at the end of a fast wind.

But honestly if the person can't figure out when the song ends and to stop the tape himself/herself, don't do any business with him/her… unless she’s really cute. In that case when she giggles and says, “Oh silly me hehe.” You can tell her how cute you think that is… that she can't find her way around a cassette deck, and then ask her out to dinner.

 

[lonewhitefly]

I don't know, depending on the style, cassette can be an asset. I put out a 20-min cassette to advertise a couple albums I made, and it seemed to work pretty well. I put them at coffee shops, thrift stores, etc. I think indie/hipster/whatever people like cassette. There's even a few cassette-only labels out there.

Re: your original question: Short answer is it's not worth the time and effort. You can go to tapes.com and get 30-min tapes in bulk for SUPER cheap ($0.30 a piece for normal bias).

Long answer: you could physically pull out and cut and splice each tape if you really want to use the ones you have. Otherwise, leaving a the 2nd side blank or repeating the program on the 2nd side would the other options.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Have you heard of CDs?

This is not the right forum for talking about Certified Deposits.

Cheers!

 

[Wish]

This is not the right forum for talking about Certified Deposits.

Cheers!

Yeah...the rates really suck right now too.

I miss the good old days.

 

[miroslav]

I plan to release demos on them and give them to people.

Hand them out to people under the age of 20...and I bet most will all give you a funny look.

Like..."WTF is this?"

Yeah, CDs or thumb drives is the way to go these days...not too many folks have cassette decks anymore, and I don't think they've put them in cars for like 15-20 years now...?

The only folks still using cassettes are some of the analog tape guys who use the small cassette porta-studio recorders and maybe some audiophile types who still maintain cassette decks.
You can probably unload them on eBay for a few bucks if they are good quality...and then buy some blank CDs.

 

[lonewhitefly]

Hand them out to people under the age of 20...and I bet most will all give you a funny look.

Like..."WTF is this?"

Yeah, CDs or thumb drives is the way to go these days...not too many folks have cassette decks anymore, and I don't think they've put them in cars for like 15-20 years now...?

The only folks still using cassettes are some of the analog tape guys who use the small cassette porta-studio recorders and maybe some audiophile types who still maintain cassette decks.
You can probably unload them on eBay for a few bucks if they are good quality...and then buy some blank CDs.

Cassette-Only Labels Are Thriving, But Is It Just a Fad? - Page 1 - Music - San Francisco - SF Weekly

 

[Chilljam]

Hand them out to people under the age of 20...and I bet most will all give you a funny look.

Actually there is a mini 'cassette revival' happening in the last year or two in the independent and small-label music scene. Not quite as big as the growth in vinyl over the last couple of years but like I said, quite popular among the smaller 'hip' music scene that isn't quite big enough for vinyl releases.

I've been handing out cassette demos and albums for years (even before it was hip ) and listeners generally like it, sometimes they find it a bit weird but it gets their attention and they usually seek out a way to listen to it... worst case is they ask if I can put it on CD instead.

 

[miroslav]

Actually there is a mini 'cassette revival' happening in the last year or two in the independent and small-label music scene. Not quite as big as the growth in vinyl over the last couple of years but like I said, quite popular among the smaller 'hip' music scene that isn't quite big enough for vinyl releases.

I've been handing out cassette demos and albums for years (even before it was hip ) and listeners generally like it, sometimes they find it a bit weird but it gets their attention and they usually seek out a way to listen to it... worst case is they ask if I can put it on CD instead.

Really...?

So like...where's everyone getting the cassette decks from, they aren't that common any more...?
I guess their parents must still have them...somehere in the house.

 

[lonewhitefly]

most people I know have cassette players. They were fairly standard on boomboxes until maybe the last couple years.

 

[N8nye]

Cd packaging is way to expensive so we decided against it. For whatever reason I left out the important part. We're putting our official album on one side and demos and various b sides on the b side. I received all of the cassettes for free so I wanted to use them (we were going with national audio co otherwise). At this point we may just duplicate both a and b sides.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Got a pretty decent yamaha home cassette deck i don't need if anyone wants it. KX-580 - mint with manual.

 

[miroslav]

most people I know have cassette players. They were fairly standard on boomboxes until maybe the last couple years.

I just haven't seen too many old-style boom boxes around in my neck of the woods...everyone's been walking around with the "buds" in their ears and the little pod on their hip....but that's cool if there's still folks using cassettes.
Back in the day, we use to drag around cases of cassette tapes and a player where ever we went...even when we went camping way out to the more deserted beaches. We would haul a 12V car battery, a car cassette deck, and then a piar of smaller home speakers, and that would rock out nice-n-loud all day/night long.
Cassettes were king for quite awhile.....

 

[jimmartin]

As earlier posted a 60 minute cassette is 30 minutes each side. If you still would like to edit back in the 70s we would use a tape splicer you can find this on ebay Look up Tenco cassette tape splicer.

Back in the day this splicer cost about $3.00 at Radio Shack, now they are asking $30.00.

There is no need to open the cassette to splice the tape. Just remove the tape you don't need and you now have a shorter tape. You can do this manually with a razor make sure you cut the tape on an angle use a thin mil "scotch tape" to attach the two sections and you're done. This is how it was done many years ago.