Recording to cassette tape question(s)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fruscayerdrix
  • Start date Start date
TASCAM MAN said:
Man I think I will order me the 10 pack (and see what they sound like) of 15 min. ones....the short lengths sound very practical to me !!!
Click to expand...

Please let me/us know what you think of them :) Are they still manufacturing these or do they come from some leftover stash?

ecc83 said:
Seems like I needed the hat!
Someone asked the question, I answered it to the best of my ability. I am sure there are others here more qualified than I. In any case I gave up frigging about with tape machine setup 20yrs ago! My Sony S cassette has built in calibration and I leave my Teac A3340 tfalone because I no longer have the equipment to do a proper job!

Dave.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was my question. Thx for the explanation. Someday i hope to actually understand it ;)


This thread has evolved into a nice 'HELP-i-just-bought-an-analog-4/6/8-track-what-am-i-supposed-to-do-now' thread. Thx for all the input.
 
The explanation is awesome. Thanks!

I think Type II tape is quieter than Type I, with less inherent background noise.
Definitely higher fidelity.
:spank::eek:;)
 
TASCAM MAN said:
im jealous , my stash isnt quite as big as yours man man man im getting more !!:d
Click to expand...

Doesn't come easy...workin' 2 jobs for the past 6-7 years allows me to be able to grab 'em when I can.
I'm not rich by any means,...just a lot of hard workin'/workin' overtime so I am able to collect (hoard) what I'd like.
Or if I find I am not using something as much as it should get used anymore...I'll get rid of it, and get something that will be of more use in the now.

Speaking of hoard,..I am getting ready to thin my herd.

Selling off one of my minty 688's, along with a TEAC 2300, TEAC 3300S, Akai 4000DB, & TEAC CX-650R.
The only thing is.. I am not willing to ship these guys anywhere due to size, weight, & fragility. So I guess I'll be posting them local.
I do know how to pack & ship them properly...but just do not have the time to do so.
I would much rather the buyer pick 'em up in person anyway. It ensures a smooth transaction...and none of my babies get hurt!:p
 
A Reel Person said:
I think Type II tape is quieter than Type I, with less inherent background noise.
Definitely higher fidelity.
:spank::eek:;)
Click to expand...

I seem to recall (oo! it has all been a long time ago!) that actually ferric compounds have a lower inherent noise than chrome and other type 2 tapes but of course the latter use a very different equalization time constant. "Back in the day" cassettte decks had separate switches for EQ and bias so you could tell the difference. I guess all decks now autoswitch so comparisons are no longer possible.

Choosing a tape(OReel) was something of a compromise between noise, mol, HF response, print thru'. distortion etc*. A tape suitable for low dynamic range rock could have a high mol but high print but such a tape would drive you nuts for speech recording!

*And of course cost if you used klicks of the stuff like the Beeb!

Dave.
 
So i've just tried 3 of the Super D type cassettes (60 min). All three seem to have issues. I'm recording on a Tascam 488, and the XLII en SA90's i have work just fine. The sound on the SD's tends to be distorted or they seem to be varying in speed. Am i missing something here or is the tape just crap? From what i've read they should be fine. They're still sealed, it's 60 min tape, type 2 (ont the front it says: IECII/TYPE II, High Bias 70usEQ) on the back it says it's suitable for all kinds of recording from mic, cd, or radio sources.

Edit: some of the older pre-used Maxell UDXLII C90 also seem to work fine.
 
...

Maybe trie the SD's in the Nak and see what happens.

There could be certain reasons, unknown, that they are different or difficult. Maybe the tape is thicker, slicker, heat damaged, or maybe the shells drag on the spools. It's really hard to tell sight unseen.

I don't think there will be much in specifics about SD's because they were a Euro-only vintage product. Without reading back, I remember you got a large quantity of them. You test them more and hope for the best, but in the end you just go with what works.

If your more modern Maxells and such work you pretty much rule out a hardware problem.

:spank::eek:;)
 
A Reel Person said:
Maybe trie the SD's in the Nak and see what happens.

There could be certain reasons, unknown, that they are different or difficult. Maybe the tape is thicker, slicker, heat damaged, or maybe the shells drag on the spools. It's really hard to tell sight unseen.

I don't think there will be much in specifics about SD's because they were a Euro-only vintage product. Without reading back, I remember you got a large quantity of them. You test them more and hope for the best, but in the end you just go with what works.

If your more modern Maxells and such work you pretty much rule out a hardware problem.

:spank::eek:;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, the recordings on the Maxells are nice and clear, so the machine itself works just fine. Also the tape heads are clean. The weird thing is some of the SD's make a sound that resembles a higher pitch that slowly comes in (like the cassette's being sped (speeded?) up), while others are distorted.
I'l try some more from a different box.
I did get quite a lot them. Even though they were fairly cheap, i'm a little bummed out by it.

They do have an aesthetic blue shell though, for what it's worth ;)
 
Maxell XLii TDK SA's ok!

Maybe float your TDK SD question out at www.tapeheads.org it's a site for tape talk that's big with the NAK crowd.
:spank::eek:;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top