lonewhitefly
Active member
I see some Scotch reels, but it’s hard to tell because there is paper glued over. But there’s clearly some latter-era Ampex tapes on the bottom row.You didn't look at the boxes. Most of those tapes were recorded 1960-1970, way before sticky shed was an issue.
As for "digital storage relies on more sophisticated retrieval and reproduction mechanisms. Tape is a simple, straightforward technology. And machines to play them back for future archiving will be plenty available."
I completely disagree. Every computer for the past 30 years can play a wave file. Every cell phone in your pocket can play a wave file. It is the standard format for the world.
Disregarding the Walkmans, boomboxes and cheapo portable units, you won't walk into Best Buy and find a component grade cassette deck. Audio Advisor doesn't list one. MusicDirect has the Teac listed for $400, but no others. HighEndElectronics will gladly sell you a $40,000 Krell monoblock and all manner of turntables and digital players. They don't have a single cassette deck listed. Crutchfield has two listed, both Tascams, at $600 and $700. And Amazon. That's not a ringing endorsement of the format. Two manufacturers and a handful of sellers. I could actually get a better selection by going to a local repair shop. They have at least 3-5 units that they have repaired and have for sale.
RE: sticking them in a shoebox: I didn't use shoeboxes. But I do have a bit of experience with cassettes. Here's part of my collection , over 120. BASF Chrome, Maxell UDXL and TDK SA, Metal, Fuji FX. Scotch Ampex, Memorex, I've had them all. I've had the pads fall off the pressure piece. Memorex used foam rubber for a while which disintegrated. I've had them bind and accordion the tape until it stopped. Anything of special value has been dumped to digital. I've kept the cassettes because, basically, I'm a pack rat. I hate to throw things away. I still have the deck they were recorded on, and it works.. sort of. The rewind belt dissolved, but the drive belt is OK. I'm under no illusion that they are the ultimate in archival quality.
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Clearly we have different criteria, which is fine. As I said in an earlier post, you're welcome to spend your time and money however you wish. But thinking that the compact cassette will ever be more than a novelty in the future is fantasy.
A WAV file is not a storage medium. A hard drive supposedly lasts 3-5 years, SD cards 10? The CD is the most reliably proven everyday digital storage method IMO. And I don’t think they will prove to be as reliable as cassettes ultimately.
I think maybe we’re having two different convos here. I’m talking about the ease in which something can be casually stored and retrieved by the original owner or others. Cassettes and vinyl are the most future-proof format there is IMO.
In any case, I’m not really commenting on how I spend my money or time. I don’t currently work with cassettes- other than releasing my albums on that format. My comments are based on the historical longevity of the format (coming up on 60 years), along with current trends of increases in production and sales. My comments are a prediction based on this information- take or leave my predictions. But I have been of this same opinion for about 15 years now, and I’ve been right so far- despite what the naysayers have been saying online for many years now.