Brand of tape make difference???

[Mr. C]

This could be a stupid question but...
I have bought cassette tapes (Type II of course) from a chain store locally and the brand was Quantegy which I paid around two bucks for 30 min. I called a nearby Radio Shack to see if they had Type II tapes and yes they do, starting at $7.99 a tape. Wow!! I'm thinking why pay that much when I can get the Quantegy for $2. Also I believe MusiciansFriend sells Memorex in a ten pack for about $2 a tape. Is there a big difference in quality in Type II tape brands? If so, what is a good brand at a reasonable price??

 

[DigitalSmigital]

Brands make a difference...

find one you like a stick with it. Dropouts can be a problem with the cheaper tapes, I have never used Radio Shack's but I am prejudiced against them. I like TDK or Memorex.

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Mr. C:]

Ampeg used to do good tape; then, along came Quantegy and their cassette tape is kind of junky. The spool wheels are not engineered to be quite or smooth--crumby manufacturing.

Sony UX Pro has ceramic spools and is very quiet; however, it is difficult to find but not impossible.

If you compare you will see how some cassettes have spools [take up wheels] that shake, rattle and roll about. [good line for a song? ]

As noted by DS--find one you like and make sure the mechanism is not wobbly.

Green Hornet

 

[johneeeveee]

Yo Mr. C:]

Ampeg used to do good tape; then, along came Quantegy and their cassette tape is kind of junky. The spool wheels are not engineered to be quite or smooth--crumby manufacturing.

Sony UX Pro has ceramic spools and is very quiet; however, it is difficult to find but not impossible.

If you compare you will see how some cassettes have spools [take up wheels] that shake, rattle and roll about. [good line for a song? ]

As noted by DS--find one you like and make sure the mechanism is not wobbly.

Green Hornet

... it was actually ampex, not ampeg (guitar and bass amp co.) that made tape. the sony tapes you mentioned are no longer produced. the tdk sm line seems to have worked best for me, although they have been discontinued (you can still find them sometimes). tdk sa's are probably your best bet for a tape that is still made and they are well under $2 a pop for a 60 min or under. the bad news is that cassette tapes days are definitely numbered. stock up while you can.
good luck - jv

 

[DigitalSmigital]

And TASCAM recommends...

shorter tape lengths, 60 works, but any more than that I wouldn't use.

 

[johneeeveee]

shorter tape lengths, 60 works, but any more than that I wouldn't use.

i use 30's and sometimes even 20's for short songs. way less stretching, though not that economical i guess. god, i hope cassettes stick around for a while... i'd really miss recording on my 4 trk.

 

[DigitalSmigital]

Yeah 30s are best...

if you can find them. Long enough for 2 songs, if they're not too long.

I think they'll be making type II for a few more years, I wouldn't recommend stocking up a two year supply, just yet.

 

[johneeeveee]

i dunno... as you probably know, quantegy is done, and being taken over by atr... who stated that they will be making 1/4"-2" tape for reel machines... nothing was said about cassette tape, so we'll see what tdk and maxell do... word is that they want to phase out cassettes. i have about 70 tapes right now, and i'm gonna buy at least another 30 or so... a lot of discontinued stuff is being sold really cheap if you look around.
peace - jv

 

[DigitalSmigital]

Whoa!

That's alotta recording you're planning on doing. I only use about 15-20 thirty minute tapes a year.

 

[johneeeveee]

... along with stuff i record in higher end studios, i like to record at least 1 4trk record a year, and i figure i can make about 7 more lofi records with that tape. i figure my really well cared for 244 will last another 10 so i need more tape. i would like to be the last artist out there still putting out 4trk cassette ep's every now and then. i dig big tape (which may be a whole other problem soon), but i also really love recording stuff on cassette as well... call me crazy

 

[mawtangent]

Hey... keep in mind that I have a Yamaha MT-50 4-track cassette so some of this will not apply...I have found Maxell type II tape quite good (though I can only find them locally in 90 minute 5-packs at Walmart, for around $7...my manual says it is okay to use 90 minute tapes, but no longer lengths than 90, and I have had no problems using them on my 4-track)...I have come across (in internet searches) outlets that have a wide variety of brands/lengths (I would rather have 45/60 minute tapes, especially to mix down to)

I have bought Radio-Shack type II tapes (a couple of years ago) to use for final mixes and they were competitively priced (a bit cheaper than the Maxell II) at that time (I am surprise at the amount of that price quote)...they were okay but I feel like they just lacked something compared to the Maxell II...and I had another tape experiece that solidified those feelings...I bought (at that same time) a two-pack of Radio Shack cassette metal tapes for final mixes (for around $7, I had a boom-box I was mixing down to which had a metal setting) and they had definate problems producing consistantly good sound (I had used Maxell metal tape before and it produced the most pristine sound I had heard on a cassette tape)..........so this is a thumbs-up for Maxell II (if you can find them in your desired length) and thumbs down for Radio-Shack (to me the savings just don't justify the risk).

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yeah, must have been the Martinis--got Ampeg and Ampex mixed up. Actually, I typed in Ampex first and then changed it to Ampeg.

You can still get 10, 15, 20, 30 minute [et. cet] tapes from Full Compass.

The tape is good quality; the internal spokes are fair. But, I'm sure you'll be able to get tape some place for a long time.

Green Hornet

 

[DigitalSmigital]

If supplies do dry up...

we'll want to know in time to unload our 4 trackers on eBay, to some unsuspecting newbie. Actually, they'll make good little submixers.