S
stevieb
Just another guy, really.
I've got some old stock (used, tho) XL-II tapes. Been taken care of, stored inside, never got too hot. About 10-15 years old. Do you suppose they are still good?
There a good amount of TDK sm-x30 and 60's at Ametron In Hollywood. I dunno if Ametron is nationwide?
TDK SA is the exact same tape as SM, only the cassette shell is supposed to be better. IMO, it's not that much of a difference to worry about it. I've used SA and SA-X in my portastudios since 1979. I also use Maxell XLII, and for a while used Denon HD7 in the 80's. These are all great tapes.
By the way, there is no real cassette shortage... it's being horded by greedy bastards that should be shot and buried in unmarked graves. You can still find cassettes at "normal" prices, but eBay sellers would have us believe that cassettes are now rare as hen’s teeth. Hopefully sooner or later these assholes will get tired of having boxes of tape stacked up to the ceiling and start selling it at reasonable prices.
Right now they’re trying to cash in on a perceived shortage of tape. I'm waiting them out until they're practically giving it away... and trust me, they will.
If you don't have any tape right now it's not so easy to tell these sellers where to get off, so you might have to break down and buy a few over priced tapes to get you by... just don't make a habit of it. 90-minute tape tends to be cheaper and Maxell still makes it. I normally recommend 60-minute tapes, but 90-minute is technically the Tascam/Fostex recommended max and will do if you can't find shorter lengths.