Very informative, I’m a vinyl buyer and have been for 40 years. However I’m a big user of cassettes and I still get so much pleasure out of making my own compilation albums. Anyway well done on your video.
0:46 Bring back the cassettes fast, I love audio cassettes, cassette decks, and i listen to them. Iam a vinyl fan too. I love them both. Physically owning/ collecting Vinyls, cassettes, CDs , Books, and so on is just human! Collecting things is natural, animals and birds do it for what ever reasons. Mankind has done the art of collecting, owning, right from souvenirs, prizes,gifts and the like for ages. It's a go to sort of thing by going through ones collection and taking the right pick to hear music, there's a physical and mental connection, it livens the mood, and mental well being. On line music is different, you can't see it in form physically, can't collect them,no physical storage, the human element is lacking.
Hello, I want to thank you for reintroducing me to my cassette deck! I have been playing about 75% records and 25% cd’s for the last 4 years. After watching you champion the cassette format I decided to clean the heads and pinch rollers on my Onkyo Integra TA-RW909 that’s in like new condition. I put some battery’s in the units remote-control and enjoy some of the well recorded cassettes that were made about 35 years ago. I put on my Sennheiser HD580 headphones and sat back in a zero gravity chair and hit play button on the remote. First I started tapping my feet then moving my head and before I knew it I was dancing in the chair. WOW... I had forgotten how great a high quality cassette in a high quality tape deck that is properly recorded sounds. Now I have about 100 cassettes that I will reintroduce myself to, thanks to you...lol. It’s time to put another cassette in the deck and I enjoy my new favorite format. A question sir , besides having my machine professionally tuned can you recommend in-between maintenance tips? Many thanks for the educational videos, there super helpful. Also what are your feeling about leaving a cassette in your unit until the next time you use it, the manual does not mention anything about that?
Now this is what I call satisfaction!!! It is fantastic that you started to listen to your cassettes and that you actually enjoyed it! Thank you for informing me! Coming to your questions, I would say that you should clean uour heads and tape path (NOT the plastic and rubber parts) with isopropyl alcohol, demagnitize these with a proper tool and possibly change the rubber belts for optimal trasport. I will do a video on these aspects in the future.
When I was running the cassette duplication department of the recording studio I once operated, I'd always get CrO2 as the tape. The tapes would be produced in real time, usually 5 at a time, on high quality decks, some Sonys and some Teacs, each calibrated for each tape. We charged $7.00 each and everyone was happy.
My grandad got a Sony TC-K61 and a TC-K81 in 1980. The K81 was stolen in a burglary late 80's. He gave my dad the k61 mid 90's and my dad gave it to me at Christmas....even though it only has Dolby B it has type I,II, III and IV. It sounds great.
I stocked up on high grade tapes in the 90s. I'm glad I did. I use Nakamichi cassette decks because there are still some repair shops that stock parts and services them. I also love the way they sound.
The two "external parts" are called "erase tabs". Breaking the tab off prevents recording over the existing recording. If you decide you want to record over the existing recording, you simply put some sticky tape where the tab was and your cassette recorder will now record on that cassette. The extra slots on the Type II and Type IV cassettes are so that the cassette recorder can identify that tape and adjust accordingly.
bought a 4 track cassette , finally used it after many year's in the box . Sound is real as it gets , pure analog . order new chrome one's out of Japan thru Amazon
I've got hundreds of type 2 and 4, which are 20 to 45 years old. And surprisingly, they sound just great on my Nakamichis (2). The Nakamichi will spot the brakes between songs and stop at its beginning. They haven't degraded one bit. On the cheaper ones, type 1, I have to glue back the felt buffer.
I grew up on cassettes. I’m starting to prefer them (and CDs) again because I’m tired of losing data in the cloud. Apple Music Match is a subscription service. You PAY for a song, then you PAY to be able to play that song across all your devices….THEN, when Apple no longer sells the song (aka, “This title is no longer available in your country or region”) they simply delete it from your device and purchase history and no refund. Saving your entire library in physical format is very desirable.
16:32 Oh boy i'd LOOOVE to get one of these TDK MA 90 tapes sometimes. Only had the SA-X 90 Chrome equivalent of it. Nice to see they used the same case housing with just a different label print.
I have the whole cassettes of my dad. They are from 80s and 90s ... They are so cool ! I love cassettes... its a great feeling to have it and keep it But I noticed that every cassette is different from the sound ... Few of them are in good audio quality and other in low quality... can someone help me ?
Hello my friend at ANA(DIA)LOG. I just watched your Video about Cassettes. I have a lot of virgin not opened quality cassettes. Sony 90 min. ceramic, TDK aluminum framed 60min., and some type II and metal. You were talking about the Normal cassette tape that is not good in the TREBLE and even BASS. You are right. But I solved this problem and I am having very good recording on my cassette recorder which is not a high-end machine. But how I am recording? I have very good high quality recording on my TEAC X-3 Reel to Reel. I am recording on my cassette, from my TEAC, onto my JVC cassette recorder using my TEAC's HEADPHONE jack. And I have a great recording. Thank You.
Thanks for your video. I have a Tascam 103 manufactured in 1989 and still sounds pretty good!. Unfortunately the industry never massive launched records in metal cassettes, but if the growing trend continues, I think that is probably we have good quality cassettes tapes in the near future. Respect, Leo.
thanx for exploration, i've been recording ( experimenting) my music on tascam digital 24 track, but just purchased yamaha 4 track cassette recorder, and didn't know and wondered about the difference in cassettes
Thank you for confirming something I already knew had to be done to the cassette player besides just cleaning the heads and capstans, etc, which is demagnetizing the heads. I've had several people call me NUTS for doing just that.
Very informative video ! Thanks. Just bought a SONY TC-KA5ES and a bunch of metal cassettes. It has been almost 20 years I haven't played a cassette !! Looking forward to starting recording my vinyls albums...!
This section is right up my street I have been using tapes since the 80s right up to today and tomorrow I am stiking with it more FUN for recording pity about chrome & METAL tapes not being sold today
For the longest time besides radio. My dad's cassette collection was the only format I could listen to at home in my bedroom off my boombox or off my Walkman. So like many others I'm too nostalgic for the return of the format. Still buying cds and now that tapes are coming back I can grow my tape collection some more.
I'm still using my 30 year old Sony TC-K950ES, now recording onto Maxell UR Type1 tape; and, I've gotta tell ya, these sound great. I can not distinguish the tape from vinyl.
I'm mostly bying for more than 30 years now 90 min tapes or sometimes i was bying 45 min if i wanted to record an LP only .........you do know most LPs lasts no more than 45 minutes though
That's why I get 90 minute tape @ 45 minutes per side since many of my jazz albums run way over 30 minutes per side. At any rate, I'm very pleased with the UR's, sounding indistinguishable from LP.
By the late 90s Audio cassette technology was very good precise sound along with Dolby Technology. On a good system or cassette type, recording on cassettes sounds good as CDs. With portable players the cassette was handy than records. That's why the cassette will come back in the 2020s. Thank God I still have my old cassettes, all types of bias and time, 60 to 120!!! Last time I had a boombox was 2002. My portable cassette player, or "Walkman' as ALL were known as, I bought back in in 1998, it's an Aiwa TX401, still works! I just bought a new one on Ebay, Sharp WQ-T354! Got also my cassette cassette looking MP3 player for my car cassette deck I found in one of my boxes at my parents closet!!! And I have Teac duel cassette recorder rack. All set!
I lost my love for cassettes when we got CDs and again I'm going for cassettes almost after two decades. I got a good deal for a Yamaha KX-580SE and a Yamaha K-1D. I don't want to buy both units and very difficult to select a one. What would you prefer from those decks?
In the video i uploaded recently i show you how i do it and how people say you should do it. You should record pinknoise in different bias settings and then record it to your computer with audacity and than compare those recordings side by side with the original.
yes, manuel calibration would be great. Imean thats a real issue to go to a technician all the time when youre changing the typology of the tape. We should learn to make that D.I.Y style at home;-)
It was a very instruktive and practical lesson of how to distinguish good Qualität cassettes and how to Record on them. Thanks very much for or excellent practical Piece of advice you have given us.
WTF is this high frequency noise in this video? Is it there so people with good hearing or younger ones should not watch this video? Its like an high frequency alarm clock
A considered and clear rendition of the tape phenomenon... mostly known to those who went through the era but new to those who didn't. I've just purchased two machines in the last 6 months. a twin deck which has dolby s and a cassette changer ct-m6r that has convenience. I am trying to combine the best of both these by putting the audio from the cassette changer through the audio processing of the dolby S unit. I know that twin decks have a poor reputation however I am more circumspect when it comes to playing cassettes. I look for the best blend of convenience and clarity. So the fact that an auto reverse might affect the azimuth isn't a consideration to me if the result is a more convenient listening experience. I've heard that 3 heads are better because the head gap is correct for both the recording head and the playback head but it also introduces the possibility of misalignment between record and playback azimuth. I've found out that there are 3 head cassette players with auto reverse(Akai) which have the record and playback head gaps on the same head ! This removes the possibility of azimuth mismatch between record and play. I've always gone with the 2 heads because most have auto reverse and 3 heads mostly dont. An interesting point about head gaps is that while the manufacturing capability of tiny head gaps have been increased over the years, the recording head gap plays a much smaller part in the quality of the recording than the playback head gap does in the playback. A salient point is that this means old recordings will sound even better now with newer head gaps as the playback experience has become ever more enhanced through better heads/gaps. Dolby S is something I'd always look for in a new tape deck. its backwards compatible with dolby B. I like the auto demag of your aiwa and I'm actually surprised that this feature wasn't put into more models. I have a pen demagnitizer which will have to do for now.
Hi armarra, thank you for your considerations. Very interesting! I have been intoxicated by this passion and now the Aiwa is on sale on eBay and a reached out for a Nakamichi Dragon and a NAD 6300. Excellent machines!
yes these have auto azimut adjust I understand. I'm willing to make the trade off between performance in audio quality and performance in usability because if these are carefully selected then a better listening experience arises. Does the NAK have remote control I wonder ?
Digital has ruined the industry. Analog is freedom. You can record anything even Spotify. A good deck and a metal tape is the best! I love cassettes in the car. I think BASF had the patent for CrO2 so Sony, TDK, Maxell and others used doped cobalt instead of paying the license!
I'm pointing to the fact that you can record any source with a cassette deck. Digital systems online have to be purchased. Then you have synching headaches with iTunes. Poor quality with mp3. It's just a pain. cassettes sound better than mp3 on good equipment.
You can record digitally anything you want. And the recording will be same as the source. I never tried recording mp3 source with cassete. But it doesn't really sound like a high-quality idea. Also I would highly doubt cassetes sounding better than mp3 that is encoded at 320 kb/s. :D
Get a 3 Head cassette deck, a high end metal cassette and record your CD to it. I'm not on about digital recording, that's another story, what I'm saying 'digital' has killed the industry.
Metal cassettes also have set up the revolution of computer backup tape market ever since. And were actually greatly improved straight for a really high quantity of data which can be stored onto data cartridges of many different formats (DDS/DAT/DLT etc.) while the audio market already phased out for metal tapes. All still existing data tape media today are using metal substrates of highest purity and smallest particles on a very high remanence and coercivity. ( on required bias levels which an audio recorder could no longer handle)
Thanks for a great video, made me pull out a very good cassette I recorded from a good quality CD. It is the Allman Brothers in1971 , recording called "The Fillmore Concerts", I have a very good Onkyo single well cassette player, it has a single metal player, so no sloppy rubber cassette bands, which can cause all sorts of wow and flutter. The tape is a Fuji type 2 cassette. I loved these tapes, they were very stable, and warm sounding. This sounds plain awesome. I have about 6 or 7 metal tapes, put my best recordings on them.
Hi folks . I only had 3 pre-recorded tapes . Just the past 5 years the binder dried up and the tape shed the oxide . Garbage .But of the 350 cassettes that i do have are Maxell ,TDK , Sony , BASF and Memorex in all varieties of oxide types . The tapes date from 1998 to 2010 . While I recorded all of these tapes ,and continue to play them . My point is that these brand name tapes are not shedding their oxides . It seems that the binders are much more stable . That's my two cents worth . But since 1998 I've worn out 4 decks and i am in need of more decks . Any suggestions ?
Many Nakamichi decks have spares still available and B&W in Worthing (England) can repair and service these to ‘as new’ condition. Strongly recommended!
@@jimflys2It was nakashit-mishi hissing at the background. Aiwa is a nakakiller.Go watch price comparison,and see the light. I have that same ADF-770, and what a GEM. Looking for at 990- to find..from somewhere....
I own a Sony TC-V7 deck, it has type 3, autodetects it as well 😊. I don't own a type 3 cassette, but I'd love to test one Autoreverse can't be that much of a problem, and I'm not including my TC-V7. Some nice decks have 1 or 2 4 track heads (because why the hell wouldn't that be standard) (1 if there's no separate PB and REC head, and 2 if they are separate. The azimuth isn't a problem anymore in this case since the heads font flip. În my deck there is a 2 track head that flips, it's OK, I do own the equipment to calibrate the azimuth, but for the average Joe that could become a problem in time. As for the dual deck, I agree, that is to preferably be avoided, but in my humble opinion, any decent brand deck is okay. Have the Dolby NR, C is a good one. S is overkill for most of the people, have a single deck or a cassette changer, there are a few good ones that have the cassette changers, and hunt for Autoreverse that has 4 track heads. And as a message if you're not audiophile, most of the decks will sound okay to you if you never heard something better. I did but I am still happy with my deck even if it's a mid-low range one. Test before concluding and don't take an audiophile's word for it :) I would've spent much more on my reel to reel if I listened to the audiophile's out there, but mine (Sony TC-377) is a heck of a great reel to reel at a fraction of the price of an audiophile approved one
I have a pioneer Ct-f950 I love it with metal tapes it has VERY high quality recording playback. I also listen to digital and vinyl and I can't tell a difference.
Incorrect on the transition to CD. By that time most people on a budget had worked out that a Decent tape deck and tapes were a cheaper way to get decent music. They were already used to using high quality FM signals as a source. Also LP's from Libraries etc. When CD's came out, for most, it was only something your parents could afford. Fortunately the libraries would buy in CD's for shared use. The combination between CD as a source and decent tape was good enough for a lot of people for years. As a teenager I could run vinyl, CD and Tape. I would buy only occasionally Vinyl or Tape as CD's were too expensive.
Metal is the best of the best. If you are serious about music and recording professionally, type IV is the way, very expensive but very good and it will last decades and decades if well stored!
Nope! There are old pancakes. Now Recording the Masters (Mulann industries) are bsck in production. Maxell are probably old pancakes as well. Recently The US National Company as just started again, up untill now they where using old tape...
@@anadialog the Maxell UR - these are made in Indonesia by a company called Panggung.. In the Netherlands you can buy new tapes with tape from Recording the Masters. www.debandjesfabriek.nl/ Saehan (korea) is making new tape too. shmedia.en.ec21.com/Audio--730425_730462.html And NAC ua-cam.com/video/4QL9g72FMAE/v-deo.html
thumbsup. Still have mine as well. TC-K71, one -K81 (bought later as vintage already for pretty cheap and only had to replace one single transistor in the touch control logic circuit to get it back into a working state) and one old collected grundig CF5100 with HIGH-COM (still needs some rework).
Auto demagntization is not going to be found in other decks so I wouldn't mention that as a must have. The rest was well presented for newbies to the medium.
What you are trying to explain is signal modulation 😇 since you can't record low frequency signals because.. Reasons, you need a high frequency (aka Bias) to modulate the audio signal, it's basically FM Radio technology, only with a much lower carrier frequency. If you replaced the head with an antenna and put a radio tuned to the bias frequency near it, you'd hear the music. Also the graphic representation is inaccurate, the bias doesn't add with the audio signal, it's amplitude (vertical size) stays at its initial value, it only gets attenuated in sync with the audio. Only decks with a modulation stage with built in amplifier actually adds the signals together. Same technique is used in any kind of magnetic recording. Playback is like tuning into the station; it amplifies the signal from the head and passes it through a low pass filter, removing the carrier and forwarding only the audio. As I said, FM Radio technology. The bias is only there while recording and storing the audio. It's absent in the input and playback stages
One question please, I have a home studio and would like to have a reel to reel sound on my productions, could I have that sound with a good tape deck like the yours Aiwa f770 and metal tapes or I need to have an (expensive) reel to reel like Revox, Studer etc? Thanks so much, yours publications are amazing to me.
Hi John, thanks again! Well, 2 track 1/4" Reel-to-Reel tape is always going to be the best of the best in terms of analog sound recording and playback. BUT you need a high quality machine, perfectly serviced and calibrated for the tape you intend to use. I believe you saw my R2R videos. If not, start with this one: ua-cam.com/video/Yly9Ubzs5iY/v-deo.html Nevertheless, if you invest in a high level cassette deck (not a F770, that is not enough) like a quality Nakamichi, Aiwa, Technics, Dual, Tandberg, Pioneer etc. with Metal of good Chrome cassettes you could reach a very high standard. In other words, if you have some money invest in a R2R. If not, try to look for a good pro deck. Remember that prices are going higher and higher each month (unfortunately) so in the end a good serviced cassette deck may cost you as a good Revox...I still suggest to hunt for a Telefunken M15. The prices are lower than Studer, Nagra, Akai, Otari etc. and the sound is even better! Here is my vid on my M15: ua-cam.com/video/QJp5KCfXB9k/v-deo.html
Pre Fostexs 4 track recording my first recording was at and with Emerald Sound Recording on Basic Cassette tape from Modules with an sound engineer I worked around .at his house I played this recording " Out From the dark side Into Gods Kingdom of Light" and also all the first interest in cassette tape itself I would look at the lines and found the stripes on the ribbon contains the track running on the head right? I like the older BSF tapes and experimented with Fostex recording but in the 70' s. Reel to reel tape...what a reverb nightmare for me and had a great time playing cassettes I still have some the engineer chart on back of these were what for illiterate mike ? Then now I'm watching you on UA-cam.
On 10:31 say, what frequency of BIAS = 40-150 kHz. But my deck have 210 kHz. :) SONY UX-S - not chrome cassette, it's cobalt. Just respond of type 2 for correction and level of BIAS. Many people more like top level cassettes of type 1 (TDK AR-X, SONY HF-Pro and others), than cassettes of type 2, although there are very high quality tapes.
Just giving my F770 a bit of TLC, belts replaced, got a new tyre for the idler and that will be job done. Bought the deck in 1989 and with these bits replaced it should be good until I come over all dead! Tape of choice? TDK SA or SAX, sound fantastic, even after thirty years they still sound good. Apart from the quality of the recording I always preferred these to Chrome, chrome is harder, more abrasive and wears heads out faster than cobalt treated ferric. I never tried ferro-chrome so don't know how good they were, but if I remember correctly they were supposed to be less good than chrome or metal.
I’m looking for a cassette tape player/recorder that can play special tapes. The tapes have the vocal on one track and the instrumental part on the other track. With this player/recorder, you can play the vocal alone, or the instrumental part alone, or both together. I don’t think such tapes are made anymore, but I would be willing to buy the player/recorder to make full use of the tapes in my collection. Anyone know where such players can be obtained?
You just need a 4 track cassette deck like the pro series of Tascam or Fostex for example (like Tascam 234 or Fostex X18). The ones you have are not special tapes but normal tapes (usually Chrome tapes), since all cassette tapes have 4 tracks only that the normal standard is 2 track per side (A and B), while a 4 track uses all of them together or singularly in order to record separate instruments etc. and mix them afterwards.
. ana[dia]log, That has the sound of someone who knows what he's talking about, and it backs up what someone else has said. I'm going to take my cassette to a store tomorrow for the acid test. Thanks a million
I just purchased a Marantz 5030B. Any thoughts on its quality?? Its fully restored and serviced.... its in almost perfect condition... I am getting it next week.
@kingblonde If we had we would have been drunk enough to miss him say bass as in the fish to describe low frequencies at 11:11. I think we're good here.
una cosa delle Aiwa non capisco, la qualità in ordine di grandezza delle sigle. Quella che mostri è una ad-f770 con auto calibration, auto demagnetizzazione... sembra il top, io ho invece la ad-f810... regolazione manuale di bias e sensitivity... quale delle due è migliore?
@@anadialog Quindi io che ho una AD-F 810 mi tengo quella piuttosto che cambiarla con la AD-F770 ci rimetterei anche dei soldi... la ad-f770 aveva anche la demagnetizzazione automatica, ma piuttosto che spendere 300 e rotti euro per una AD-F770 da un amico molto competente che ci lavora nel campo e me la mollerebbe che quella cifra, mi tengo la mia 810 revisionata e tutto?
Assolutamente si! Cmq se posso essere onesto ho venduto poco dopo l'Aiwa. Non aveva quel suono favoloso come il Dual o altri che ho mostrato nel tour 2.0
@@anadialog sì infatti, ti seguo, sto cercando un Dual come il tuo oppure una Nakamichi CX300... :-) Allora mi tengo al momento la mia bella AD-F810 con le regolazioni manuali...
@@anadialog perchè non fai un video dove spieghi un po' di cose sulle registrazioni delle cassette... tipo il MOL il SOL, il livelli in base al nastro e come regolare un BIAS (a orecchio, cioè cosa sentire)... oppure già l'hai fatto?
If your buying these old tapes your doing it for the nostalgia the higher quality tapes don't have has much hiss to them which is a big part of that not to mention that with the right equipment you can make type 1 cassettes sound just as good as type 2 if not very close
I just started recording at home again and am planning on using a new digital 12 channel Teac mixer into Studio One. Once I have everything recorded and sounding the way I want I’m going to play it back into the room through my system because that’s when it usually sounds the best. Then I’ll use my Ribbon mic to record the mastered song into a 1968 Teac 3 mixer and from there into a cassette. The deck recording will then be fed back into the computer. I’m assuming they recorded a lot like this in the 50’s but I can’t really find out much about this method. I thought of this method because I do it all the time with my cell phone. Any suggestions?
Ana dialog, what do you think about the Onkyo TA RW 313 dual cassette deck? I know that most dual decks are generally inferior, but this thing was built in 1994 and the belts and pinch rollers still look factory new. I use it alot to be honest and it makes very good sounding recordings. Let me know if this is actually a decent deck.
Oh thanks for the quick respond ! I see now :) Big fan of your work btw, i just discoverd your channel and i literally spent all my night yesterday watching all your videos ahah
Would it perhaps be fair to say that Type IV pre-recorded cassettes - should they become available in quantity - might provide the finest possible audio playback when played back on suitable decks of the highest quality?. (I know there are $450.00 2-track 15 ips reel-to-reel tapes on 10.5" reels that have become available and they may well be finer still). When you discussed what to look for when buying a cassette deck, one of the first things I'd want to know would be the condition of the heads - and I'd expect an honest answer from the seller!! If the heads are badly worn it might no longer be possible to obtain replacements.
I bought a used vehicle with roughly 30 cassettes stashed in it. Most say gen 1 and gen 2. Lots of well known people and locations. I would like to listen to them! Some can’t be found on the internet! What would you recommend me to buy? I want to play these and likely won’t ever get any new tapes. I’m getting I to hifi for the first time. Budget for tape deck is $200 (US) or less. Thanks in advance if you’re able to help! Pm if you want to see pictures of the stash!
Look for a 2 or better 3 head deck, serviced/refurbished. Good brands at that price are Nakamichi, Akai, Onkyo, Denon, Pioneer, Aiwa, Dual, Sansui, Sony, and several others. Check the specs not the brand.
I owned a 1250 for a number of years and it was stunning. The tape calibration system was manual but not hard to set up for any tape. The fl meters were amazing. I replaced this deck with an Aiwa ADF990 after the Pioneer started to chew up cassettes.
Don’t need to ask me, it is obvious! Minor and major artist are all releasing on cassette and several type 1 and also type 2 cassette are back into production!
TDK D’s are really good if using type I but it’s matter of opinion. They are able to be pushed a little bit louder and can sound sometimes as good as type II but it depends on the deck, bias and if using NR. I have good luck with them but I am using Dolby S on mine. Best to just try different ones and experiment with what you think sounds good.
@@RB-xm3ed trying to find some Type II's but these greedy ebay people wont let any go for less than $7 each. I got a bunch of Maxell UR90 Type I's for $1.50 each but man these people are greedy.
This is very good video! And this my question: I was bought about 5 years ago MARRANTZ CP-430 and MARRANTZ CP-230 C-Cassette decks. And I use almost always chrome and metal tapes also with DBX Noise reduction. But are those MARANTZ decks good enought because MARANTZ CP-430 and CP-230 doesn't include all those features what you shown on your own AIWA F770 cassette deck, like DOLBY S, Automatic demag system and Auto Calibration?
Those are excellent recorders. I have the CP430. If you want more quality you should get a pro deck of the 80's, with three heads. If it has calibration, manual or automatic, it would be better, but not fundamental. For example I made a review on a Dual deck which si simply amazing but no calibration: ua-cam.com/video/r5zQ8SYbxFQ/v-deo.html
Normal bias tapes have bad treble response (compared to chrome type 2 tapes) when played in low to mid end decks, but with a good quality machine, (Dragon, Revox,, etc.) they can sound just as good as type 2 tape. I even prefer them for certain genres of music.
What is a good deck for ease of replacement and repair for belts? I have serviced a Walkman and a boombox and depending on what I was unknowingly getting myself into the process was arduous...
Well, a direct drive deck! No belts there! Actually, they do have belts but small, simple ones...the only beltfree deck, as far as I know, is the Nakamichi Dragon!
indeed but at least, for a type1 tape, these are at least capable of handling high volumes pretty well. Was really surprised how high you can turn up the recording levels on the current UR type series.
In my experience, the TDK D can handle a little bit more energy (sometimes with high bias calibration they can handle +6) than the Maxel without clipping distortion; but they are more expensive and rare. @@KRAFTWERK2K6
Hi, how did you get the N4520 on the Wall.As far as i can see it is sitting on a wooden plate, but that Machine is almost about 27kg. Which Screws did you use to make em hold that Monster?;-)
Actually that was a hard task! Its a special hi-fi shelf with a decoupling system (the woden plattrt stands on 3 spikes) and below I screwed the metal bar to the wall with 4 huge and long screws. I wanted to put my Studer there...but I just wasn't brave enough...
With all that information on the different types in mind, which type of tape would you recommend for daily recording? Any specific names would be appreciated a lot!
I love your videos, and I'm now watching this in July 2020. I just really want a great tape deck and good quality tapes to record my vinyl records onto. Any suggestions, my fellow music lovers?? Interestingly, I'm seeing one single TEAC reel blank tape on Ebay for about $140!!! And it's just type 2 position, so it will probably lack in bass reproduction.
I started to wonder if the common compact cassette could be used as a digital recording/playing media. I know about the DCC but it would be interesting to see if the cc could be used as a digital audio medium, I wonder how much digital audio information can be compressed on 4,76 cm/sec. tape...they could also buffer it for a few seconds for higher data amount. So...it would be exciting to use common tapes with almost hifi/mp3 quality sound.
Why dolby s slides some sounds in song to left channel? For example why the bass is more heavier at left channel when comparing to source? (nr of recorded cassettes are not like this, this happens when ı turn on dolby s while I'm recording)
ın my country the wand type demagnetizer is not available. I found radio shack cassette format electronic demagnetizer. Will it make big difference in sound?
Thank you for the awesome video again! One question, why is it that Metal type cassettes are hard to record over the music, in other words, you can still hear the previous recording. I never found out why that is?
Thanks much I'm contacting MAXELL Corporation for this MX-S 60. Wear out the heads ? Checking I have this kit blue tape no ribbon came with a small blue plastic bottle with cleaner I take and apply it to the pads run forward. And reverse. But need something cause in running out looking at the ingredients .Amen. Great video man and thumbs up ok Audio ...s
I purchased a tape deck a few months ago and it doesn't have Dolby. Even the expensive tape decks do not have Dolby. I have a question. Is Dolby not allowing new tape decks to have their system, or is it a way to lessen to lessen the costs by the manufacturer? Thanks in advance.
You mean now? Yes, Dolby chips for noise reduction are not produced anymore and Dolby does not license its use. What deck did you get? Actually the vast majority of past decks, low and high end, have Dolby also because almost all prerecorded tapes are recorded with Dolby.
@@anadialog TEAC 850. (It has a CD player; I gave my old CD player to my brother.) I only have a few tapes that do not have Dolby, among them "Tapestry" by Carole King from 1971. I did have a Fisher integrated system with Dolby from the mid '80s, but it had jacks on it which would not fit on my on my new receiver.
Now is the right time to go for it...as I have explained, now with the joys of pro decks and high quality tape, that I couldn't afford when I was young in the 80's and 90's, I have rediscover cassettes and their true astounding sonic characteristics!
@@anadialog and you don't happen to know the other brands ? After a bit of research I also found the F620 and 640 models seem to have the adms function, but they are as well quite rare.
How easy has it been for you to get your cassette player and reel to reel fixed should you have a problem? That is what is keeping me from getting back into this. Thanks, Tony.
Hi tony, I perfectly understan your hesitancy. It is not simple but I must say that if you look a little you will find a lot of goid technicians...also a lot if them off the grid, working at home. A good place to start is to find a forum and post a thread. That usually solves all problems. Just make sure you are nit buying something too esoteric or rare that nobody knows anymore how to repair or that has components hard to find.
ana[dia]log would you be able to recommend a cassette deck that would be easy to find parts for under 300 dollars. I had a Nakamici and liked it except for styling but sound is most important. I would guess TEAC and Aiwa probably most popular?
How about a Pioneer CT-S740S, or a Teac C3, or an Aiwa Ad-F770, or just go Naks...they are very well serviced...but don't worry. The true problem is usually the rubber belts...
Hi, i like your review. I have a nakamichi cassette deck2 in an excellent condition. My opinion is that i enjoy it more than digital media. My ears grab frequencies never been noticed throu digital recordings i.e cd.
I love my pioneer cts-830s cassette deck.. Record to maxwell or tdk chrome or metal tapes with dolby s and it records sound rich & full in detail.. Sounds awesome!!!
I 've got a SHARP SG 222 BLACK FACE STEREO from 1986.And it works wonderfully .Cassette,turntable and receiver.Plays all types of cassettes and sound great.200watts rms
When matching up the tape-type to the settings on your tape console or tape deck, the sound is muffled. I always just set it to normal, never a, b or c or crO2, no matter what tape-type l have; metal sometimes works. What am l doing wrong? 😁😛 l never switched to other media since the 80's and 90's, never went to CD's; l never got too technical, haha. One last thing l never knew about, is that beat switch 1 2 on the back of a radio. What was that for? That switch does absolutely nothing for sound or recording; again; what am l missing or doing wrong?
It is likely the heads of your deck are magnetized. You may need a head or path demagnetizer. The coils inside the head could be damaged. The bias could be out of adjustment. So many possibilities. Some heads just get worn out over tens of thousands of hours of recording and playback. It's more likely the head is out of azimuth alignment. There are usually tiny screws to adjust this with. You will either need to have a test calibration tape and expertise, or, 2 prerecorded cassettes you know sound perfect on at least 2 other machines. Take the door (cover) off and / or find the adjustment screw access holes and get a non-magnetic tiny screwdriver (can usually buy these in a small set). Adjust right or left by fractional turns and keep track of this. Do it while the tape is playing. If it doesn't eventually sound better, something else is going on. This takes a steady hand, strong flashlight and lots of patience. I may have to make a video on it one day. Most of these UA-cam videos are so full of errors and assumptions it's comical.
YamFZR93 - No, l have a demagnitizer and l have come across good equipment that is practically new, with the EXACT same result: a dimmer or somewhat muffled sound. I've been using tape decks over the last 20 years (before l would rec. & play on stereos) l guess what l meant to say in my last comment is the A B and C settings that never seem to have any advancement, for the tape-type automatically sets after closing the deck, according to the tape that is put in. So l never use the A B & C buttons. Sorry for not specifying that right. I still think you can be right, because even if it looks new, or has'nt been used much, it's still pretty friggin old. But thank you for the advice and responding back.
You should be able to clearly hear the different equalizations during playback accorsibg to the selected tape type...I am afraid the machine is broken...
@@JohnnyAce415 I'm curious what tape deck you have. I have many, they are either automatic detection or manual, not both. I think some Harman Kardons have 120/70 overrides for FeCr though.
About 15 years ago Richer Sounds in the UK were selling Nakamichi DR8`s.9`s and 10`s for about £200 to £300 brand new. I bought 2. I wish I`d bought 20.
I just purchased a Nakamichi CR-4, and it's being serviced so I should have it soon. I plan on converting my cassettes to digital, and wanted to know if anyone knows any processes to optimize the quality. I remember reading a while ago if you record the beginning of the tape, before the audio starts. You can reverse eq the sound, and that removes all the sound from the tape, so the only thing renaming would be the audio recorded to the tape. Does something like that seem possible, and what are other peoples re-mastering techniques?
Hi Gary, unfortunately I cannot support this horrendous digitalization project you have. No point in doing that, except if you have, say, the voice of your little daughter or a series of voice recordings or music demos you produced in the past you want to preserve, then I would understand ... ;-)
I use Audacity, it has a lot of great options to help optimize and archive your recordings. I'm not sure what you're asking otherwise, the sentences seem incomplete or don't make sense to me. Perhaps English is not your native language, either way, Audacity should help.
Those Maxell UR Normal Bias tapes are AMAZING. I grew up using tapes as a kid/teen, so I have spent a lot of time (and money )on them and feel I've come to know the good from the bad, in regards to brand, bias type, durations, etc. I must say, Maxell did something amazing to make those UR tapes sound so good for a Normal bias. Great output, nice sound, and they even have a sturdy construction with their all-clear shells and transparent components allowing the entire reel of tape to be visible. My only complaint of those UR tapes is the limited capacities. I have seen different durations from different brands, which created conflict for a guy like me who wanted to keep his tapes consistent - use the same brand and the same bias, while finding the best-fit length of tape for whatever program I was mixing. UR is pretty good, you got you standard 60 and 90 minutes, and I think they may even have made 100 minute lengths, but they also were the first brand to finally match Sony's HF tapes (a normal bias that wasn't very good for fidelity output) of a 120 minute length. I used the Sony HFs for years only because of the 120 minute capacity. Then Maxell comes along, with a nice Normal tape, 120 mins, and it SOUNDED GREAT. And the clear/transparent design made it look sleek as well, which I really liked because I could make my own index labels and insert them INSIDE the shell, so they could be seen but also protected. Oh, if only they could have also made 80 minute (which I've only ever seen from TDK in chrome bias), some 110 minute, and even some of those random "CD-friendly" lengths that Sony's "CD-it" (chrome only) line put out ; 54, 74, and 94 minutes. Oh, and perhaps resurrect some of the shorter lengths form the 70s, like the 15 and 30 minutes, for those early albums and EPs that rarely exceeded 30 mins, and 45 minutes for the "average" run of a full-length album of the times. It'd be fantastic if ONE brand (Maxell) produced ONE bias (UR Normal Type I) that could cover all those lengths : C-10, C-15, C-30, C-45, C-50, C-54, C-60, C-74, C-80, C-90, C-94, C-100, C-110, C-120.
@@Christian-fu8vx I loved the TDK D series, but I never had a 120 min from them. The highest II could get on a TDK D was 90 min. Before the Maxell UR tapes came along ,the only 120 min lengths I could find were the Sony HF Type I, which were okay but were not great of playback output, sounded a little dull.
before I start I must say I am a big cassette tape lover ever since, I began listening to music. The truth and reality is I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news and it's not my intention to burst your bubble, but records, CD's Cassette Tapes, Reel to Reel Tapes, 8 Tapes, mini disk. All these old medias especially Cassette Tapes will never come back, into the main stream. they are all gone forever. They may not be quite dead, but the main problem is streaming. Streaming is a more practical way to consume audio and visuals not media. Though I do enjoy your channel, so please keep making. I still consume music on cassettes, so i do find your channel and yes I own three Nakamishi tape decks along with TEAC, Kenwood, Sony, Technics tape players and if I see any more top decks, iwould try to acquire them. I'm just trying to keep it real.
.w/o I have both 2 decks both Dolby plus Auto Reverse. I just have this SonyCompact DISC Digital Audio. CFD-S300 WIDE DIRECTIONAL CONVEX SPEAKERS. AUTO PRESET CD RADIO TAPE PAUSE OPEN LEFT ARROW RIGHT ARROW PLAY RECORD RED DOT FAR RIGHT IT SOUNDS. Ok MEGA BASS..so I tape on my LG cell phone Built In Voice Recorder App and use my Amps and some excellent Tools so replication is powerful! I can just let the cassette tape play A side Then B side and sing along with a microphone on stand away from it only has 1/8" headphone " input" but I suggest more than a remote Mic how do I purchase more blank high resolution cassette tapes? I used to have a splicer
interesting video! and very well explained....I have all my music that I composed on cassettes....I will digitize them to make them immortal, that is the great advantage of the digital age....on the other side digital killed the story...now you listen single tracks, picking up just the best part, the part you love...but a story need also boring parts, but very important as well....to tell a real story you need time, wonderful parts but also boring and ugly parts....and digital killed this important part.....
Raul after what you have written, you must see this: ua-cam.com/video/_CR02Ol050c/v-deo.html Remember that each medium is tied to its gear. This means that a format is 'immortal' as long as it can be reproduced!
![ANA[DIA]LOG](http://yt3.ggpht.com/50CpmGNilS8aoMlarZVhI_GxRDoZdbj4ZgwCMZXg-Rq2PrEvCytlE6RVyLUrNY-rwE_sAlZ1Zw=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
Very informative, I’m a vinyl buyer and have been for 40 years. However I’m a big user of cassettes and I still get so much pleasure out of making my own compilation albums. Anyway well done on your video.
Thanks Jim!!
0:46 Bring back the cassettes fast, I love audio cassettes, cassette decks, and i listen to them. Iam a vinyl fan too. I love them both.
Physically owning/ collecting Vinyls, cassettes, CDs , Books, and so on is just human! Collecting things is natural, animals and birds do it for what ever reasons. Mankind has done the art of collecting, owning, right from souvenirs, prizes,gifts and the like for ages. It's a go to sort of thing by going through ones collection and taking the right pick to hear music, there's a physical and mental connection, it livens the mood, and mental well being.
On line music is different, you can't see it in form physically, can't collect them,no physical storage, the human element is lacking.
DAMN it would be SO NICE if someone started making a bunch of new type II & METAL blank cassettes!!!! Uuugh, that would be some heaven.
Yeah I want to get into cassettes and I was looking at blank cassettes and would like metal but they are way to expensive in my opinion
I record mainly on Type I Normal Position cassettes like the TDK AD90 for example.
It'd be great if manufacturers started making stereo cassette recorders that can use metal and chrome tapes.
@@pcorfdo you find that you can tell a difference between type I and type II?
single cyded ´head machin€Z -: - 24-96??
wow a sqvakey FF aiwa big büttönie??
8:12 wow! It’s one of my favorite films ever. And the soundtrack there is amazing!
Hello,
I want to thank you for reintroducing me to my cassette deck! I have been playing about 75% records and 25% cd’s for the last 4 years. After watching you champion the cassette format I decided to clean the heads and pinch rollers on my Onkyo Integra TA-RW909 that’s in like new condition. I put some battery’s in the units remote-control and enjoy some of the well recorded cassettes that were made about 35 years ago. I put on my Sennheiser HD580 headphones and sat back in a zero gravity chair and hit play button on the remote. First I started tapping my feet then moving my head and before I knew it I was dancing in the chair. WOW... I had forgotten how great a high quality cassette in a high quality tape deck that is properly recorded sounds. Now I have about 100 cassettes that I will reintroduce myself to, thanks to you...lol. It’s time to put another cassette in the deck and I enjoy my new favorite format. A question sir , besides having my machine professionally tuned can you recommend in-between maintenance tips? Many thanks for the educational videos, there super helpful. Also what are your feeling about leaving a cassette in your unit until the next time you use it, the manual does not mention anything about that?
Now this is what I call satisfaction!!! It is fantastic that you started to listen to your cassettes and that you actually enjoyed it! Thank you for informing me!
Coming to your questions, I would say that you should clean uour heads and tape path (NOT the plastic and rubber parts) with isopropyl alcohol, demagnitize these with a proper tool and possibly change the rubber belts for optimal trasport. I will do a video on these aspects in the future.
When I was running the cassette duplication department of the recording studio I once operated, I'd always get CrO2 as the tape. The tapes would be produced in real time, usually 5 at a time, on high quality decks, some Sonys and some Teacs, each calibrated for each tape. We charged $7.00 each and everyone was happy.
Fantastic! That is true high fidelity!
My grandad got a Sony TC-K61 and a TC-K81 in 1980. The K81 was stolen in a burglary late 80's. He gave my dad the k61 mid 90's and my dad gave it to me at Christmas....even though it only has Dolby B it has type I,II, III and IV. It sounds great.
I stocked up on high grade tapes in the 90s. I'm glad I did. I use Nakamichi cassette decks because there are still some repair shops that stock parts and services them. I also love the way they sound.
Good investment!
The two "external parts" are called "erase tabs". Breaking the tab off prevents recording over the existing recording. If you decide you want to record over the existing recording, you simply put some sticky tape where the tab was and your cassette recorder will now record on that cassette. The extra slots on the Type II and Type IV cassettes are so that the cassette recorder can identify that tape and adjust accordingly.
bought a 4 track cassette , finally used it after many year's in the box . Sound is real as it gets , pure analog . order new chrome one's out of Japan thru Amazon
Good job Dave!
Excellent video you make the valid point at the outset that the compact casssette opens the door to reel to reel appreciation
I've got hundreds of type 2 and 4, which are 20 to 45 years old. And surprisingly, they sound just great on my Nakamichis (2). The Nakamichi will spot the brakes between songs and stop at its beginning. They haven't degraded one bit. On the cheaper ones, type 1, I have to glue back the felt buffer.
VWestlife did a video once, showing how good 50 year old compact cassettes could sound. A lot of them still sounded fantastic :O
Higher end Naks don't need a felt buffer.
I grew up on cassettes. I’m starting to prefer them (and CDs) again because I’m tired of losing data in the cloud.
Apple Music Match is a subscription service. You PAY for a song, then you PAY to be able to play that song across all your devices….THEN, when Apple no longer sells the song (aka, “This title is no longer available in your country or region”) they simply delete it from your device and purchase history and no refund. Saving your entire library in physical format is very desirable.
I didn't no that, unbelievable! Thanks for sharing that
16:32 Oh boy i'd LOOOVE to get one of these TDK MA 90 tapes sometimes. Only had the SA-X 90 Chrome equivalent of it. Nice to see they used the same case housing with just a different label print.
Excellent Guido!! Love your channel..... tonearms and tape hubs forever
I love my Tascam 112 and Pioneer CT-F4242. I love the rackmountability of the Tascam and the lights and analog VU meters of the Pioneer.
Indeed!!
I have the whole cassettes of my dad. They are from 80s and 90s ...
They are so cool ! I love cassettes... its a great feeling to have it and keep it
But I noticed that every cassette is different from the sound ...
Few of them are in good audio quality and other in low quality... can someone help me ?
Hello my friend at ANA(DIA)LOG. I just watched your Video about Cassettes. I have a lot of virgin not opened quality cassettes. Sony 90 min. ceramic, TDK aluminum framed 60min., and some type II and metal. You were talking about the Normal cassette tape that is not good in the TREBLE and even BASS. You are right. But I solved this problem and I am having very good recording on my cassette recorder which is not a high-end machine. But how I am recording? I have very good high quality recording on my TEAC X-3 Reel to Reel. I am recording on my cassette, from my TEAC, onto my JVC cassette recorder using my TEAC's HEADPHONE jack. And I have a great recording. Thank You.
Careful, the headphone jack has a special amp for headphones and you are missing out on the real capabilities of your deck that way!
Thanks for your video. I have a Tascam 103 manufactured in 1989 and still sounds pretty good!. Unfortunately the industry never massive launched records in metal cassettes, but if the growing trend continues, I think that is probably we have good quality cassettes tapes in the near future. Respect, Leo.
I really hope so Leonardo! I just discovered that Recording the Masters has started to produce a high quality type I cassette: FOX C-60
thanx for exploration, i've been recording ( experimenting) my music on tascam digital 24 track, but just purchased yamaha 4 track cassette recorder, and didn't know and wondered about the difference in cassettes
Thank you for confirming something I already knew had to be done to the cassette player besides just cleaning the heads and capstans, etc, which is demagnetizing the heads. I've had several people call me NUTS for doing just that.
Very informative video ! Thanks.
Just bought a SONY TC-KA5ES and a bunch of metal cassettes. It has been almost 20 years I haven't played a cassette !!
Looking forward to starting recording my vinyls albums...!
This section is right up my street I have been using tapes since the 80s right up to today and tomorrow I am stiking with it more FUN for recording pity about chrome & METAL tapes not being sold today
HI Shaun, well the National Audio Company sells good quality chrome cassettes. I ordered a few and in a following video I will analyze them.
For the longest time besides radio. My dad's cassette collection was the only format I could listen to at home in my bedroom off my boombox or off my Walkman. So like many others I'm too nostalgic for the return of the format. Still buying cds and now that tapes are coming back I can grow my tape collection some more.
I'm still using my 30 year old Sony TC-K950ES, now recording onto Maxell UR Type1 tape; and, I've gotta tell ya, these sound great. I can not distinguish the tape from vinyl.
I agree!
Today i bought this Maxell UR type 1 normal didn't use it yet ......so you are very pleased i see that's good :-)
Badassvidsz I was surprised that the UR seems to exceed performance of UD XL lol. Buy 90 minute, not 60 for taping vinyl.
I'm mostly bying for more than 30 years now 90 min tapes or sometimes i was bying 45 min if i wanted to record an LP only .........you do know most LPs lasts no more than 45 minutes though
That's why I get 90 minute tape @ 45 minutes per side since many of my jazz albums run way over 30 minutes per side. At any rate, I'm very pleased with the UR's, sounding indistinguishable from LP.
By the late 90s Audio cassette technology was very good precise sound along with Dolby Technology. On a good system or cassette type, recording on cassettes sounds good as CDs. With portable players the cassette was handy than records. That's why the cassette will come back in the 2020s. Thank God I still have my old cassettes, all types of bias and time, 60 to 120!!! Last time I had a boombox was 2002. My portable cassette player, or "Walkman' as ALL were known as, I bought back in in 1998, it's an Aiwa TX401, still works! I just bought a new one on Ebay, Sharp WQ-T354! Got also my cassette cassette looking MP3 player for my car cassette deck I found in one of my boxes at my parents closet!!! And I have Teac duel cassette recorder rack. All set!
Tapes came out in 1962. By 1972 They had progress in Technology and were on the markets to buy with pre recorded music!
Congratulations for your amazing comeback!!!
I lost my love for cassettes when we got CDs and again I'm going for cassettes almost after two decades. I got a good deal for a Yamaha KX-580SE and a Yamaha K-1D. I don't want to buy both units and very difficult to select a one. What would you prefer from those decks?
Simpky the one with better specs if you can't audition them. In decks it's more important than today's stuff.
5 yr old video...are cassettes still being used in 2022.? I’m getting back into them in the last year.
Hell yeah! I did a bunch of other videos on the topic. Here is the playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLDKsdsTBptr477KwjoZyMlCc8Yvjplijw.html
Great video, you should try to make a follow up going more in depth, like HX pro, dbx, how to properly calibrate manually and tape biases.
Thanks Command8 for your appreciation and suggestion. I will try to do that in the future!
In the video i uploaded recently i show you how i do it and how people say you should do it. You should record pinknoise in different bias settings and then record it to your computer with audacity and than compare those recordings side by side with the original.
yes, manuel calibration would be great. Imean thats a real issue to go to a technician all the time when youre changing the typology of the tape. We should learn to make that D.I.Y style at home;-)
It was a very instruktive and practical lesson of how to distinguish good Qualität cassettes and how to Record on them. Thanks very much for or excellent practical Piece of advice you have given us.
Thank you Abele!
WTF is this high frequency noise in this video? Is it there so people with good hearing or younger ones should not watch this video?
Its like an high frequency alarm clock
yea right? guess it's a kind of a hi hat from the background music
I hear it on my left ear, it's very annoying ring ring ring ring ring
It’s probably his fire alarm
(Google it)
I think it's the background music loop, it seems to be running all the time, even during the tape playback sample, very distracting.
Sorry about this issue guys!
Really enjoyed this and learned so much, many thanks 👍
A considered and clear rendition of the tape phenomenon... mostly known to those who went through the era but new to those who didn't.
I've just purchased two machines in the last 6 months. a twin deck which has dolby s and a cassette changer ct-m6r that has convenience. I am trying to combine the best of both these by putting the audio from the cassette changer through the audio processing of the dolby S unit. I know that twin decks have a poor reputation however I am more circumspect when it comes to playing cassettes. I look for the best blend of convenience and clarity. So the fact that an auto reverse might affect the azimuth isn't a consideration to me if the result is a more convenient listening experience.
I've heard that 3 heads are better because the head gap is correct for both the recording head and the playback head but it also introduces the possibility of misalignment between record and playback azimuth.
I've found out that there are 3 head cassette players with auto reverse(Akai) which have the record and playback head gaps on the same head ! This removes the possibility of azimuth mismatch between record and play. I've always gone with the 2 heads because most have auto reverse and 3 heads mostly dont.
An interesting point about head gaps is that while the manufacturing capability of tiny head gaps have been increased over the years, the recording head gap plays a much smaller part in the quality of the recording than the playback head gap does in the playback. A salient point is that this means old recordings will sound even better now with newer head gaps as the playback experience has become ever more enhanced through better heads/gaps.
Dolby S is something I'd always look for in a new tape deck. its backwards compatible with dolby B.
I like the auto demag of your aiwa and I'm actually surprised that this feature wasn't put into more models. I have a pen demagnitizer which will have to do for now.
Hi armarra, thank you for your considerations. Very interesting! I have been intoxicated by this passion and now the Aiwa is on sale on eBay and a reached out for a Nakamichi Dragon and a NAD 6300. Excellent machines!
yes these have auto azimut adjust I understand. I'm willing to make the trade off between performance in audio quality and performance in usability because if these are carefully selected then a better listening experience arises. Does the NAK have remote control I wonder ?
Digital has ruined the industry. Analog is freedom. You can record anything even Spotify. A good deck and a metal tape is the best! I love cassettes in the car. I think BASF had the patent for CrO2 so Sony, TDK, Maxell and others used doped cobalt instead of paying the license!
Interesting!
What do you mean by that?
I'm pointing to the fact that you can record any source with a cassette deck. Digital systems online have to be purchased. Then you have synching headaches with iTunes. Poor quality with mp3. It's just a pain. cassettes sound better than mp3 on good equipment.
You can record digitally anything you want. And the recording will be same as the source. I never tried recording mp3 source with cassete. But it doesn't really sound like a high-quality idea.
Also I would highly doubt cassetes sounding better than mp3 that is encoded at 320 kb/s. :D
Get a 3 Head cassette deck, a high end metal cassette and record your CD to it. I'm not on about digital recording, that's another story, what I'm saying 'digital' has killed the industry.
Metal cassettes also have set up the revolution of computer backup tape market ever since. And were actually greatly improved straight for a really high quantity of data which can be stored onto data cartridges of many different formats (DDS/DAT/DLT etc.) while the audio market already phased out for metal tapes. All still existing data tape media today are using metal substrates of highest purity and smallest particles on a very high remanence and coercivity. ( on required bias levels which an audio recorder could no longer handle)
Indeed!
Thanks for a great video, made me pull out a very good cassette I recorded from a good quality CD. It is the Allman Brothers in1971 , recording called "The Fillmore Concerts", I have a very good Onkyo single well cassette player, it has a single metal player, so no sloppy rubber cassette bands, which can cause all sorts of wow and flutter. The tape is a Fuji type 2 cassette. I loved these tapes, they were very stable, and warm sounding. This sounds plain awesome. I have about 6 or 7 metal tapes, put my best recordings on them.
Cool! Thanks for sharing that Jim! Love the Allman Brothers...
Hi folks . I only had 3 pre-recorded tapes . Just the past 5 years the binder dried up and the tape shed the oxide . Garbage .But of the 350 cassettes that i do have are Maxell ,TDK , Sony , BASF and Memorex in all varieties of oxide types . The tapes date from 1998 to 2010 . While I recorded all of these tapes ,and continue to play them . My point is that these brand name tapes are not shedding their oxides . It seems that the binders are much more stable . That's my two cents worth . But since 1998 I've worn out 4 decks and i am in need of more decks . Any suggestions ?
Right here: ua-cam.com/video/F3Bv7EUhSy8/v-deo.html
For dried binders: ua-cam.com/video/ov9frNzqrhU/v-deo.html
Many Nakamichi decks have spares still available and B&W in Worthing (England) can repair and service these to ‘as new’ condition. Strongly recommended!
what the hell is that high pitched noise in the background? its incredibly annoying...
It's tape hiss.
haven't noticed it until i read your comment. now i can't unhear it. thanks alot. :D
I think its his son/daughter
It’s the first thing I noticed and I had to stop watching, sorry
@@jimflys2It was nakashit-mishi hissing at the background. Aiwa is a nakakiller.Go watch price comparison,and see the light. I have that same ADF-770, and what a GEM. Looking for at 990- to find..from somewhere....
I own a Sony TC-V7 deck, it has type 3, autodetects it as well 😊. I don't own a type 3 cassette, but I'd love to test one
Autoreverse can't be that much of a problem, and I'm not including my TC-V7. Some nice decks have 1 or 2 4 track heads (because why the hell wouldn't that be standard) (1 if there's no separate PB and REC head, and 2 if they are separate. The azimuth isn't a problem anymore in this case since the heads font flip. În my deck there is a 2 track head that flips, it's OK, I do own the equipment to calibrate the azimuth, but for the average Joe that could become a problem in time.
As for the dual deck, I agree, that is to preferably be avoided, but in my humble opinion, any decent brand deck is okay. Have the Dolby NR, C is a good one. S is overkill for most of the people, have a single deck or a cassette changer, there are a few good ones that have the cassette changers, and hunt for Autoreverse that has 4 track heads.
And as a message if you're not audiophile, most of the decks will sound okay to you if you never heard something better. I did but I am still happy with my deck even if it's a mid-low range one. Test before concluding and don't take an audiophile's word for it :)
I would've spent much more on my reel to reel if I listened to the audiophile's out there, but mine (Sony TC-377) is a heck of a great reel to reel at a fraction of the price of an audiophile approved one
I have a pioneer Ct-f950 I love it with metal tapes it has VERY high quality recording playback. I also listen to digital and vinyl and I can't tell a difference.
i had the ct-f 650- the tapes it made were very good-pioneer made great decks
17:44 type iii has the two holes on the middle but no holes near the write protect hole
Incorrect on the transition to CD. By that time most people on a budget had worked out that a Decent tape deck and tapes were a cheaper way to get decent music. They were already used to using high quality FM signals as a source. Also LP's from Libraries etc. When CD's came out, for most, it was only something your parents could afford. Fortunately the libraries would buy in CD's for shared use. The combination between CD as a source and decent tape was good enough for a lot of people for years. As a teenager I could run vinyl, CD and Tape. I would buy only occasionally Vinyl or Tape as CD's were too expensive.
which you think has a warmer sound for recording on 4 track Maxell or TDK?
Metal is the best of the best. If you are serious about music and recording professionally, type IV is the way, very expensive but very good and it will last decades and decades if well stored!
type 1 (normal) tapes are still made in the USA, France, Netherlands, UK and Maxell still makes them.
Nope! There are old pancakes. Now Recording the Masters (Mulann industries) are bsck in production. Maxell are probably old pancakes as well. Recently The US National Company as just started again, up untill now they where using old tape...
@@anadialog the Maxell UR - these are made in Indonesia by a company called Panggung..
In the Netherlands you can buy new tapes with tape from Recording the Masters. www.debandjesfabriek.nl/
Saehan (korea) is making new tape too. shmedia.en.ec21.com/Audio--730425_730462.html
And NAC ua-cam.com/video/4QL9g72FMAE/v-deo.html
I still have my Sony Tape-deck from 2001. It's great!
thumbsup. Still have mine as well. TC-K71, one -K81 (bought later as vintage already for pretty cheap and only had to replace one single transistor in the touch control logic circuit to get it back into a working state) and one old collected grundig CF5100 with HIGH-COM (still needs some rework).
Bernd P yes its a great deck👌
My favorite tape to record on is a Maxell UDII 90 extended range, low distortion tape...
Auto demagntization is not going to be found in other decks so I wouldn't mention that as a must have. The rest was well presented for newbies to the medium.
Yes, I agree Dean. Made a mistake there! Very rare feature indeed.
What you are trying to explain is signal modulation 😇 since you can't record low frequency signals because.. Reasons, you need a high frequency (aka Bias) to modulate the audio signal, it's basically FM Radio technology, only with a much lower carrier frequency. If you replaced the head with an antenna and put a radio tuned to the bias frequency near it, you'd hear the music. Also the graphic representation is inaccurate, the bias doesn't add with the audio signal, it's amplitude (vertical size) stays at its initial value, it only gets attenuated in sync with the audio. Only decks with a modulation stage with built in amplifier actually adds the signals together. Same technique is used in any kind of magnetic recording.
Playback is like tuning into the station; it amplifies the signal from the head and passes it through a low pass filter, removing the carrier and forwarding only the audio. As I said, FM Radio technology. The bias is only there while recording and storing the audio. It's absent in the input and playback stages
One question please, I have a home studio and would like to have a reel to reel sound on my productions, could I have that sound with a good tape deck like the yours Aiwa f770 and metal tapes or I need to have an (expensive) reel to reel like Revox, Studer etc? Thanks so much, yours publications are amazing to me.
Hi John, thanks again! Well, 2 track 1/4" Reel-to-Reel tape is always going to be the best of the best in terms of analog sound recording and playback. BUT you need a high quality machine, perfectly serviced and calibrated for the tape you intend to use. I believe you saw my R2R videos. If not, start with this one: ua-cam.com/video/Yly9Ubzs5iY/v-deo.html
Nevertheless, if you invest in a high level cassette deck (not a F770, that is not enough) like a quality Nakamichi, Aiwa, Technics, Dual, Tandberg, Pioneer etc. with Metal of good Chrome cassettes you could reach a very high standard. In other words, if you have some money invest in a R2R. If not, try to look for a good pro deck. Remember that prices are going higher and higher each month (unfortunately) so in the end a good serviced cassette deck may cost you as a good Revox...I still suggest to hunt for a Telefunken M15. The prices are lower than Studer, Nagra, Akai, Otari etc. and the sound is even better! Here is my vid on my M15: ua-cam.com/video/QJp5KCfXB9k/v-deo.html
Pre Fostexs 4 track recording my first recording was at and with Emerald Sound Recording on Basic Cassette tape from Modules with an sound engineer I worked around .at his house I played this recording " Out From the dark side Into Gods Kingdom of Light" and also all the first interest in cassette tape itself I would look at the lines and found the stripes on the ribbon contains the track running on the head right? I like the older BSF tapes and experimented with Fostex recording but in the 70' s. Reel to reel tape...what a reverb nightmare for me and had a great time playing cassettes I still have some the engineer chart on back of these were what for illiterate mike ? Then now I'm watching you on UA-cam.
Thanks for sharing your experience Michael!
On 10:31 say, what frequency of BIAS = 40-150 kHz. But my deck have 210 kHz. :)
SONY UX-S - not chrome cassette, it's cobalt. Just respond of type 2 for correction and level of BIAS.
Many people more like top level cassettes of type 1 (TDK AR-X, SONY HF-Pro and others), than cassettes of type 2, although there are very high quality tapes.
Your are playing a metal cassette on a F770! you have just simply have the best sound!
Great job. Just picked up an F660 for 150US. Hopefully I'll get it running soon. Such a cool looking deck.
Just giving my F770 a bit of TLC, belts replaced, got a new tyre for the idler and that will be job done. Bought the deck in 1989 and with these bits replaced it should be good until I come over all dead! Tape of choice? TDK SA or SAX, sound fantastic, even after thirty years they still sound good. Apart from the quality of the recording I always preferred these to Chrome, chrome is harder, more abrasive and wears heads out faster than cobalt treated ferric. I never tried ferro-chrome so don't know how good they were, but if I remember correctly they were supposed to be less good than chrome or metal.
I Just found technics rs az 6 in good condition. İs it good for professional recording becouse signal response of the deck is 20 hz to 23 khz?
It's a later model but still pretty good. If the price is decent it's a good choice
@@anadialog thanks
I’m looking for a cassette tape player/recorder that can play special tapes. The tapes have the vocal on one track and the instrumental part on the other track. With this player/recorder, you can play the vocal alone, or the instrumental part alone, or both together. I don’t think such tapes are made anymore, but I would be willing to buy the player/recorder to make full use of the tapes in my collection. Anyone know where such players can be obtained?
You just need a 4 track cassette deck like the pro series of Tascam or Fostex for example (like Tascam 234 or Fostex X18). The ones you have are not special tapes but normal tapes (usually Chrome tapes), since all cassette tapes have 4 tracks only that the normal standard is 2 track per side (A and B), while a 4 track uses all of them together or singularly in order to record separate instruments etc. and mix them afterwards.
. ana[dia]log,
That has the sound of someone who knows what he's talking about, and it backs up what someone else has said. I'm going to take my cassette to a store tomorrow for the acid test. Thanks a million
You are very welcome!
I just purchased a Marantz 5030B. Any thoughts on its quality?? Its fully restored and serviced.... its in almost perfect condition... I am getting it next week.
take a shot everytime this guy says "typology"
A great idea.... if you fancy dying of alcohol poisoning.
@kingblonde If we had we would have been drunk enough to miss him say bass as in the fish to describe low frequencies at 11:11. I think we're good here.
I am mainly Italian so I make some mistakes and mispronounce some words. Sorry about that.
@@anadialog no worries!
@@anadialog I was wondering where you were from!
I have a Philips Dual Logic Stereo Casette Deck FC567.
What is your opinion on that model?
I bought it for €15 on a flea market
una cosa delle Aiwa non capisco, la qualità in ordine di grandezza delle sigle. Quella che mostri è una ad-f770 con auto calibration, auto demagnetizzazione... sembra il top, io ho invece la ad-f810... regolazione manuale di bias e sensitivity... quale delle due è migliore?
Regolazione manuale sempre meglio. Le automazioni possono essere fallaci.
@@anadialog Quindi io che ho una AD-F 810 mi tengo quella piuttosto che cambiarla con la AD-F770 ci rimetterei anche dei soldi... la ad-f770 aveva anche la demagnetizzazione automatica, ma piuttosto che spendere 300 e rotti euro per una AD-F770 da un amico molto competente che ci lavora nel campo e me la mollerebbe che quella cifra, mi tengo la mia 810 revisionata e tutto?
Assolutamente si! Cmq se posso essere onesto ho venduto poco dopo l'Aiwa. Non aveva quel suono favoloso come il Dual o altri che ho mostrato nel tour 2.0
@@anadialog sì infatti, ti seguo, sto cercando un Dual come il tuo oppure una Nakamichi CX300... :-) Allora mi tengo al momento la mia bella AD-F810 con le regolazioni manuali...
@@anadialog perchè non fai un video dove spieghi un po' di cose sulle registrazioni delle cassette... tipo il MOL il SOL, il livelli in base al nastro e come regolare un BIAS (a orecchio, cioè cosa sentire)... oppure già l'hai fatto?
If your buying these old tapes your doing it for the nostalgia the higher quality tapes don't have has much hiss to them which is a big part of that not to mention that with the right equipment you can make type 1 cassettes sound just as good as type 2 if not very close
Of course.. check my other tape vids, you will see that I am right there, and beyond: ua-cam.com/play/PLDKsdsTBptr477KwjoZyMlCc8Yvjplijw.html
I just started recording at home again and am planning on using a new digital 12 channel Teac mixer into Studio One. Once I have everything recorded and sounding the way I want I’m going to play it back into the room through my system because that’s when it usually sounds the best. Then I’ll use my Ribbon mic to record the mastered song into a 1968 Teac 3 mixer and from there into a cassette. The deck recording will then be fed back into the computer. I’m assuming they recorded a lot like this in the 50’s but I can’t really find out much about this method. I thought of this method because I do it all the time with my cell phone. Any suggestions?
Ana dialog, what do you think about the Onkyo TA RW 313 dual cassette deck? I know that most dual decks are generally inferior, but this thing was built in 1994 and the belts and pinch rollers still look factory new. I use it alot to be honest and it makes very good sounding recordings. Let me know if this is actually a decent deck.
I haven’t heard it but on paper it seems a decent deck. Not a big fan of the 90’s decks.
I think i did'nt understand what was the issue with the "Awesome Mix" cassette, can someone explain me pls ? (sorry for the poor english)
Hi duster974! No issue...I just skipped the fact that this precise soundtrack on cassette is one of the major reasons why cassette culture is back!
Oh thanks for the quick respond ! I see now :) Big fan of your work btw, i just discoverd your channel and i literally spent all my night yesterday watching all your videos ahah
Thank you!!!
Would it perhaps be fair to say that Type IV pre-recorded cassettes - should they become available in quantity - might provide the finest possible audio playback when played back on suitable decks of the highest quality?. (I know there are $450.00 2-track 15 ips reel-to-reel tapes on 10.5" reels that have become available and they may well be finer still). When you discussed what to look for when buying a cassette deck, one of the first things I'd want to know would be the condition of the heads - and I'd expect an honest answer from the seller!! If the heads are badly worn it might no longer be possible to obtain replacements.
Yes, I wish they would make them!
I bought a used vehicle with roughly 30 cassettes stashed in it. Most say gen 1 and gen 2. Lots of well known people and locations. I would like to listen to them! Some can’t be found on the internet! What would you recommend me to buy? I want to play these and likely won’t ever get any new tapes. I’m getting I to hifi for the first time. Budget for tape deck is $200 (US) or less. Thanks in advance if you’re able to help! Pm if you want to see pictures of the stash!
Look for a 2 or better 3 head deck, serviced/refurbished. Good brands at that price are Nakamichi, Akai, Onkyo, Denon, Pioneer, Aiwa, Dual, Sansui, Sony, and several others. Check the specs not the brand.
Hopefully they'll come back strong enough that they will actually start making new blank tapes and new cassette players and recorders
🤞
Maxell UR type 1 are still being made. And a few companies are making custom runs.
Teac/Tascam still making decks but expensive.
Back in late 80s and early 90s I'd buy a box of 10 Maxell Chrome tapes for $30-40.
Today I buy one of those, from the same time, for the same amount!
Hi, I am considering purchasing the Pioneer CF-T1000, CF-T1250 or CF-T950. Do you have any input to share on these decks?
I owned a 1250 for a number of years and it was stunning. The tape calibration system was manual but not hard to set up for any tape. The fl meters were amazing. I replaced this deck with an Aiwa ADF990 after the Pioneer started to chew up cassettes.
Great video, but please stop saying “typology”. Just the word “type” will suffice.
I know! That is my Italian surfacing...
imansfield Amen! Love the video’s but, that’s fuckn annoying!!!
Please also cut the irritating music continuously going in the background you have a good speaking voice and we like to concentrate on it.
Again, true, I did change that...different TYPES of music, and at lower volume in some cases or, no music at all...
is cassettes coming back do you really think so please let me know kind regards?
Don’t need to ask me, it is obvious! Minor and major artist are all releasing on cassette and several type 1 and also type 2 cassette are back into production!
@@anadialogthere are Type 2 new tapes in production? Sweet! Are they good?
Can you suggest a good blank audio cassette tape tape to buy, I've always mainly used TDK, so other than TDK...what other brand?
Maxell, Sony and TDK are the best IMO
@@anadialog what about these red case Maxell UR90 with the guy sitting on the couch, seem to see a lot of those for sale. How are those, any good ??
Sure! I find the RTM FOX to be better but even those are good.
TDK D’s are really good if using type I but it’s matter of opinion. They are able to be pushed a little bit louder and can sound sometimes as good as type II but it depends on the deck, bias and if using NR. I have good luck with them but I am using Dolby S on mine. Best to just try different ones and experiment with what you think sounds good.
@@RB-xm3ed trying to find some Type II's but these greedy ebay people wont let any go for less than $7 each. I got a bunch of Maxell UR90 Type I's for $1.50 each but man these people are greedy.
This is very good video! And this my question: I was bought about 5 years ago MARRANTZ CP-430 and MARRANTZ CP-230 C-Cassette decks. And I use almost always chrome and metal tapes also with DBX Noise reduction. But are those MARANTZ decks good enought because MARANTZ CP-430 and CP-230 doesn't include all those features what you shown on your own AIWA F770 cassette deck, like DOLBY S, Automatic demag system and Auto Calibration?
Those are excellent recorders. I have the CP430. If you want more quality you should get a pro deck of the 80's, with three heads. If it has calibration, manual or automatic, it would be better, but not fundamental. For example I made a review on a Dual deck which si simply amazing but no calibration: ua-cam.com/video/r5zQ8SYbxFQ/v-deo.html
@@anadialog What do you think of the Nakamichi BX 300E?
Excellent starting point and not only!
Normal bias tapes have bad treble response (compared to chrome type 2 tapes) when played in low to mid end decks, but with a good quality machine, (Dragon, Revox,, etc.) they can sound just as good as type 2 tape. I even prefer them for certain genres of music.
What is a good deck for ease of replacement and repair for belts? I have serviced a Walkman and a boombox and depending on what I was unknowingly getting myself into the process was arduous...
Well, a direct drive deck! No belts there! Actually, they do have belts but small, simple ones...the only beltfree deck, as far as I know, is the Nakamichi Dragon!
Maxell UR is about the only new old tapes I can find. They are not bad with some tweaking the bias and using some EQ 1 octave . Pretty flat til 16 k .
Yep! Those are the only new tapes i can find to... sad.
Still being made today and can sound pretty good
HDXFH I would prefer high bias tapes flat to 20k .
indeed but at least, for a type1 tape, these are at least capable of handling high volumes pretty well. Was really surprised how high you can turn up the recording levels on the current UR type series.
In my experience, the TDK D can handle a little bit more energy (sometimes with high bias calibration they can handle +6) than the Maxel without clipping distortion; but they are more expensive and rare. @@KRAFTWERK2K6
Hi,
how did you get the N4520 on the Wall.As far as i can see it is sitting on a wooden plate, but that Machine is almost about 27kg. Which Screws did you use to make em hold that Monster?;-)
Actually that was a hard task! Its a special hi-fi shelf with a decoupling system (the woden plattrt stands on 3 spikes) and below I screwed the metal bar to the wall with 4 huge and long screws. I wanted to put my Studer there...but I just wasn't brave enough...
@@anadialog Come on, the studer is lighter than the Philips isnt it?
Not really!, its 31kg!!
uuaaahh, what the hell...why so heavy?
Its a pro deck man! ;-)
With all that information on the different types in mind, which type of tape would you recommend for daily recording? Any specific names would be appreciated a lot!
I love your videos, and I'm now watching this in July 2020. I just really want a great tape deck and good quality tapes to record my vinyl records onto. Any suggestions, my fellow music lovers?? Interestingly, I'm seeing one single TEAC reel blank tape on Ebay for about $140!!! And it's just type 2 position, so it will probably lack in bass reproduction.
Welcome aboard! Soon I'll make a dedicated video on the topic!
@@anadialog Sounds good.
Good video, though you didn't mention the tape color as a distinguishing feature.
Hi geetarbube, you are right...I did so here though: ua-cam.com/video/EnUhGjc_Er8/v-deo.html
I started to wonder if the common compact cassette could be used as a digital recording/playing media. I know about the DCC but it would be interesting to see if the cc could be used as a digital audio medium, I wonder how much digital audio information can be compressed on 4,76 cm/sec. tape...they could also buffer it for a few seconds for higher data amount. So...it would be exciting to use common tapes with almost hifi/mp3 quality sound.
Well, your best option IMO is DAT! You can easily surpass CD quality with DAT.
Why dolby s slides some sounds in song to left channel? For example why the bass is more heavier at left channel when comparing to source? (nr of recorded cassettes are not like this, this happens when ı turn on dolby s while I'm recording)
Mmh...sounds like your Dolby S needs some recalibration...
@@anadialog how can ı do it
You need professional service to do that. Maybe the chip is broken....
@@anadialog ok thanks
ın my country the wand type demagnetizer is not available. I found radio shack cassette format electronic demagnetizer. Will it make big difference in sound?
Thank you for the awesome video again! One question, why is it that Metal type cassettes are hard to record over the music, in other words, you can still hear the previous recording. I never found out why that is?
Because it has an extremely high magnetization and retains sometimes its first or prior recording
Thanks much I'm contacting MAXELL Corporation for this MX-S 60. Wear out the heads ? Checking I have this kit blue tape no ribbon came with a small blue plastic bottle with cleaner I take and apply it to the pads run forward. And reverse. But need something cause in running out looking at the ingredients .Amen. Great video man and thumbs up ok Audio ...s
Thanks!!
I purchased a tape deck a few months ago and it doesn't have Dolby. Even the expensive tape decks do not have Dolby. I have a question. Is Dolby not allowing new tape decks to have their system, or is it a way to lessen to lessen the costs by the manufacturer? Thanks in advance.
You mean now? Yes, Dolby chips for noise reduction are not produced anymore and Dolby does not license its use. What deck did you get? Actually the vast majority of past decks, low and high end, have Dolby also because almost all prerecorded tapes are recorded with Dolby.
@@anadialog TEAC 850. (It has a CD player; I gave my old CD player to my brother.) I only have a few tapes that do not have Dolby, among them "Tapestry" by Carole King from 1971. I did have a Fisher integrated system with Dolby from the mid '80s, but it had jacks on it which would not fit on my on my new receiver.
@@anadialogI know that some people don't like Dolby. I sort of wish my tape deck had Dolby that way I could see for myself. But, alas...!
Now is the right time to go for it...as I have explained, now with the joys of pro decks and high quality tape, that I couldn't afford when I was young in the 80's and 90's, I have rediscover cassettes and their true astounding sonic characteristics!
do you know any other tapedecks that have a auto demag system ? Other than the F770 or F660 ?
Several Aiwa models have that and also a few other decks, bit I agree, they are very rare.
@@anadialog and you don't happen to know the other brands ? After a bit of research I also found the F620 and 640 models seem to have the adms function, but they are as well quite rare.
How easy has it been for you to get your cassette player and reel to reel fixed should you have a problem? That is what is keeping me from getting back into this. Thanks, Tony.
Hi tony, I perfectly understan your hesitancy. It is not simple but I must say that if you look a little you will find a lot of goid technicians...also a lot if them off the grid, working at home. A good place to start is to find a forum and post a thread. That usually solves all problems. Just make sure you are nit buying something too esoteric or rare that nobody knows anymore how to repair or that has components hard to find.
ana[dia]log thank you for quick response. Love your channel. Your passion is addictive.
What a compliment! Thanks!!!
ana[dia]log would you be able to recommend a cassette deck that would be easy to find parts for under 300 dollars. I had a Nakamici and liked it except for styling but sound is most important. I would guess TEAC and Aiwa probably most popular?
How about a Pioneer CT-S740S, or a Teac C3, or an Aiwa Ad-F770, or just go Naks...they are very well serviced...but don't worry. The true problem is usually the rubber belts...
Hi, i like your review. I have a nakamichi cassette deck2 in an excellent condition. My opinion is that i enjoy it more than digital media. My ears grab frequencies never been noticed throu digital recordings i.e cd.
I agree! The overall engagement is just superior IMHO
I love my pioneer cts-830s cassette deck.. Record to maxwell or tdk chrome or metal tapes with dolby s and it records sound rich & full in detail.. Sounds awesome!!!
Yeah!! I bet!!
I 've got a SHARP SG 222 BLACK FACE STEREO from 1986.And it works wonderfully .Cassette,turntable and receiver.Plays all types of cassettes and sound great.200watts rms
How to tell if a tape deck has auto calibration? What are the buttons usually called? I don't know if mine has it or not: Technics RS-BX747
On this deck it’s the ATC button(s): Auto Tape Calibration. Same for several other Technics decks in the RS-BX… range.
A double capstan system is probably the most important feature for tape azimuth and the best sound, IMHO.
I wish you could explain on which types of type 1 or type 2 or type 4 cassettes one should buy or avoid. there seem to be different names for each.
Good topic for a future video. I've taken note. Thanks.
When matching up the tape-type to the settings on your tape console or tape deck, the sound is muffled. I always just set it to normal, never a, b or c or crO2, no matter what tape-type l have; metal sometimes works. What am l doing wrong? 😁😛 l never switched to other media since the 80's and 90's, never went to CD's; l never got too technical, haha. One last thing l never knew about, is that beat switch 1 2 on the back of a radio. What was that for? That switch does absolutely nothing for sound or recording; again; what am l missing or doing wrong?
It is likely the heads of your deck are magnetized. You may need a head or path demagnetizer. The coils inside the head could be damaged. The bias could be out of adjustment. So many possibilities. Some heads just get worn out over tens of thousands of hours of recording and playback. It's more likely the head is out of azimuth alignment. There are usually tiny screws to adjust this with. You will either need to have a test calibration tape and expertise, or, 2 prerecorded cassettes you know sound perfect on at least 2 other machines. Take the door (cover) off and / or find the adjustment screw access holes and get a non-magnetic tiny screwdriver (can usually buy these in a small set). Adjust right or left by fractional turns and keep track of this. Do it while the tape is playing. If it doesn't eventually sound better, something else is going on. This takes a steady hand, strong flashlight and lots of patience. I may have to make a video on it one day. Most of these UA-cam videos are so full of errors and assumptions it's comical.
YamFZR93 - No, l have a demagnitizer and l have come across good equipment that is practically new, with the EXACT same result: a dimmer or somewhat muffled sound. I've been using tape decks over the last 20 years (before l would rec. & play on stereos) l guess what l meant to say in my last comment is the A B and C settings that never seem to have any advancement, for the tape-type automatically sets after closing the deck, according to the tape that is put in. So l never use the A B & C buttons. Sorry for not specifying that right. I still think you can be right, because even if it looks new, or has'nt been used much, it's still pretty friggin old. But thank you for the advice and responding back.
You should be able to clearly hear the different equalizations during playback accorsibg to the selected tape type...I am afraid the machine is broken...
@@JohnnyAce415 I'm curious what tape deck you have. I have many, they are either automatic detection or manual, not both. I think some Harman Kardons have 120/70 overrides for FeCr though.
27:27 whats the song name pls :)?
13 kinds, a great album: the bones of j.r. jones
@@anadialog i will thank you for this awesome song
Are you any type of hip hip fan maybe :)?
@@anadialog Oh My Fucking God, what treasure is this album 😍😍😍
HI:) Do you know if i can use IV type metal in my tascam 424 mkii?
I am afraid not. Only type II.
About 15 years ago Richer Sounds in the UK were selling Nakamichi DR8`s.9`s and 10`s for about £200 to £300 brand new. I bought 2. I wish I`d bought 20.
Me too!!
I just purchased a Nakamichi CR-4, and it's being serviced so I should have it soon. I plan on converting my cassettes to digital, and wanted to know if anyone knows any processes to optimize the quality. I remember reading a while ago if you record the beginning of the tape, before the audio starts. You can reverse eq the sound, and that removes all the sound from the tape, so the only thing renaming would be the audio recorded to the tape. Does something like that seem possible, and what are other peoples re-mastering techniques?
Hi Gary, unfortunately I cannot support this horrendous digitalization project you have. No point in doing that, except if you have, say, the voice of your little daughter or a series of voice recordings or music demos you produced in the past you want to preserve, then I would understand ... ;-)
I use Audacity, it has a lot of great options to help optimize and archive your recordings. I'm not sure what you're asking otherwise, the sentences seem incomplete or don't make sense to me. Perhaps English is not your native language, either way, Audacity should help.
Those Maxell UR Normal Bias tapes are AMAZING.
I grew up using tapes as a kid/teen, so I have spent a lot of time (and money )on them and feel I've come to know the good from the bad, in regards to brand, bias type, durations, etc.
I must say, Maxell did something amazing to make those UR tapes sound so good for a Normal bias. Great output, nice sound, and they even have a sturdy construction with their all-clear shells and transparent components allowing the entire reel of tape to be visible.
My only complaint of those UR tapes is the limited capacities.
I have seen different durations from different brands, which created conflict for a guy like me who wanted to keep his tapes consistent - use the same brand and the same bias, while finding the best-fit length of tape for whatever program I was mixing.
UR is pretty good, you got you standard 60 and 90 minutes, and I think they may even have made 100 minute lengths, but they also were the first brand to finally match Sony's HF tapes (a normal bias that wasn't very good for fidelity output) of a 120 minute length. I used the Sony HFs for years only because of the 120 minute capacity. Then Maxell comes along, with a nice Normal tape, 120 mins, and it SOUNDED GREAT. And the clear/transparent design made it look sleek as well, which I really liked because I could make my own index labels and insert them INSIDE the shell, so they could be seen but also protected.
Oh, if only they could have also made 80 minute (which I've only ever seen from TDK in chrome bias), some 110 minute, and even some of those random "CD-friendly" lengths that Sony's "CD-it" (chrome only) line put out ; 54, 74, and 94 minutes. Oh, and perhaps resurrect some of the shorter lengths form the 70s, like the 15 and 30 minutes, for those early albums and EPs that rarely exceeded 30 mins, and 45 minutes for the "average" run of a full-length album of the times.
It'd be fantastic if ONE brand (Maxell) produced ONE bias (UR Normal Type I) that could cover all those lengths :
C-10, C-15, C-30, C-45, C-50, C-54, C-60, C-74, C-80, C-90, C-94, C-100, C-110, C-120.
Thanks for sharing your experience...I am not a big fan of the UR but I do see the convenience...
Don't forget the TDK D 120 tape, it sounds similar good to the maxell UR tapes.
@@Christian-fu8vx
I loved the TDK D series, but I never had a 120 min from them. The highest II could get on a TDK D was 90 min.
Before the Maxell UR tapes came along ,the only 120 min lengths I could find were the Sony HF Type I, which were okay but were not great of playback output, sounded a little dull.
before I start I must say I am a big cassette tape lover ever since, I began listening to music. The truth and reality is I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news and it's not my intention to burst your bubble, but records, CD's Cassette Tapes, Reel to Reel Tapes, 8 Tapes, mini disk. All these old medias especially Cassette Tapes will never come back, into the main stream. they are all gone forever. They may not be quite dead, but the main problem is streaming. Streaming is a more practical way to consume audio and visuals not media. Though I do enjoy your channel, so please keep making. I still consume music on cassettes, so i do find your channel and yes I own three Nakamishi tape decks along with TEAC, Kenwood, Sony, Technics tape players and if I see any more top decks, iwould try to acquire them. I'm just trying to keep it real.
They said the same thing of vinyl ;-)
.w/o I have both 2 decks both Dolby plus Auto Reverse. I just have this SonyCompact DISC Digital Audio. CFD-S300 WIDE DIRECTIONAL CONVEX SPEAKERS. AUTO PRESET CD RADIO TAPE PAUSE OPEN LEFT ARROW RIGHT ARROW PLAY RECORD RED DOT FAR RIGHT IT SOUNDS. Ok MEGA BASS..so I tape on my LG cell phone Built In Voice Recorder App and use my Amps and some excellent Tools so replication is powerful! I can just let the cassette tape play A side Then B side and sing along with a microphone on stand away from it only has 1/8" headphone " input" but I suggest more than a remote Mic how do I purchase more blank high resolution cassette tapes? I used to have a splicer
interesting video! and very well explained....I have all my music that I composed on cassettes....I will digitize them to make them immortal, that is the great advantage of the digital age....on the other side digital killed the story...now you listen single tracks, picking up just the best part, the part you love...but a story need also boring parts, but very important as well....to tell a real story you need time, wonderful parts but also boring and ugly parts....and digital killed this important part.....
Raul after what you have written, you must see this: ua-cam.com/video/_CR02Ol050c/v-deo.html
Remember that each medium is tied to its gear. This means that a format is 'immortal' as long as it can be reproduced!