Made my first cassette recording of an LP in over 30 years

2

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  • StantonZ
    StantonZ Posts: 444
    edited August 2016
    Do you guys know the story behind BASF Chrome and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (remember Original Master Recordings)? They used BASF with a specially calibrated/biased JVC deck (that most of us would have never given the time of day) to make the MFSL cassettes. Ultimately, other hardware manufacturers couldn't meet the high bias requirements of BASF's "chrome" formulation, so BASF lost blank cassette tape market share to a "modified" chrome formulation by folks like Maxell and TDK.
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  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,806
    recoveryone wrote: »
    WHAT!!!!! no Teac metal, that look like mini reel to reels. I love to just kick back and watch those when listening.

    I had the Teac Studio 52 cassette and recorded my Huey Lewis and the News "Sports" album on it when it came out so I could use in the walkman, sounded great....good times.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited August 2016
    StantonZ wrote: »
    Do you guys know the story behind BASF Chrome and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (remember Original Master Recordings)? They used BASF with a specially calibrated/biased JVC deck (that most of us would have never given the time of day) to make the MFSL cassettes. Ultimately, other hardware manufacturers couldn't meet the high bias requirements of BASF's "chrome" formulation, so BASF lost blank cassette tape market share to a "modified" chrome formulation by folks like Maxell and TDK.

    Actually I think another challenge with true CrO2 (chromium dioxide) formulations had to do with increased head wear. It is indeed true that very quickly "Chrome" (Type II) tape formulations shifted from chromium to cobalt, and Maxell, TDK & the like made "chrome" tapes that weren't "chrome" at all! :-)

    e.g.,
    http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=6630

    Of course, cobalt was and is a "strategic material" and the cost of cobalt has skyrocketed over the years (but that's another topic).

    PS Nothing wrong with JVC's cassette decks, nor their proprietary ANRS and Super-ANRS Dolby-patent-work-around noise reduction schemes :-)
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    StantonZ wrote: »
    Do you guys know the story behind BASF Chrome and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (remember Original Master Recordings)? They used BASF with a specially calibrated/biased JVC deck (that most of us would have never given the time of day) to make the MFSL cassettes. Ultimately, other hardware manufacturers couldn't meet the high bias requirements of BASF's "chrome" formulation, so BASF lost blank cassette tape market share to a "modified" chrome formulation by folks like Maxell and TDK.

    Actually I think another challenge with true CrO2 (chromium dioxide) formulations had to do with increased head wear. It is indeed true that very quickly "Chrome" (Type II) tape formulations shifted from chromium to cobalt, and Maxell, TDK & the like made "chrome" tapes that weren't "chrome" at all! :-)

    e.g.,
    http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=6630

    Of course, cobalt was and is a "strategic material" and the cost of cobalt has skyrocketed over the years (but that's another topic).

    PS Nothing wrong with JVC's cassette decks, nor their proprietary ANRS and Super-ANRS Dolby-patent-work-around noise reduction schemes :-)

    This stuff is bringing back a lot of old memories. I also recall they had an issue with head wear when Metal type IV tapes first came out.
    Does anyone remember the short lived type III tapes?
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    That link talks about the type of tape I posted a pic of above
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  • xsmi
    xsmi Posts: 1,798
    edited August 2016
    So, if I'm reading that correctly, the CrO2 tapes I was spending extra money for (mostly Maxell) did not even contain any metal in the formulation? And to add injury insult, my JVC nor the Sony deck that I purchased to replace it, could not handle the true high bias of a metal tape? Man I feel duped!
    2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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  • gimpod
    gimpod Posts: 1,793
    edited August 2016
    Only 1 question to the op WHY? :) JBYC

    On the new tape front, afaik Maxell is the only one still making new cassette tape but it's not a high bias tape Maxell UR-60 and UR-90

    On the NEW open reel tape side it's a bit more interesting.
    ATR Magnetics | ATR Master Tape
    Recording The Masters what RGMI/PYRAL evolved into.
    And a new player from Splicit Reel Audio in Organ U.S.A. (10.5" only at this time)
    Capture 914 and Capture 930

    Not affiliated with any of the above companies.
    “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” ~ Mark Twain
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited August 2016
    Actually I think the "Capture" tapes are currently only available in "pancakes", but they promise tape on reels anon.

    http://www.splicit.com/Capture-914-Recording-Tape-p/cap914.htm
    http://www.splicit.com/Capture-930-Recording-Tape-p/cap930.htm

    tna48n3z10on.jpg

    PS I don't know who's actually making these tapes... but I also haven't looked very hard to find out. I'm sure there's tons of info @ Tapeheads.
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  • gimpod
    gimpod Posts: 1,793
    I don't know who's actually making the tape or what formulation there using ether but I do know that Splicit Reel Audio Products owns the trademark for Capture Reel Audio Solutions and that the tape is made exclusively for Splicit Reel Audio Products. This is still really new tape so I'd wait for more reviews before buying.

    Actually if you have old 10.5" reels of tape with leaders there's no point not to buy pancakes as the ones with metal reel's and box's cost almost twice as much and still don't come with leaders. A lot of people buy the pancakes to replace old worn out Maxell, Ampex, Quantegy, Scotch ..etc tapes. They already have good reels and leaders.
    “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” ~ Mark Twain
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    Nothin' wrong at all with pancakes -- but the average home recordist wasn't/isn't used to tape coming that way. That is why I mentioned it :)

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  • gimpod
    gimpod Posts: 1,793
    I hear ya, It really sucks that you can't buy reels of tape ready to go like the old Maxell UD35, UDXL tapes with leaders, sensing foil, labels, bag and box. FYI I read somewhere (I can't remember where & can't seem to find it again) that Maxell might be looking at getting back in the open reel tape business.

    From what I read there could be a long term reliability issue also for all of the new tapes.
    “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” ~ Mark Twain
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited August 2016
    gimpod wrote: »
    I hear ya, It really sucks that you can't buy reels of tape ready to go like the old Maxell UD35, UDXL tapes with leaders, sensing foil, labels, bag and box. FYI I read somewhere (I can't remember where & can't seem to find it again) that Maxell might be looking at getting back in the open reel tape business.

    From what I read there could be a long term reliability issue also for all of the new tapes.


    Not to change the subject but it's good to see some posts from you here! :)
    (should've mentioned that when I posted before)

    Now... what was this thread about again!? :p
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    honestaquarian wrote: »
    h4dd0qhghy1q.jpg
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited August 2016
    ^^^ just... eww.


    16339299011_45bb54abaf_b.jpgDSC_0092 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
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  • StantonZ
    StantonZ Posts: 444
    honestaquarian wrote: »
    This stuff is bringing back a lot of old memories. I also recall they had an issue with head wear when Metal type IV tapes first came out.
    Does anyone remember the short lived type III tapes?

    Yes: I had/tried (1) Type III tape...and that was the end of it! Never messed with Metal Type IV tapes.

    Yamaha RX-A2050 AVR (5.0.2); LG OLED77C2 4K TV
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  • StantonZ
    StantonZ Posts: 444
    xsmi wrote: »
    So, if I'm reading that correctly, the CrO2 tapes I was spending extra money for (mostly Maxell) did not even contain any metal in the formulation?

    Basically yes, although they did provide better frequency response (especially on the high-end).
    Yamaha RX-A2050 AVR (5.0.2); LG OLED77C2 4K TV
    (4) Polk Monitor 10B's w/SoniCaps, Mills, and RDO-194 tweets (R/L F/R)
    (2) Polk RC80i (Top Middle)
    Polk CS300 center channel
    Analog: B&O TX2 Turntable, Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1
    Digital: Pioneer CLD-99 Elite LD, Panasonic DMP-UB900 UHD Blu-Ray
    Bedroom: Arylic Up2Stream AMPv3 driving Polk Monitor 4's w/peerless tweets
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    type III "ferrichrome" :)

    Sort of the "Missouri Compromise" of tape formulations ;)

    good old google:
    http://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/26/style/a-guide-to-buying-cassette-recorder-tapes.html
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,009
    I noticed the article says metal tape was intended for "unrelenting perfectionists." I guess that would characterize many of us tapers pretty well in those days. Lol.
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,009
    Little bit o' **** for y'all

    cszu22jgzumk.jpg
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,009
    guess you can't say p*rn. Not even audio p*rn? Lol
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    nbrowser wrote: »
    Dangnabbit...ya'll are tempting me! I've got a pile of cassettes but no deck...time to get one.

    Naw...do yourself a favor. Go big, or go home.
    :)

    15256338064_3bf36bba8f_b.jpgReVox WHRB Dead aircheck by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    nbrowser wrote: »
    Where do ya insert the cassette?

    Rebuilt Dragon.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Willy-Hermann-Rebuilt-120v-220-240v-NAKAMICHI-DRAGON-Auto-Reverse-cassette-deck-/351816726119?hash=item51e9e93667:g:w6MAAOSwaB5XujaH

    That's like, what? A million dollars up there?
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    nbrowser wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    nbrowser wrote: »
    Dangnabbit...ya'll are tempting me! I've got a pile of cassettes but no deck...time to get one.

    Naw...do yourself a favor. Go big, or go home.
    :)

    15256338064_3bf36bba8f_b.jpgReVox WHRB Dead aircheck by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    Where do ya insert the cassette? Lol

    Nearest trash receptacle ;)
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited August 2016
    ... or...

    AKAI, bless their hearts, made combination reel to reel eight track decks for quite a while. Perfect for dubbin' some music to play in that purple 1972 Eldorado Convertible with the white fur upholstery.

    http://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/akai/x-1800sd.shtml

    akaiX1800.jpg
    image source: http://classicaudio.com/gallery/audio/akaiX1800.html

    :)
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    hmm, what are these transistors of which you speak? I am... unfamiliar... with the term

    ;)
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  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,788
    Nightfall wrote: »
    nbrowser wrote: »
    Where do ya insert the cassette?

    Rebuilt Dragon.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Willy-Hermann-Rebuilt-120v-220-240v-NAKAMICHI-DRAGON-Auto-Reverse-cassette-deck-/351816726119?hash=item51e9e93667:g:w6MAAOSwaB5XujaH

    That's like, what? A million dollars up there?

    He can't be all bad. He has Emerald Physics Speakers like me!
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,009
    One time after I only had my driver's license only a short time I was driving my car down the highway with the windows down in the summer smoking a cig listening to Yes Fragile IIRC on an 8-track. I flicked the cig out the window but it blew right back in the back window and lodged behind the back seat cushion somehow. I didn't know it until I smelled smoke. At the time, I had hard-wired the bottom section of an old guitar amp as my speakers, which filled the entire back seat area. I had to pull over and take the guitar amp out on the side of the highway, and then pull the entire back seat out to snuff out the cig butt. I must've looked pretty GD stupid to all those cars whizzing by on the highway. I know I felt it. Had a series of 8-track players in cars which of course I installed and wired myself like everyone did. That is probably the one piece of kit that I miss the least of all the gear I've ever owned. 8 tracks sounded like azz.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    I, briefly, had an 8-track in my 1974 Bronco. And an FM converter (if any of you remember those) for its original, built-in mono AM radio :) Good times.

    Had a CB in there, too (longer than the 8 track, in point of fact) -- with a quarter-wave stainless steel whip antenna mounted on the back bumper.

    As to (expensive) Dragons -- if you gotta use cassette, the Dragon's a pretty nice choice. I could be just as happy with a Nakamichi 1000ZXL or, heck, the orginal 1000 or even the 700, for that matter. Finicky decks they were, though.

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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,285
    nbrowser wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    hmm, what are these transistors of which you speak? I am... unfamiliar... with the term

    ;)

    Some are small, some are big...they tend to be in SOLID state electronics...like the machine you use to post and read here...and in some stereos...like mine....ALL over the place! lol.

    HMMMM, and I thought transistors were part of the LGBT community, interesting
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
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    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited August 2016
    nbrowser wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    hmm, what are these transistors of which you speak? I am... unfamiliar... with the term

    ;)

    Some are small, some are big...they tend to be in SOLID state electronics...like the machine you use to post and read here...and in some stereos...like mine....ALL over the place! lol.

    I did give up using a CRT monitor a while ago, truth be told.
    Heck, just a couple of weeks ago, I retired the 1989-vintage Monkey Wards "Signature2000" analog CRT TV (which was otherwise, full of silicon gizmos) in our bedroom and replaced it with a small flat panel HDTV (with an on board DVD player on the back) that... no lie... I found by the side of the road about a mile from our house.

    Cleaned it up, turned it on... and it worked. Even the DVD player.

    Had to buy a generic remote control for it though.

    The plus of using it is that now we only need one remote control for the TV in the bedroom... the OTA DTV converter I bought when NTSC analog TV went away had a remote that couldn't communicate with the ol' "Signature2k" :-/
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