Avocado Memories: Photos of long-forgotten blank cassettes

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Clark V Kauffman, Mar 23, 2014.

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  1. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
  2. MacGyver

    MacGyver Forum Resident

    Location:
    IRRIGON, OR. U.S.
  3. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
    Collectables

    There were times when odd gimmicky cassettes were available. Those that were created just to get you to buy for reasons completely unrelated to audio quality or even merely recording music for later enjoyment. Earlier in this thread there were a couple cigarette related cassettes. I usually passed on these, but now I'm kicking myself because I would have liked to have some of these truly strange cassettes. I was in a shop in either France or Germany once and saw a package of four cassettes that when the cases lined up, you got a nearly life size picture of a bottle of Coke. Didn't buy them because I didn't have enough local money for them and dinner (this was before the EU was created). The tape was probably incidental, but the packaging is what it was all about. I only got one such cassette, a Betty Boop cassette. I'm about as big a fan of Betty Boop as MacGyver is of Sailor Moon. Well, I don't know if he is a fan her and the Sailor Scouts or not, but I do know he likes his anime. At any rate, here's a Betty Boop tape by Citizen. I kinda like that, sorta like Citizen Betty Boop (as in Citizen Kane).

    [​IMG]Citizen Betty Boop 46
     
  4. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
    Realistic Cassettes

    Taking us back to squarely in the Avocado Era, what would life had been like without the local Radio Shack?

    Low Noise, someone else has posted a picture of a different version of their Low Noise cassette. My take on it is that if you have to print that it is low noise right on the outside, it probably isn't.
    [​IMG]Realistic 60

    Chromium Dioxide, rumor had it that this tape was actually sourced by BASF. Don't know if that is true or not, but this was also a very good early type II tape. Just like with the BASF Chromium Dioxide tapes, the tape itself was quite good, while the shell didn't do it justice. Pity really.
    [​IMG]Realistic Chromium Dioxide 90

    Supertape, again, if you have to boldly proclaim that it is super tape - it probably isn't.
    [​IMG]Realistic Supertape 90

    Supertape Gold, an even better super tape?
    [​IMG]Realistic Supertape Gold 90

    Supertape Chrome replaced the Chromium Dioxide shown above, but I didn't like it as much.
    [​IMG]Realistic Supertape Chrome 90

    Someone else has posted some Concertapes, so I'll just leave the Realistic batch without their inclusion.
     
    Last edited: May 1, 2016
  5. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
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  6. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
    More Scotch, bartender!

    Scotch had a series called Master that I actually liked. Their advertisement made a big deal about the "paddlewheel" tape guides. They were fun to watch in machines that allowed you to see them.

    Type I
    [​IMG]Scotch Master I 90

    Type II
    [​IMG]Scotch Master II 90

    Type III
    [​IMG]Scotch Master III 90
     
  7. shadowlord

    shadowlord Forum Resident

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    Austria
  8. ti-triodes

    ti-triodes Senior Member

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    Paz Chin-in

    Unless they're supertapes like TDK-MAR, Maxell Vertex, etc. most open tapes will probably bring $1 each on eBay. Metal tapes in general have been developing an aura around them and may bring more if they're in super shape.
    The only reason have so many sealed tapes is due to my OCD. I would buy 2 or 3 of every tape I saw, leave one sealed and try the rest on my Nak. Sometimes it's good to be a bit crazy. :D
     
  9. ti-triodes

    ti-triodes Senior Member

    Location:
    Paz Chin-in
    The Scotch tapes reminded me of this contraption. The cases could be joined together, making a little tape cabinet. The spring loaded release buttons are more rugged than they look. All the buttons still work and the springs still blast the tape drawers open. The concept never caught on afaik.





    [​IMG]
     
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  10. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

  12. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

  13. PhilBiker

    PhilBiker sh.tv member number 666

    Location:
    Northern VA, USA
    Oh my lord I bought a two pack of those Scotch BX tapes in the early 80s. They were HORRENDOUS. Worst shell ever - the tape made a physical buzzing noise while playing - the recording broke up badly. Absolutely the worst thing ever in the history of tapes.
     
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  14. PhilBiker

    PhilBiker sh.tv member number 666

    Location:
    Northern VA, USA
    I love this thread so much I need to contribute, though my scanner is poor for this kind of scanning as you will see.

    Some drug store / discount store three pack crap tapes:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And a pretender - cleverly packaged to look like a Maxell or other legit tape - this is a HORRIBLE cassette tape!

    [​IMG]
     
  15. PhilBiker

    PhilBiker sh.tv member number 666

    Location:
    Northern VA, USA
    And just to prove that all my tapes aren't crap.....
    1989 FM Radio recording of a Who concert on this one:

    [​IMG]

    And some of my own (sad horrible should be erased) compositions on here when I was pretending I could write songs learning that I did not have composition talent.

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Yes, they were the same tape with different branding.

    Hitachi owns Maxell. The corporate name of Maxell is Hitachi Maxell Ltd.

    Hitachi sold their versions of Maxells alongside Maxell tapes in some countries like Japan, and parts of Europe quite extensively. Not so much in the US. Rare to see.

    Hitachi also sold another line of rebranded Maxells under their high end Lo-D brand hi-fi equipment brand mainly in Japan.

    There are a couple vintage cassette websites out there where you can see the cross reference of the different brands' equivalent models.
     
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  17. drasil

    drasil Former Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    I would be very interested in a link to a technical vintage cassette site. I've found a few cassette blogs, but they seem to be more about cool pictures than factual data or analyses.
     
  18. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    The sound of them wasn't very good, so I just used it to record a comedy album.
     
  19. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
    TDK IF Cassettes

    One of the most consistent aspects of the cassette was the case it came it. Very little variation to this standard case over the years. Other than going to a slim case, not too much has changed. Memorex had a strange case way back in the Avocado era shared by someone already. The spring loaded drawers that ti-triodes shared were also quite unusual. Someone else also shared a TDK SA Limited Edition in a rounded snap case. TDK also sold AR tape in this same case, and called it IF. These came in single and dual cassette cases, in both black and white. Here's a trio of some I have:

    [​IMG]TDK IF trio

    TDK IF 46 black
    [​IMG]TDK IF 46B

    TDK IF 46 white
    [​IMG]TDK IF 46W

    TDK IF 46 black front
    [​IMG]TDK IF 2b front

    TDK IF 46 white front
    [​IMG]TDK IF 2w front
     
  20. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
  21. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
    Victor Cassettes

    Those silly words written on the TDK IF cassettes reminded me of the phrase written on the Victor Get's. Really, I can't tell which is more bizarre, Victor or TDK.

    [​IMG]Victor Gets 74
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2016
  22. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
    You've got Hello Kitty tapes by both TDK and Axia. I have cassette envy!
     
  23. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Did TDK people have too much time on their hands?
     
  24. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
    Memorex Cassettes

    Speaking of Memorex, I've only got a couple to offer here.

    MRX2 90, came in the previously mentioned strange case. Complete with the hub locks that were required because the case didn't offer this feature. These MRX2 tapes were about the only I've ever used that actually would self erase in a few week's time. By that I mean that the high frequencies would just evaporate in short order. They were there right after being recorded, but they would soon be very dull tapes. Painful to listen to.
    [​IMG]Memorex MRX2 90

    METALIV 90, perhaps the absolute worst metal tape I've ever used.
    [​IMG]Memorex MetalIV 90
     
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  25. House de Kris

    House de Kris VVell-known member

    Location:
    Texas
    FUJI Cassettes

    I only got a couple different Fuji tapes over the years. They were definitely decent.

    FX 90
    [​IMG]Fuji FX 90

    DR-I 90, seemed to be pretty comparable to TDK D near the end of the cassette era. Some of the last tapes I purchased.
    [​IMG]Fuji DR-I 90
     
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