Ahhh who said cassette tape should he used for pro broadcast use? The only reason cassette recorders were used in Uncle Jack's studio way back in the 1975 - 1994 period was to make copies of albums / demos for band members to take home and listen. To hear in the car and such. And maybe an emergency back up. But I wasn't aware of any radio DJs that used cassette as their main playback system. Regardless of how good a Nak Dragon was it just wouldn't meet studio needs. You can't even record a sync track on it.
Your preaching to the choir here baby! I think you must have misunderstood my post. My point was to show how important NR was when using a cassette deck. Too many people think a 60 db 'A' weighted signal to noise ratio is a good thing. Even with a 3 head machine and metal tape, cassette barely come up to 1958 pro tape standards. By showing the signal to noise measurements of various tape machines used over the years (consumer and pro) I was hoping to show everyone that even the best cassette decks with the most expensive tapes needed NR. I thought my comparison was clear. I have worked in Pro studio for 21 years now. And I have never claimed that cassette beat out RTR. FYI: I use the 'A' weighted measurement for good reasons. 1. The 'A' weighted measurement was used heavily in testing consumer gear. People see 66 db they know what that sounds like. They know what 59 db sounds like. It is usually a recording without Dolby NR. pretty noisy. 74 db is Dolby C territory. As soon as I use "unweighted" it will lose people. The "A" weighted measurement filters out the low and mid range. The idea is that hiss will be most prominent in the high frequency areas. RTR has hiss that is spread out more evenly. As a result RTR noise readings will always look better when "A" weighted. Where do I say in my post that cassette beats out RTR or NAB cart machines? That was the point of all the signal to noise ratio specs on various tape machines. It was to show how pathetic cassette really is. Which is why we need Dolby B and C. That Rotel cassette deck that Classic Car Dude wanted only managed 64 db with a chrome tape and Dolby B. But Mr. Classic Tube Dude only uses Type 1 tape and no NR. That is 56 db 'A' weighted. Mclover, 95% of the population can not afford RTR or CART machines. Why bring up a piece of equipment that no consumer could get a hold of? Plus, I don't think you can get the cartridges anymore. Everyone knows RTR is better. And we all know that digital is better in every way over analog. Distortion, frequency response, wow and flutter, cross talk, etc. Funny though, some people still prefer their analog 'toys." They love the compression, distortion and non-linear characteristics that analog recording gives to the song.. it may sound better but it is not accurate. Please re-read my post. Some members on here seem to think that cassette recorders are as good as RTR or digital. Haha! Not even close. But calling a cassette deck a toy is beyond belief. In pro studios Mclover a good 3 head cassette decks were used to make demos for band members. It also allowed band members to listen to a rough or first mix at home or in the car. You assertion that cassette deck are toys insults everyone here. Or did I misread your post sir? FYI: Before 1970 pretty much all RTR multitracks couldn't record the last half octave. Meaning nothing over 15 khz. This is not a bare minimum but a cold hard reality of inferior 60's: tape, tape head and transport design. I doubt weather your 1968 antique CART could record and playback anything close to a 20 khz signal. But a CART machine would have a different design than a 1960's RTR. So, I might be wrong there. Check you facts sir. Up until 1970 the Ampex test tapes were 30 - 15 000 hz. Recording the last half octave was next to impossible before 1970. At least on a multitrack anyway. No where did I state that cassette were as good or better than RTR. And this thread is about cassette decks. Not RTR, CART machines or digital.
The main point of the post was that using Metal tape made a difference. More so with older tapes. Yes, RTR or digital way better. No argument there. A pro DAT machine back in 1990 was over $2000. And a good pro RTR almost as much. They weren't options for the poor masses like myself.
Hey, no argument there. And I would not suggest that anyone buy Type 4 tapes. However, it is good to have the option. And yes Mclover, we all agree with you that RTR is better than cassette. But a new machine is $3400. Can we borrow you credit card?
Selling all your CDs? You do know that Type 1 tape will wear our pretty quickly. Those quarter inch, half track masters (ferric) were not meant to be played for hours a day every day. Take a closer listen to OUT OF THE BLUE remastered CD. The last song on Side A is drop out heavy.
You can get a new R2R machine? I didn't think any were still being made. Maybe new old stock? I've toyed with the idea of getting a tape deck again, just to play a handful of old tapes I still have sitting around and for nostalgia, but what I'd really like is a R2R deck. Although I have no idea where the heck I'd even put the thing...
Didn't need a credit card. My two Otari MX 5050 machines were a gift. Free, as in beer. Both low miles. Both gifted to me.
Needed to be later on, due to one person having to manage his own equipment. And budgets in broadcasting getting lower. The low budget facility I worked at (AM and FM combo) could not afford a fancy Nagra then, or a Uher 4000 Report. We had Ampex 600 machines for the newsroom. and one for field use (which was 1/2 track Stereo, 7 1/2 IPS). We had one Sony field recorder which was open reel and 7 1/2 IPS which was our best field recorder. Which was hard to get parts for at the time. I recorded the Oak Ridge Symphony on the Stereo Ampex 600 machine for a delayed Sunday broadcast, until the station could afford to get me a used Nagra IV-S and we later got a Sony PCM-F1 and a Betamax portable VCR (2) on barter from The Music Box in Oak Ridge, TN. We had an Advent 201 pair in the AM and FM control rooms in 1973, because our news staff carried Sony cassette machines.
Well it will benefit someone for most of them I only ran then once convert it to a flac or wav. I don't use them anymore. The only thing thats stopping me from selling it is I don't wanna go through with some people asking me in a microscopic physical condition. I might not be able to answer that question and I see a lot of people when you ship a cd, if they don't get it after 3 days its an end of the world 7 years old tantrum...
Like what I told John, as soon as I get my stuffs together, I'm gonna get me a reel deck. I was looking at this the same Otari mark II, but it might need some work. I was offering the lady 400 bucks since she doesn't know if its running or what. So basically I'm just pushing my luck. Both hopefully its not gonna be a jack in the box for me. What is you take on looking at these machines. What do I need to see or worry about?
Heads and pinch rollers need to be good, motors need to work smoothly. Record/playback functions and tape motion must work smoothly and properly.
I'm looking for another bx-300. If I can get a silverface then great. As much as possible I want to get a deck that's all stock. Let me know if you see anyone selling.
Goody for you. But we would need your credit card..or some card to make to make a new RTR purchase. A new RTR now is $3200 and above. It isn't the 1980's anymore. My 582 was a gift. But to buy a completely restored 582 is a lot to ask. That is $1000 easy. Some of us pay rent. I wouldn't suggest that members on here buy a Manely Massive Passive either. Even used it is too expensive.
And that great equipment. Yep. High standards for FM radio (30 - 15 000 hz). Too bad all that great sound was ruined by compressors and exciters.
Quarter inch, half track. Anything else's semi-pro. You can get a new RTR with warranty and everthing.
Don't look at me! I have to wait patiently for 3 weeks for my PAL DVDs from the U.K. to arrive in the great Roman city of Toronto. Lucky for us those dirty: Visigoths, Huns and Vandals didn't have boats. Brown cardboard envelopes with no bubble wrap inside. And no, the 1981 BBC production of THE TRIFFIDS is not available over here. And no, I will off-myself before I sign up to that BRIT BOX thing. Half the videos are down half the time. I want to own a copy. Really? After 3 days they wet themselves?
Here are some images of a recent cassette recording. I started out with a used Maxell UR 90, but it went south about 38 minutes in, so I broke out a TDK D90 Green Letter version and the rest is history. M~
No worries. NEW MINT - no scratches or marks. No cracks in case. Like new but not shrink wrapped. NEAR MINT EXCELLENT - minor scratches. Case might have minor tiny cracks. VERY GOOD - playable. Some marks and scratches. GOOD - playable. FAIR - Don't buy POOR - why is it for sale? SUPER CRAPPY (I added that.) ?????? If all your disks are VERY GOOD and above I wouldn't worry.
1973. I was 4 then. You know those commercial CART machine things were used heavily on The Who album - "Quadrophenia." They ran out of tracks. So they loaded the sound effects to the CARTS. 5 mins max time. Or is it shorter?
That's a pretty good notation. The best thing to do is Ill re-group them. I can give this CD 1 to 2 days of my time since the forth coming week I'll be off very shortly. I'm gonna start regrouping them anytime now. I have a question, what do I do with the shipping? Maybe I should just sell them by bulk. I don't wanna go out of my way doing someone a favor by shipping them so cheap or doing something out of the ordinary for them to save some money. There threading's I see that that people really shook me up and theyre crying about a 5-dollar cd that they didn't get it fast enough while they didn't offer the seller to pay for the extra fast shipping? If you know what I mean.
I have an idea! Sell your whole CD collection via demon Ebay. List every title and what your whole collection is worth. Remember Clasic Tube Car Guy, many of those AF, DCC and MFSL disks are worth hundreds of dollars. A bet you have a truck load of those.
Actually both the cassette label and insert are home made. You mean out of 3000, ummmm. I got a system, but I don't know what it is. lol I can type a number on the spline label for record keeping. M~
