for recording ? on my Nak 682 zx , and where is the best place to buy them ? I will be recording off of my records and FM . Are there differences in tone or qualities that I can consider in making a choice .
I'll leave the tape formulations to the recording engineers, but my guess is that they have not changed so much in the last ten or fifteen years and you should try to find TDK or Maxell metal.
A well set up cassette deck using metal tape can do a surprisingly good job, but very importantly, you can't rely upon the stock alignment or bias settings -- you need to have the heads realigned and bias reset. Labs like Analogique in NYC do this and it makes a huge difference.
Always use Metal formulation if possible. It will hold the signal longer than a Chrome or other formulation. Buy the best brand you can, TDK, Maxell, Denon, and Sony were my favorites. I thought the Denons were the best of the bunch...
I have to agree with UraniumCommittee on this. You should try to transfer your tapes to minidisc! I had a Sony JA20ES unit that worked nice for this purpose. This way you can listen to the Minidiscs, anytime you want, WITHOUT the fear of WEAR AND TEAR! OR EATEN TAPES! PLUS, you can add TEXT to Minidisc! I currently have 2 Sony JA3ES units right now, AS well as a Pioneer DIGITAL 616 cassette player, to play into Minidisc recorder. NOW, as far as tapes are concerned, go with Maxell Metal!
I always liked the best Denon tapes, I just found a box of Nak high bias tapes sealed for surprizingly not too much money.. sometimes these Nak tapes are pretty over priced. Have yet to try them out yet.
Why would you put anything on mini-disc?!! It was great in it's day, when one couldn't record CD's. Having owned a few mini-disc recorders/players, I seem to recall that mini-discs are only 14 bit, compared to redbooks' 16 bit.
And if you want to record vinyl, I certainly would want to record them on an analog medium.
But you are right about tape wear, and eaten tapes, not to mention stray magnetic fields. Pre-recorded cassette tapes are quite inferior to mini-discs, but home recorded cassettes on a good machine will blow away a mini-disc.
"But you are right about tape wear, and eaten tapes, not to mention stray magnetic fields. Pre-recorded cassette tapes are quite inferior to mini-discs, but home recorded cassettes on a good machine will blow away a mini-disc."
Uraniumcommittee: Perhaps if you would offer a rationale as opposed to a simple conclusion, you would be taken seriously (then again, your approach thus far will make anything to come a tough sell).
As far as where to buy cassettes, you can't do better than a thrift store. Not every thrift store stocks them, but if they do they will be cheap. Also, many used record stores stock them, but you'll pay more on average. I also find cassettes to have a very fatigue-free sound! I recommend only the commercially recorded tapes that you used to buy at a record store. The quality of homemade tapes is simply too unpredictable.
I like to record some of my favorite LPs onto cassette tape and play them in the car on it’s Mark Levinson sound system. The best place to buy tapes, is like tonykay said above ... at thrift stores. Look for the good quality ones like Maxell, TDK, etc. Use a pen or pencil to make sure they spool properly. They usually sell for around twenty-five to seventy-five cents. Use a bulk tape eraser to erase the old information, and you’re all set. It is kind of fun to play the tape before erasing the old information just to see what the previous owner recorded. It’s amazing how atrocious some of the previously recorded sound is.
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