Thanks for the info. I am no longer confused!
oh, one more question: what is meant when a particular cassette model is labeled “instant record”? Is there a type of cassette which is not capable of instant record?
I have a box of cassettes with everything from my first music tracks recorded from a laptop through my home stereo to the cassingle for Kiss Them for Me.
Wish I had a tape recorder now to experiment with them! 
Pretty sure this is the same as “recordable leader” tapes. Most cassettes used for music have “leader” tape at the beginning (this is the sometimes-clear bit of tape you see when your tape is fully rewound). You normally can’t record on this bit. However, for some uses (like courtroom dictation), a recordable leader tape might be preferred.
3 Likes
We once played an ”unplugged” gig with our all synth band. The idea was to be unplugged from the power grid and therefore we could only use synths, drum machines etc. that ran on batteries. For our amplification we had 11 cassette boom boxes in a huge pile behind our band. All running on batteries of course. I used to collect those things. I even had the legendary Casio KX-101.
Wish I had pictures of that night/setup.
9 Likes
We called 'em: “boom boxes” and “ghetto blasters”… never heard “boom blasters” before.
Yes ghetto blasters in the 80’s, but changed to boom boxes in the 90’s, I prefer the former, and actually by the 90’s they had passed their peak both in terms of quality devices and in their popularity.
1 Like
Stunning machine!
I posted this in the “recent purchase” thread, but it probably makes more sense here. I’ve been on a bit of a magnetic media binge over the last couple of weeks. As I’ve stated before, TDK SM Pro cassettes are my favourites for 4-tracking.
3 Likes
WoooooooHooooooo!!!
What a beauty! Congratulations!
Hmmm… maybe we should start a thread entitled ‘Cassette Music’ and put it in ‘Our Music’?
I’d love to hear what you guys are printing onto cassette.
What do you all think?
4 Likes
Hello,
I have a stereo cassette deck I found in my parent’s house. It seem work well reading and recording. But I noticed when I re-record on a old record, I can hear the old track in background, very low volume but hear it.
The cassette are old, and not new.
Do you think it’s a cassette problem or a deck problem? If it’s record head, do you think I can change them?
Thanks, cassette sound is awsome for hip hop.
Could be the erase head, on better decks they are electro magnets, on cheaper decks they are often just a regular magnet, regular magnets can lose magnetism over time and become weaker, or it could just need a clean, isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds (q tip) can be used to clean the heads but don’t put any on the rubber parts.
Hello,
I did the cleaning with cotton bud and alcohol, removed lot of dirt. I don’t have demagnetizer so I didn’t do that.
The problem is still here. Also, I noticed I hear the other face in background.
Might just need to get rid of that completely if it’s a pure cassette sound you are after. You’ve followed all the procedures and in a nutshell it hasn’t brought you to your goal.
I do think that what you’ve got is unique so you could maybe experiment with that? I’ve no idea what type of music you are making but it sounds like you could make some Brainfeeder type beats to good effect.