I have a similar 2 head Nakamichi CR-1 and it’s great. I also like the roll off on the high frequencies… sounds really good on drums.
I use these ones, although depending on they style of tape body there are other stickers I believe
this is what it looks like with basic lofi laser pint vibes
I think its is true to a degree as 3 head decks were basically always top of the line for the time but there are decks of equal quality in 2 head designs… there is also some wear and tear on play/record heads, the record head on a 3 head is only used for recording so the wear on it is likely very low.
I am a huge fan of my Akai GXC-760D, I would think the I think the 2head GXC models are also supposed to be quite nice. GXC heads are supposed to be some of the longer lasting options out there. Nakamichi is like the gold standard, but a lot of the better features are only really for personal use on like some of the later highend decks… like type 4 metal recording and playback is a fantastic feature for personal use but you would be pretty crazy to try to do a run of type 4 tape.
Noodle Rider from Nudlhed
Four track cassette player, with CV / MIDI speed control, and four VCAs for selective gating or enveloping the tracks with CV or MIDI.
There are three separate parts shown in the picture, all in Eurorack, the tape playback, the VCA sidecar, and the enclosure.
You need to record the four track cassettes in a separate device, that you supply.
Yes, of course, there are non-mechanical ways to do similar things.
For those with some Eurorack stuff already, the four track speed controlable playback part would be useful on its own.
i wonder what tape mechanism they used, does it need a special head to separate the four tracks?
For those looking for nostalgia, tapedeck is a visual archive of casette tapes.
I wish someone made hello my name is stickers for cassettes. It’d be great for mixtapes. Bust out the paint pens for each one.
That’s pretty slick. If I was into eurorack I’d consider it (I say without knowing the price). I’ve cobbled together much less elegant versions of this basic idea before and it’s super fun.
Don’t let Eurorack-No-Phobia ( on Halloween ) be a barrier. By my measure the base tape module part alone is a good price. The side car unit might make sense, but i’d be inclined to experiment without that. Skip the case.
Not having record heads on this is a bit of a loss but not too bad. I also assume you can’t do a tape loop, though maybe with a capstan you can do a short one which would be fun.
Working out how to record one track as a click track with the module on the output to get a sync would be amazing and doable. You could similarly do a track or more with a gated rhythm.
Take a look at the Jamie Lidell video in this post, where he uses a megabucks custom-built 4 track reel to reel with a CV / MIDI speed control. That in addition has individual erase heads, with record and sound on sound.
But this cassette version gets you a good ways down that path. Having a click track would be possible. Doing the mellotron sorts of things with straight tape, and having the portamento is possible too. Four separate playback heads, means you could have both a major and a minor triad for instance.
Also consider the Finegear Dirt Magnet ( thread ) which is a horse of a whole 'nother color.
Checked out the website and that’s actually not a bad price for either the base or sidecar units, less than I expected anyway. There are other things that require my money more immediately but I’ll keep an eye on it.
Thanks for the links. I had forgotten about the dirt magnet, super cool machine. I’ll watch the Lidell video later, that sounds pretty interesting.
Tape and gates are a great pairing. I have one of those aphex quad gate units and over the years I’ve mostly used it to gate tape machines and radios.
Quite an interesting comparison with streaming as far as making money from your music for non mainstream artists. Worth a watch.
I saw something random that you guys might be into, I searched the thread and didnt see it mentioned. NINM lab “it’s real” cassette player also comes with a Bluetooth cassette tape (called “real tape”) which can be used in other tape decks to convert them to Bluetooth. The cost is like $152 usd so you’re paying for the design but still a cool concept and the design is asthetically appealing.
My bad if this was already mentioned and I missed it, but options for new cassette players are limited and it at least makes for a good picture!
This does have a 3.5mm audio out but no record function, unfortunately
Very kitsch!
Nice find.
It’s definitely aimed at a very specific demographic of beard shapes. Good to see you around, hope you’re doing well!
Hahahahaha you never fail to put a smile on my face! Especially today when I am under the weather. Thanks!
I’ve got a cassette boombox with Bluetooth and SD card functionality. Nice to see a little revival. I think there’s a pic somewhere up this thread, lad
tape! - the pocket audio sketchbook
Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bedtimecompany/tape-the-pocket-audio-sketchbook?ref=2036d8
Finally got around to finishing one of my old cassette experiments from a couple years ago. At the time I decided to sample the stock drums from my RS7000 before I sold it along. I chose to record them to cassette at 40BPM and pitched them octave up. Now a couple years later I have finally transferred them to the digital realm and now offer them up to anyone interested.
RS7000 stock drum hits recorded to cassette for samples can be found here:
i posted this setup a year ago but my tape collection has grown and the other tape thread got me hankerin to share the setup again. and the christmas tapes are out and got me in the tape feelin
the plastic rack on top is ideally all hip-hop/r&b, theres a few randos in there that i like enough to keep at arms reach. everything else is relegated to either the cassette drawers below or in an even uglier cassette box under a table. the BX-100 is still jammin, i think whatever weird problems i was having with it last year have worked themselves out because all of my tapes are sounding as expected nowadays. the deck was purchased used from someone locally and the receiver and speakers were both thrift finds that operate surprisingly well!
That is a gorgeous set up my friend.