That Maxell MXCP P100 can now be purchased via scalpers on ebay for something like $125 USD for anyone that was still interested.
The ion (?) cassette deck has a built-in audio interface and can go tape to PC. I’ll look for a link.
It’s probably discontinued but you can still buy them, I see them from time-to-time in new old stock condition.
Cannot speak to the quality of the audio.
Yeah, I confirmed, it was called the Ion “tape2pc”, you can find it under that name.
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Yes it’s something called USB audio interface I guess!
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Anything that does this is going to have part of the signal chain be crappy. Get an old 3-head deck that has been serviced and a focusrite (or similar) usb interface that can input and output 2x unbalanced 1/4” and use RCA cables with 1/4” TS adapters.
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Thanks, will keep an eye for that on the local ads!
Yes I guess that would be it, and suddenly my itch is going away:))
You should definitely get yourself a tape deck and scratch that itch… but get two good things instead of one not so good thing
A bit steep on price but if you want a new one:
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I’d say if you can stretch it go with a vintage and serviced 3 head deck (Teac, Aiwa, Yamaha whatever).
Or you can find very good deals if you are willing to replace belts and idler tyres yourself, 9 times out of 10 the only issue you’ll find with units from the late 80s, early 90s, is just belts, idler tyres and lubrication.
The heads (unless it has been abused) should be fine for years to come.
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I agree, but only if your deck has adjustable bias.
Type 1 tapes are very inconsistent, adjustable bias is a must when using those.
I live in Norway and I could find here pristine decks that are serviced and sold by well verified sources. I’d still need to get an interface though… do you think those modern ones, teac and I saw also tascam being sold (more expensive) do they overdrive nicely? More importantly, this tape saturation, will it be transferred via usb recording?
Can’t say about the specific overdrive but yes you’ll get the saturation recording back via usb.
Those new Tascam and Teac decks while being more expensive they’re also way Inferior in quality to pretty much any vintage 3 head deck, in both the mechanical transport and especially the magnetic heads.
If I where you I’ll go with a vintage one, especially since you said you can easily find pristine and serviced ones by reputable sellers.
And yes, the saturation would print into your digitally recorded file, if you’re using it for that purpose I advise disabling any Dolby noise reduction.
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I have a tascam 234. its the bees knees!
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Congrats that is a beautiful 4 tracks deck!
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I’ve been having fun looking for uses for my old Portastudio I recently retrieved from back home, getting tape loops going, modding a cheap cassette player, etc.
I’d been watching a bunch of the YouTube content on making tape loops, working with the portastudio, using its distortion, the Cortini method, and recently found this guy who does side-by-side sets with 2 loop tapes, thought I’d share here:
Here’s how he explains the method
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I thought that this video was interesting as it compares the audible merits of a Tascam 414 MKII preamp to the sound of Analog Heat and OTO Boum (with no talking).
The Tascam preamps are reputed to have a good sound.
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Right up my street! Going to have a butchers now, pal! Cheers!
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Thanks for pointing this bloke out. I’ve never seen his channel before. In that second video where he’s discussing what the colour coding means for his cassettes, there’s a shot where he pans over his shelf of tapes, and there’s a Sony Walkman on there.
For anyone curious, that’s the Sony TCM-200DV and it’s a bit special. It’s basically one of those machines designed for dictation, but it’s full-size, mono, and has not one, but two pitch controls on it. You have the usual speed switch that switches it to half speed, but you also have a dial that works in tandem, and that can really get you somewhere if you want Lo-Fi with analogue flavour.
I have one and I really wish I’d bought a whole lot more of them before the prices shot-up like they did. I’m convinced the prices shot-up purely because of people like us, those who want it for creative reasons.
I can see two brand new ones on eBay UK as I write this, and wow, they want between £200 and £400 for them now, which is absolutely insane for what is basically just a mono dictation machine with added creativity control.
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