Favorite Blank Cassette Tape (including the old stuff you can't get now)

[Doug Hess Jr.]

Before CD's and even after when we still put things on tape, I was a big fan of TDK SA-90 for years-- I just like the sound they have. Then moved to their MA-90 metal before discovering SONY METAL SR which naturally they quit making after I got hooked on it.
I was never a Maxell fan mainly because I could never find it on sale like the TDK's...although they still sounded OK.

[Gary]

TDK SAC90's were excellent! I did so much taping for the car, I could tell by LOOKING at it how much time I had left. :D Honest!

I still have them around and play them once in a while, too!

[Dugan]

As a youth I started out using Red (90 min) & Blue (60 min) KMart tapes. 3 in a pack for $2. Of course this was on my portable Panasonic mono tape recorder(with built in condenser mic!) I got for my 8th birthday!
I then went to Radio Shack's Realistic Low Noise 90's. (Came with a box & everything!)
When I bought my first car it had a tape deck and I moved on to TDK SA90's, followed by SA 100's and finally MA 110's,making alot of compilations so I could play them on the road. ( I think I also have a couple SA 76's)
When I bought my second car I made sure it had a CD player in it.
My new car has both and I started to listen to some of those tapes again.

[christopher]

currently, i'm using MAXELL XLII-S C-60's in my 4-track.

however, a year-and-a-half ago maxell announced they would stop making the XLII-S formula. i've still been able to find them, though.

for taping CDs, something i haven't done in a very long time, i was fond of DENON HD-8's.

later, chris

[Dan]

Maxell XL-II was always the most reliable for me. TDK SA was decent too, but it always seemed to have dropouts after one pass.

[pigmode]

UDXL 2 for the longest. I used to make tapes for when I went out to sea, and I still have a few. I never got into metal as far as I can remember.

[TSmithPage]

I was always fond of the TDK SA-X myself. Seemed to sound better than SAs to my ears.

[Doug Hess Jr.]

Originally posted by Dugan
As a youth I started out using Red (90 min) & Blue (60 min) KMart tapes. 3 in a pack for $2. Of course this was on my portable Panasonic mono tape recorder(with built in condenser mic!) I got for my 8th birthday!
I then went to Radio Shack's Realistic Low Noise 90's. (Came with a box & everything!)


OMG, I still have some old Red and Blue Kmart tapes from when I was 12 and I played "radio" on my GE portable until it broke and I got a Panasonic. It had a "mic in" jack and I would plug my 8-track stereo (with phono input that I used a splitter and ran my turntable and a microphone) and then listen to the compression on my voice and the music of my station as I recorded.
I used a friends suggestion and called it J-E-R-K Jerk Radio. I even taped commercials from real stations to edit in.
Oh, the memories. (and the tapes)
Didn't like the Radio Shack tapes, though.
Didn't seem to have the ability to retain a good sound play after play.

[BradOlson]

I remember the KMart Red & Blue cassettes as well and used all brands of blank cassettes from Memorex to TDK To Maxell, etc.

[indy mike]

Ahhh, waiting to see what was on sale at Von's or Good Vibes - toss up between Maxell XL II-S and TDK-SAX 90's - I spent more time making tapes for my genuine Sony Walkman than I did going to class! :)

[Sckott]

Maxell XL]['s. Even though the shell game went on for what seemed forever. The XL][S's were even better, but they didn't stand up very well to temprature changes. When you live in New England, you get the worst of both cold and hot tempratures.

Normal and Metal bias tape was usually TDK. I use Sony & Maxell Dats (or Quantegy) and use Sony Minidiscs.

[Tony Caldwell]

I must have tried just about everything. My favorite ended up being Maxell XLII tape. It just seemed to hold up over time better than the TDK-SA tapes.

Tony

[Michael]

One of the best brands I ever used was THATS .
Excellent reproduction quality!

[Grant]

When I was a kid back in the early 70s my favorite was Audio Magnetics Tracs. Remember those? It wasn't long before I discovered Memorex. At the time I didn't understand what all the formulations and chemical notations stood for.

Zip forward to 1980 when I started getting serious about cassettes. I used TDK AD and OD. Later I used SA and SA-X, and SA-XG. I also used Maxell II and Maxell XL-S

I preferred TDK SA because I felt the were the most transparent sounding. Problem is, the later ones made in the mid-80s were flimsy. They skewed badly, and the pressure pad always got bent out of shape. I don't like the sound of any Maxell but they are robust! The TDK D tapes were quite good, and sounded great.

I've also used virtually everything available in my area of the country: BASF, That's, Scotch, Sony, K-Mart, Capitol, TDK, Maxell, Memorex, Universal, Lafayette, and no-name cheapies in 3-pack cellophane hangers in the local drug store. Some of the cheapies have held up better than the major brands. Nope, K-Mart tapes all jammed or snapped.

I always used Dolby "B", and in the early 90s I used Dolby "S". Never cared for Dolby "C" and didn't like metal types. The ferrichrome Type 3 tapes were totally worthless.

Most of the DATs I use are Sony, TDK, or 3M. The TDK and Sony perform about the same but the 3M tapes are the most trustworthy.

[Doug Hess Jr.]

Originally posted by Grant
The ferrichrome Type 3 tapes were totally worthless.


Yeah, that type 3 went the same was as the LP middle speed setting on VCRs...

[PsychFan]

I used to use TDK SA and SA-X 90s like crazy (10 years ago or more). Many of them have held up rather well, but I don't try to record on them anymore.

I've returned to using cassettes in the car over the past year (after my 10-disc CD changer died), and I use Maxell XLII-S 90's and 100's. They can still be found, and I think they're magnificent.

I used to use Dolby B, but now I don't use Dolby at all. When I'm driving I don't consider hiss much of a problem, and it seems more of the very high end is coming through ...

[FabFourFan]

Originally posted by Grant
The ferrichrome Type 3 tapes were totally worthless.Uh oh, be careful when you say this - remember that Ferrichrome was another one of those wonderful ideas from Sony, right? :eek:

[Jeffrey]

Hi,

Personally, I love cassettes for archiving. They have done a great job standing the test of time. Digital tape certainly has not.

Me & my friends have taped hundreds of concerts and traded tapes for about 25yrs. Most shows were taped w/ a Sony D5 and metal tapes from the late 70's to the early 90's. All of us used either TDK or Maxell metals. Then, of course, most of us became digitheads. As far as the collection, most of mine are on TDK. Most of my friends' collections are on Maxell. Anything else is pretty risky.

Heard any good jokes lately? Howsabout Memorex?

The Music Never Stops,
Jeffrey

[Beagle]

My favorite ended up being Maxell XLII tape. It just seemed to hold up over time better than the TDK-SA tapesI preferred the sound of the TDK-SA but the XLII did last much longer. The TDK developed creases and dropouts in the tape after 2 or 3 re-recordings/playings. I could never figure how how the creases and folds got on the tape until I relaized that the tape was going over and over the pressure pads, which were not smooth, there were some bumps that the tape was going over continuously, and creasing the tape.

[Andrew]

My JVC home deck really liked the old Sony ES Pro chrome tapes (no longer available, alas). :(

[Grant]

Originally posted by FabFourFan
Uh oh, be careful when you say this - remember that Ferrichrome was another one of those wonderful ideas from Sony, right? :eek:
But so was the compact disc.

Audiophiles slam Sony but Sony also produces some of the best pro gear in the world.

People don't know this but they also actually invented what became the VHS format as well as the Betamax. Their broadcast gear is the best and are used the worls over.

Right now they make parhaps the best SACD player.

[Jeffrey]

Hi,

Originally posted by Grant

People don't know this but they also actually invented what became the VHS format .

Hey Grant,

You're right, I didn't know that. I thought JVC invented VHS.

Let It Rock,
Jeffrey

[Beagle]

But so was the compact discYeah. Talk about a losing streak :p

[NoTinEar]

I suppose if were talking about favorite it would have to be the now unavailable MA-XG tdk. What a tape. Metal casing, full size screw holding the casing together, and a metal tape you could just SOAK with high levels of saturation with no distortion. Really amazing. The case and thus the look went through a redesign towards the end of its run, but still was great stuff. I have quite a few irreplaceable boots on some. Also during the end of my taping years I found a great 100min tape from Denon the MG-X, it was obviously a nod, copy, whatever you want to call it to the TDK. It had a casing made out of metal also, but was all white. It could stand a huge level of saturation too. For the normal so to speak I loved the Maxell XLIIS. The S had a really great heavy-duty case on it. All the tapes I made from years ago still sound great on my nak.

[Doug Hess Jr.]

Thanks for the memories...