BBC News - new cassette releases
 

Just spotted this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-55476419

Someone must be keeping some duplicators alive.

David

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I'm not sure the sound quality mentioned will be noticed unless decent quality cassette player mechanisms are also made available again.

David

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

Of course a few YT sites may have a little to do with this, techmoan and cassette-comeback being a couple that come to mind, along with the database and music forums, so a mix (sic) of specialist collectors and some wider appeal too. Its noticeable that new old collectible artists cassettes also have a slightly higher premium on the pre-owned markets too. There is also a small increase in the number of sales of quality personal cassette players themselves, its probably easier to have a cassette player into a modern laptop (which dont have CDs) audio jack and free up internet etc use on the laptop too from constant downloading and saving files and trying to find them, while cassettes are tactile. Does anyone know if the preferred formats for new recorded cassettes are the original chunky Philips standard , or the later thinner shell and case ones?

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I'm wondering where all the cassette-players are for people to listen to new cassettes on?

[Last place cassette-players were really a 'thing' was in cheaper car-radios at the end of last century: even then they were generally used with one of those fake-cassettes with a wire to plug into the headphone socket of your iPod].

Quite often, stuff newly released on vinyl comes with an included code so you can get a digital download of the track(s) - I wonder if this is the case with these newly-released cassettes?

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

Hopefully the cases and tape are better than pre-recorded tape from years ago, some were pretty dreadful.
I smiled with the comment that you can’t skip forward to miss a track on cassette, need to find the FF button.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I knew all those Amstrad Twin tape tower systems would come in handy!!:-D:-D

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I read that story with interest too.

I've also started listening to cassettes again recently. It may be more to do with having something different to take an interest in during lockdown and the fact that they are cheaper than LPs (for the time being...).

I've just ordered the new Paul McCartney album on cassette so I will report back on quality. I think it comes in a card slipcase rather than a plastic case. I'd have preferred a more standard case, but it will be interesting all the same.

I think the nice thing with small cassette enterprises like the one in the article is the fact that they take a pride in their product and seem genuinely interested in making something nice.

As for sound quality, apart from the odd tape where I have experienced a bit of drop out (mucky or creased tape?) the quality has been good. I'm only playing them on an Aiwa personal stereo through a 1980s amp, but I've had some good sounds out of the setup. There's been one or two albums where I've found myself really enjoying the sound quality rather than it just being a novelty to play a different format.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I never had one myself, but a couple of my friends had cassette players that had a skip track facility, clearly done by detecting the silence between tracks.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I had a friend with one. I thought he was going to break it as he pressed FF while it was playing. But, as you say, it just went to the silence between tracks.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

Sharp APNSS, but presumably there were others.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I had a Philips car radio/cassette that had the "skip this track" intelligent fast-forward. It was a very clunky process, as was the "turnolock" thing for programing the [mechanical] FM-radio presets.

Cassettes were OK in the 80s but I switched to CDs for both home- and mobile-music as soon as the technology became available.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

Or even better, if it's fitted, the 'track search' button.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I have been using a mains player, Sony TC-TX373 which I think must have come from a midi-stack system. Stereo with a Dolby NR circuit , I think if it had auto-reverse that has given up but the front direction change soft switches work fine. It does not have from its RCA type outputs any volume control, but running it into the laptop sound input it is incredibly loud , and the software bundled with the laptop (acer - realtek high definition audio) has a really poor mixer control from the line in , not being separate from the general volume which is annoying, I am digitising some of my recorded and pre-recorded tapes and they are not too bad for noise overall.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I had a virtual conversation with someone from this factory the other day

https://www.bandcds.co.uk/gallery/

There's a short video on that page which shows their process.

As far as automatic searching is concerned, this appears to have been fairly common on later decks although Sharp's APSS was the first that I know of.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

There were a few versions I came across. I have a Teac deck in the loft with it.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

Going back to the original story, has anyone on here bought a new cassette in recent times?

Also, is tape still being made? Decent quality tape at least.

EDIT/ UPDATE: I came across this https://www.nationalaudiocompany.com/ - it seems that they will be making Type 1 tape. I'm not sure how others fee about that, but I actually always found Type 1 OK - to my ears it seemed to have more top end (which others may call noise!). I used to feel that Type 2 cassettes had a more sturdy feel to their construction.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

Some Sharp ICE units had them , i had one in my car in the late 70s early 80s.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

Are cassettes really making a comeback?

According to this page the cassette format peaked in 1990 with 442 million sold (I'm not sure if that was just in the UK or worldwide). The BBC News article estimates 157,000 tapes will have been sold in the UK in 2020. That's an extremely tiny number compared to the 1990 heyday - hardly a comeback.

I suspect most of the new cassettes are being bought as collectable or novelty items, rather than for listening to. Most young people will not have seen or used cassette tapes, so for them it's a novelty. However, buying a cassette of their favourite artist might inspire some of them to acquire a cassette player and try it. Who knows?

There's definitely been a revival of vinyl records in the last few years. Even some supermarkets are selling them (Sainsburys and Asda in High Wycombe both do). Argos and other retailers also sell record players. The new vinyl records seem to be a mix of classic 70s and 80s album reissues plus some popular titles from contemporary artists, thus appealing to middle-aged people seeking a blast of nostalgia and younger people seeking the novelty of music in physical form.

Looking further at the bandcds.co.uk website, I see they also offer MiniDisc and DCC tape duplication as well as cassette. There's obviously a market for these formats, though I don't see the supermarkets stocking them. I'm sure they'll remain a niche item.

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I have a Panasonic that has TPS [tape programme sensor ]

Re: BBC News on new cassette releases
 

I believe the radio in my Grans Focus could have track skip/search enabled, plus I had a 90's AIWA with track search
http://images.linnlive.com/52532827d...5b8f0f2cc4.jpg
and I am sure my Teac AD-500 CD/Cassette has it too.

That's what the "record mute" feature is for, it records 4 seconds of silence when the record button is pressed whilst in record and paused.