[Rich Woods]

Originally Posted by Lucien Nunes

What's good about tape?

* It's a physical storage medium. When enjoying recorded content, I think there is additional enjoyment to be gained from handling the media and operating the player. It anchors the listening / viewing experience to a sequence of very specific and deliberate actions, preparing the mind for the reward of hearing the music, more so than a few mouse clicks. I don't know whether people who grew up without physical media experience this, or whether they get the same satisfaction from the mouse clicks.

* It's fairly robust. Each different recording format makes its own demands and imposes its own limitations on the handling experience. LP records inspire a kind of reverence, because they need to be handled vary carefully and reward that care with HiFi results. In the context of say a non-valuable mixtape and boombox, cassette can be enjoyed in a much less formal way that adds its own character to the handling experience.

* Even with cassette, there's a high-end version of the experience available. In contrast to the mixtape+boombox version, the experience of using a top-quality cassette with a top-quality deck is rewarding, because you get to handle things that feel and look classy, and the sonic reward can surpass expectations. I enjoy interacting with the Pioneer SX-1250, which is one of the decks that doesn't have a cassette well or drawer, the cassette clips onto the front of the mech and remains exposed during play. This can be pushed to esoteric extremes with the TEAC O'Casse system, where two open reels are held in a skeleton shell. You could reach out and touch the moving reels as it plays, kind-of like open-reel but in beautiful miniature.

* Open-reel tape is exceptionally tactile. Handling it and using it in its various applications can involve complex and dexterous interactions. Editing, especially, gets you physically very close to the both the recording medium and its content. When I first started putting show FX reels together on 1/4" I gained an intense satisfaction from the 'coming together' and the finished product. The simple act of lifting a reel of 1" 8-track master off a machine after a really good recording session is exciting, because you've watched the machine 'soaking up' the music and it's now all there in your hand, not as a tabulation of millions of cryptic numbers but as a direct, literal capture of every vibration of the strings and vocal chords that you just heard.

* Nagra.

I think that's enough for now!

Excellent post, this covers all the important points. I particularly agree with the sections on LP’s & reel to reel tapes. Add in the joy of running your medium of choice through a good quality valve system and excellent speakers for a really happy life.