Kassett-spillernes venner

[lyntoft!]

^
Takk

 

[Terje-A]

Denne kilden ser også ut til å være et godt alternativ. En god del dyrere enn tapen vi har snakket om fra Tapeline men kan være verdt det hvis den er enda bedre. BASF er vel det firmaet som lagde best chrometape av alle. Spennende (Koster USD 4.97 pr. stk)
Kanskje noen her i tråden har testet denne ?
799 Studio Master Super Chrome Cassettes

Featuring original BASF Super Chrome mastering tape. For the most demanding recording applications, Super Chrome sets the gold standard in Type II performance. Super Chrome combines outstanding output and low distortion providing unmatched musical clarity. #799 delivers up to 4db more output than the other chrome tapes without saturation or distortion when used with the proper equipment and settings. Sold in Cartons of 10.

 

[baluba]

De der var interessante. Noen som vet hvordan BASF funker i Naka og NAD?

 

[Terje-A]

Interessant artikkel, den er fra februar 2017 og burde være aktuell nå.
The cassette revival needs blank tapes – meet the hoarders who can help

Bl.a
“WE ARE PRETTY MUCH SELLING ALL THE [BRANDED TAPES] WE CAN GET A HOLD OF”
Alan Williams, Tapeline
But the infrastructure for the mass production of blank tapes all but collapsed when CD became the dominant medium around the turn of the millennium. Companies like Memorex and Maxell, whose ad campaigns once made them synonymous with home recording, folded or were acquired by better-diversified competitors. The production of “pancake”, the bulk magnetic tape which is cut and wound into cassettes, languished as well. A 2005 Library of Congress study on the long-term availability of tape components revealed a dire situation: Seihan and SKM, once reliable pancake producers in Korea, were both found to be “financially unstable [and] technically bankrupt,” while a complicated tangle of European sources for tape had questionable futures. By all accounts, the only company currently producing raw bulk tape is the (hilariously named) ACME in China.

For example, both high-end Type IV and affordable but excellent Type II cassettes are highly desirable as recording stock – but they will likely never be produced again for environmental reasons. Type IV tapes like the Sony Super Metal Master and the TEAC Studio 52G are some of the best blanks ever produced and highly collectible, but aren’t practical for day-to-day use. Originally retailing for about $12, they now go for upwards of $100 on eBay. Type II tapes like the TDK SA90 and XLII, on the other hand, sound great and stand up to repeat usage. They’re now being hoarded by collectors. Once available for $2, their price is now up around $7 each.

FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music.
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FACT TV

The weird world of blank tapes and the fans who collect them
The cassette revival needs blank tapes – meet the hoarders coming to the rescue BY ANDREW FRIEDMAN, FEB 7 2017

From the shelves of Urban Outfitters to the celebratory Cassette Store Day, tapes are in the middle of a renaissance. But the return of the humble cassette isn’t just hipster nonsense – they’ve remained a vital medium for DIY labels decade after decade. The problem? The vintage technology is increasingly hard to get hold of – and expensive. Andrew Friedman meets the hoarders ensuring the future of tape swapping and finds out if mass production could soon return.

It’s impossible for Jason Armitage of Roots Forward Records to separate his love of hip-hop from his love of blank tapes. Armitage first got into rap some three decades ago through his track coach, who routinely shared his tape dubs of New York radio shows during the genre’s formative years. When Armitage started DJing and buying records, the endgame was always mixtapes, dozens of them, for himself and whoever was interested. When digital recording became more easily accessible, he stayed loyal to cassettes. To this day he records his weekly radio show to tape. This dedication to home-taping has made Armitage something of a blank tape connoisseur: “Half of them I collect just for the sake of having them. I don’t open them or anything, I keep them in their original packaging.”

A couple of years ago, Armitage founded the Blank Tape Collectors group on Facebook and found he was not alone in his hobby. The group started off modestly — mostly fellow Canadian DJs — but has grown steadily in the last few months to its current membership of over 200. These collectors, located around the world, use the group to share pictures of their collections, inquire about unfamiliar brands and banter about their favorite tapes. The group is admittedly small, but the scene is young.

“Jason’s group is like the first of its kind,” says Philadelphia-based DJ and “preserver of everything” Skeme Richards. “The [blank] tape world is definitely out there, but people are still trying to get connected.”

Cassettes are indeed having a renaissance. According to Nielsen’s figures, album sales on tape shot up by 74% in 2016, from 74,000 in 2015 to a still modest 129,000 last year. Urban Outfitters has been the most visible outlet; adjoining its vinyl selection, physical and online stores now boast an array of new tapes by everyone from Justin Bieber to Run The Jewels. But while it would be easy to write off the return of the cassette as hipster nonsense, tapes have always remained an important medium for DIY artists.



“THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE MASS PRODUCTION OF BLANK TAPES ALL BUT COLLAPSED WHEN CD BECAME THE DOMINANT MEDIUM”
Tape is an extremely cost-effective way to put out your music, either by dubbing copies at home or sending them out for professional duplication. (As Texas punk fixture Danny Barnes told the Austin Chronicle in 2013, “If you’re a punk band in Galveston and you know you’re gonna sell 25 copies of something, you can do a lot better making a tape really low-budget, then giving away the download.”) The until-recently laughable idea of finding new tapes for sale in a music store is no longer so funny, thanks in part to a group of UK labels who launched an annual Cassette Store Day in 2013 to promote the medium. (To their credit, Urban Outfitters has participated in Cassette Store Day for at least the last two years.)

But Armitage’s Facebook group is about blank tapes, not albums – and it highlights the conspicuous absence of blanks from the cassette revival. Urban Outfitters currently sells three-packs of 60-minute blanks (in green, pink and yellow shells) of indeterminate sourcing, and a handful of chain stores like Wal-Mart and Poundland reportedly stock their own brands. Many of the same duplication plants that serve the DIY community also sell home-wound virgin tape (also often available in a variety of colorful shells). But anyone of a certain age will remember how ubiquitous blank tapes used to be – every record shop, electronics dealer and even many grocery and drug stores used to stock a wide a range of brands and lengths. Today they are available only sporadically, even where new tapes are sold, and certainly not in the variety they once were.

The issue isn’t the actual availability of blank tapes. They once sold by the millions and the ample deadstock from previous decades has found its way into the market, whether on eBay, in second-hand stores or through savvy distributors.

“We are pretty much selling all the [branded tapes] we can get a hold of,” says Alan Williams of the UK-based duplication and media company Tapeline. He started stocking “branded” blank tapes (as opposed to the “unbranded” tapes for more professional uses) in the early 2000s. As CDs overtook tape, Williams saw inquiries for branded tapes increase as other suppliers got out of the business, and wisely decided to pick up the slack. Since then, prices for tapes like the adequate but common TDK D90 have jumped from around 40 pence (80 cents) in the 90s to as high as £1.85 ($2.30) each today.



“WE ARE PRETTY MUCH SELLING ALL THE [BRANDED TAPES] WE CAN GET A HOLD OF”
Alan Williams, Tapeline
But the infrastructure for the mass production of blank tapes all but collapsed when CD became the dominant medium around the turn of the millennium. Companies like Memorex and Maxell, whose ad campaigns once made them synonymous with home recording, folded or were acquired by better-diversified competitors. The production of “pancake”, the bulk magnetic tape which is cut and wound into cassettes, languished as well. A 2005 Library of Congress study on the long-term availability of tape components revealed a dire situation: Seihan and SKM, once reliable pancake producers in Korea, were both found to be “financially unstable [and] technically bankrupt,” while a complicated tangle of European sources for tape had questionable futures. By all accounts, the only company currently producing raw bulk tape is the (hilariously named) ACME in China.

The state of the blank tape makes the name of Armitage’s Facebook group a bit of a misnomer. “Blank Tape Collecting” implies the acquisition of hard-to-find pieces as an end in and of itself, but the hunt for good recording stock is equally important. For example, both high-end Type IV and affordable but excellent Type II cassettes are highly desirable as recording stock – but they will likely never be produced again for environmental reasons. Type IV tapes like the Sony Super Metal Master and the TEAC Studio 52G are some of the best blanks ever produced and highly collectible, but aren’t practical for day-to-day use. Originally retailing for about $12, they now go for upwards of $100 on eBay. Type II tapes like the TDK SA90 and XLII, on the other hand, sound great and stand up to repeat usage. They’re now being hoarded by collectors. Once available for $2, their price is now up around $7 each.



While it’s hard to say if the demand for blank tapes is outpacing the amount of deadstock available, the future of tape (and blank tape) relies on attracting long-term investment into the actual production. Fortunately, the Springfield, Missouri-based National Audio Company is on the job. A giant in the game already, the company produces 95% of the audio cassettes in the western hemisphere, says NAC president Steve Stepp. When the tape business collapsed and CDs rose to prominence, NAC saw an opportunity, diligently purchasing all the pancake it could find (as well as tape-related hardware) from other companies abandoning the business.

As cassette sales continue to rise, NAC is trying to stay a step ahead once again by making its own pancake. It recently brought its own facility online and is currently in the process of internal testing. And while the company has no active plans to jump into the retail blank tape game, Stepp is aware of the demand and the opportunity. “Our motto,” adds Stepp, “is ‘forward in all directions’.”

 

[Terje-A]

BASF chrometape sakset fra Tapeheads;
http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=2804

They need quite high head currents, high erase currents and go easy on the rec levels. Their very great dynamic range is gained not from high SAT capabilities but courtesy of an extremely low noise floor.

For those that prefer to record without dolby, these are wonderful.

They are capable of great things on the right recorder. Quality Euro decks such as Tandberg, ReVox and the better Uhers will deliver without fuss. From Japan, the Alpines, Luxmans, and Naks will record and erase without batting a capstan lid. The TOTL machines from other makers normally had little hassle either.

These are very desirable tapes for those who understand them. They are also very durable.
------
BASF Chrome was my choice of tape back in the early 80s just for that reason (did not like using Dolby NR). Granted I was using a $250.00 Optonica deck at the time with no user bias adjustments. I loved the extremely low tape noise then and wish I had a few cases of them now.
-------
In the early 1990's BASF chemists developed ways to place cobalt ions on the chrome particles--which remain the "perfect" shape for magnetic pigments--in order to boost flux levels for greater MOL and sensitivity. They also experimented with mixing cobalt-doped oxides with chrome pigments for the same reason. (Almost all Japanese video tapes did the same thing, with the ratio heavily in favor of ferric oxide while BASF video and audio tapes were weighted far more heavily in favour of chromium dioxide). The audio tape result was "Chrome Plus" for the duplication industry and the latest versions of Chrome Extra. Chrome Super and Maxima remained double-coated with the base coat being the same formulation as the Chrome Plus.

Reference Maxima was the only cobalt-doped ferric tape for the Type II bias position that BASF produced.

 

[lyntoft!]

^
nå begynner det virkelig å ligne på noe her

 

[Auditor]

Baluba: Har ikke du en BASF Type 1 liggende, da? Syns å huske det. Funker den, funker de andre også. Men BASF var og er kresne på maskinen de skal jobbe i. Dog, et greit alternativ- såfremt du bestiller hundre eller flere for hver gang.

 

[Terje-A]

Jeg kommer nok til å fortsette å kjøpe metaltape på eBay. Sony XR i C60 og C90 er tilgjengelig i 10 pack for ca. et laken og det duger. Også mulig å plukke opp noen Fuji Metal Z i C90 til noenlunde samme pris. Har endel av disse to og de fungerer bra på mine Sonyer. Maxell og TDK metaltape begynner å bli sjeldne som hønsetenner og derfor er prisene deretter.
Men jeg må innrømme at god chrometape er veldig bra det også.

 

[lyntoft!]

^
Nok en gang god og ikke esoterisk info.
Tusen takk

 

[lyntoft!]

Har nå lagt inn en bestilling på ett antal 799 Studio Master Super Chrome Cassettes.

Jeg er veldig begeistret for tilnærmingen Studio Master har til mediet.

 

[Auditor]

Terje-A: Som sagt, bruk den kilden som er. mest hensiktsmessig for deg . Ebay duger. Sålenge du bruker Top Rated Sellers.

 

[lyntoft!]

^^
Fakturabekreftelse innenfor 20 minutter.
Ikke galt.

 

[Terje-A]

Ja, etter mitt syn så skal vi dele erfaringer vi får med dette rare vi driver med. PM om ditt og datt er en uting. (Så sant det ikke er noe personlig selvfølgelig ) La oss hjelpe hverandre slik at alle som frekventerer denne tråden blir fornøyd. Hmm, store ord. I hvertfall sånn at de aller, aller fleste blir fornøyd

 

[Terje-A]

Terje-A: Som sagt, bruk den kilden som er. mest hensiktsmessig for deg . Ebay duger. Sålenge du bruker Top Rated Sellers.

Jeg har handlet flere ganger med crazyhcactus i USA på eBay og han sender kjapt, billig og det fungerer bra.

 

[lyntoft!]

^
Som før sagt.
Takk

 

[lyntoft!]

^
Hele poenget er jo selvfølgelig å dele informasjonen.

Ikke bare ruge på og skryte av den.
Superdupert og takk igjen Terje A.

Jørgen.

 

[Jim I Hendriksen 2nd Edt.]

Mange gode innlegg og info av T-A her nå. Selv er jeg nok mer på 1/4" tape men diller litt med gamle stoltheter fra ungdommen innimellom.

Følger med her og håper på flere slike innlegg. Disse innleggen som kun inneholder de største selvfølgeligheter er det mer enn nok av etter hvert...

 

[baluba]

Baluba: Har ikke du en BASF Type 1 liggende, da? Syns å huske det. Funker den, funker de andre også. Men BASF var og er kresne på maskinen de skal jobbe i. Dog, et greit alternativ- såfremt du bestiller hundre eller flere for hver gang.

Jeg har også en liten stock med RAKS, og det er vel strengt tatt Basf det også.

 

[Auditor]

Baluba: Noen av SPene har BASF råbånd, ja. Et med tyrkisk vri..Hvis du ser en Aiwa eller Akai merket "Made in Turkey", ble visstnok også den produsert hos RAKS..Det er totalt 4 SPer, og jeg skulle gjerne fått henda på de to andre (SP1S og SP Metal) . Noe foresvever meg at spesielt Metal kan overraske, slik SP2 gjorde. Bare så synd med det ene jeg hadde..

 

[baluba]

Ja, det er kjipt når kassetter svikter. Men det er nå uansett en fare med mekaniske medier som kassetter, det er mye som kan gå galt.

 

[lyntoft!]

Klart gamle bånd ryker.
Men nå vet vi jo hvor vi får kjøpt nye

 

[baluba]

Klart gamle bånd ryker.
Men nå vet vi jo hvor vi får kjøpt nye

Dette var et ganske nytt NOS-bånd, men også nye bånd kan få mekaniske problemer noen ganger. Shit happens.

 

[lyntoft!]

^
Men det viser seg at det ikke er noe hokus pokus å få kjøpt nye

 

[frog79]

810`n min spiste opp en Aurex her for noen dager siden.

Egentlig helt hva som skjedde vet jeg ikke men etter mye granskning av pinch rollere (som er i utmerket stand og rene) og capstan så la jeg merke til at tape pathen er noe ut av stilling. Tapen rører øverste guide ved lesehodet. Merkbar "krøll" på selve tapen. Dette skjer med alle teiper jeg har uansett merke.

Istedetfor å ruinere meg på en mirror tape ifra Ebay så modifiserte jeg en Maxell UR og tok ibruk en rimelig vannvittig mengde speil, luper og led lys for å se banen under avspilling. Dette er faktisk en av de få gangene den horisontale mekanismen til 810`n jobber med deg.. Som regel er det totalt motsatt..

Noe justering på høyden på venstre pinch roller fikset dette. Nå må jeg ta en Azimuth justering og denne gangen vil jeg gjøre det noe mer nøyaktig enn bare å høre meg frem til hva som er best ved å spille et original opptak..

Jeg vurderer å fore 10khz sinus inn til record inngangen mixet til mono, for så å ta opp og samtidlig justere azimuth slik at jeg får samme level på begge kanalene både på signalmetrene på decket og muligens også ut RCA utgangene målt med multimeter.. Jeg er ikke helt sikker på hvor nøyaktig mitt multimeter er på så lave spenninger.. Det er ingen dyr "Fluke" jeg har for å si det slik...

Etterpå finjusterer jeg ved å kjøre RCA ut til line in på PC`n og tar ibruk software for å finne punktet hvor jeg får det høyeste frekvensresultatet..
Mulig jeg burde bruke høyere frekvens enn 10khz. Noen som har innspill både til metoden og frekvensen?

Jeg husker BirgerB skrev noe om å bruke hvit støy til dette.. Var dette fordi at man da får hele spektrumet av frekvenser?

Frog79

 

[baluba]

Dette er faktisk en av de få gangene den horisontale mekanismen til 810`n jobber med deg.. Som regel er det totalt motsatt..

Det var en tanke som slo meg også. Det er fancy men i utgangspunktet ikke særlig praktisk, likevel så er det en upside til det meste. Enklere vedlikehold av hoder, pinchroller og capstan når topplokket skrues av.

 

[frog79]

Dette er faktisk en av de få gangene den horisontale mekanismen til 810`n jobber med deg.. Som regel er det totalt motsatt..

Det var en tanke som slo meg også. Det er fancy men i utgangspunktet ikke særlig praktisk, likevel så er det en upside til det meste. Enklere vedlikehold av hoder, pinchroller og capstan når topplokket skrues av.

Ja. Når lokket er av og armen som presser kassetten ned er tatt vekk så har man veldig god plass å jobbe på.. Så ikke alt er negativt med dette.

Frog79

 

[Auditor]

Vel, Frog..det finnes ingen teknisk innretning som funker perfekt i det uendelige heller.

 

[frog79]

Vel, Frog..det finnes ingen teknisk innretning som funker perfekt i det uendelige heller.

Riktig. Derfor må man sette seg inn i hvordan det fungerer slik at man kan reparere det når det går galt.

Frog79

 

[Auditor]

Frog: Det har man serviceteknikere til, vet du...

 

[baluba]

Frog: Det har man serviceteknikere til, vet du...

Hvis du har $$$

 

[frog79]

"ServiceTekniker" kan også være så mangt..

Mvh
Tape konduktør av ypperste orden
John Kr

 

[Terje-A]

Tape konduktør? Det er en god betegnelse på en som er i ferd med å bli en fullbefaren kassettspillertekniker. Jeg er imponert. Fortsett med det du gjør og del det med oss andre her i tråden.

 

[frog79]

Det er vel en god betegnelse på noen som har tatt ett par Frydenlund vil jeg tro.
Kong John av Trøndelag syns jeg høres greit ut og...;

Mvh
Hans Majestet Kong Frosk

 

[Terje-A]

Har rotet frem papirene av min japanske TC-KA3ES. Den ble kjøpt fra kyoto_camera på eBay. Også en seriøs selger. Fri frakt og de pakket inn spilleren slik at pakka hadde tålt å bli sparket fotball med. Og spilleren er 100% strøken.

 

[Auditor]

Frog: Har du den utdannelsen, kanskje?

 

[baluba]

Glemte å vise den nyeste maskinen jeg fått i krypten, en Naka CassetteDeck 2 fra nittitallet. Ser ut som ny, men jeg har ikke testet den enda. Men siden den kommer fra Nakamichis opprinnelige merkeverksted i Norge som har tatt full service på den så er den en perle.

 

[Jim I Hendriksen 2nd Edt.]

En flott sak!

 

[baluba]

En flott sak!

Serie 2 tar seg bedre ut i virkeligheten enn på bilder. Snart har jeg et komplett Serie 2-rack, mangler bare forsterkeren som er til recap.

 

[lyntoft!]

Frog: Har du den utdannelsen, kanskje?

Om man praktiserer sin learning by doing over tid reparerer man fort alt selv, og det med et smil om munnen.
Lidenskaplig tilnærming gir fort reell spisskompetanse, diplom eller ei.

Litt anderledes selvfølgelig om man tar seg betalt og jobber på andres greier.

J

 

[Terje-A]

Frog: Har du den utdannelsen, kanskje?

Om man praktiserer sin learning by doing over tid reparerer man fort alt selv, og det med et smil om munnen.
Lidenskaplig tilnærming gir fort reell spisskompetanse, diplom eller ei.

Litt anderledes selvfølgelig om man tar seg betalt og jobber på andres greier.

J

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