#16

The physical medium seems more alive to me, and my music seemed to warm up a little when it was duplicated. Most people are surprised at how good chrome tape can sound. Also, picked up a used Nakamichi for listening, which is way better than another deck I used to have.

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#17

This is my main reason for purchasing tapes. Most tapes on Bandcamp come with the digital version anyway, so why not get something physical to remind me that I like that EP/Album.In a sea of endless tracks on Spotify and iTunes physical objects can be a great reminder.

Second reasons is nostalgia.

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#18

The first couple releases that I ever did were on hand dubbed cassettes and hand screen printed o-cards. The choice to go with cassette for me was purely an economic one at the time. I think cassettes now represent an aesthetic that came from bands and musicians wanting to self release music and that being the cheapest and most “diy” way to do it. But additionally I do love collecting and listening to cassettes for the vibe.

You can get 100 cassettes dubbed, j cards printed, and shell print/labels for under $300 if you go through a site. If you do it yourself you just need a lot of time and a double cassette deck. It does take a lot of time, but you will save around a hundred bucks probably. :smiley: (that being said, finding a good deck that is calibrated relatively well and can dub accurately is easier said than done now a days)

duplication.ca, like some others have mentioned, is my favorite site and i’ve always had good results from them whether it’s just buying blanks or having them do the whole thing. A friend of mine also does dubbing and packaging - he is very affordable and really knows what he’s doing! - https://store.crypticcarousel.com/collections/cassette-manufacturing

Good luck and have fun!! Cassette releases are a joy…

8 Likes
#19

I remember I talked to him a while ago for a project that never got off. He seemed a very nice and trustworthy guy!

#20

+1 for all of these. I also think that trading them makes them a more interesting ‘business card’, of sorts.

For anyone in the UK, Infinitely Duplication are worth looking at. Friendly guys and very reasonable prices.

3 Likes
#21

It’s definitely having a physical object available, for me. It’s also been way easier to share my music and have people listen in its entirety, when handing them a casette. Those are the people that tend to get in contact with me after. Not so much when I send links. I also love being able to dub a handful and place them on the shelves at thrift stores. Whether they ever get out or not.

A lot of it for me was also expense. I got lucky when taking a job at a lucrative area’s goodwill. They wouldn’t sell casette or decks. I was able to get cases full of high bias tapes and decent enough decks to make sure anyone I know who wants one can have one.

Casette based recorders also had a long period of being nearly free, so I was able be to very cheaply find different machines with workflows I like.

You’re right that there certainly is a chance for them getting destroyed, but I find that it tends to correlate to the quality of the deck/tape. I have a handful of really old Ampex tapes that a guy dubbed before being shipped out to Vietnam…still play and sound just fine.

4 Likes
Cassette releases
#22

Are they doing tape as well? From the website it looks like they only do CDs and DVDs…

#24

Yeah, they do tapes! Their website isn’t great but if you email them they can send you a price list for different lengths, what colours they stock etc.

I just ordered 25 tapes with cases and artwork (no tape labels), and it came to £35.50 before shipping, so it’s very reasonable. Graham Dunning recommended them to me - they make all the tapes on his Fractal Meat label.

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#25

thanks a lot! prices look good for Infinity!

#26

For all European tape-heads, I can recommend ‘Tape it easy’ in Italy. So far I did all releases on Seil Records with them.

I send them the mastered files as well as print PDFs and they take care of the rest. They can even print 4c onto the tapes. You get a nice all-in-one package for a very fair price. And I think the tapes sound pretty ace.

If you contact them, it sometimes takes a while until you get the first reply. So don’t be irritated. After that, communication is smooth and friendly.

Sometimes a few cases don’t survive the shipping. So make sure to order more than you need.

6 Likes
#27

Cool, even better for me!

Haha yeah, pretty standard round here :slight_smile:

btw. any heads up regarding mastering for tape?

#28

I do all our mastering with SALZ Mastering in Cologne. But usually there is no separate version for the tape release.

Edit: If you get in touch with the Tape it Easy, tell them I said ‘hi’. :slight_smile:

#29

I sure will! And thanks for the heads up on the mastering!

1 Like
#30

For me, this is my main attraction to all physical medium - tape, CD, vinyl, prints, whatever. Obviously one of the attractions of streaming and downloads is accessibility. I’m in Australia and wanted to purchase a cassette tape and download from Bandcamp today. The postage for the cassette was triple the purchase price so I thought it best to spend that money on additional releases by the artist and others rather than postage. This was a reminder of the distance that the internet had shrunk. I guess the thing that made the world smaller is making it big again.

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#31

Detective Squad in Brooklyn does tape duplication
https://detective-squad.com/think-tank/tape-detective

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#32

I used duplication.ca for my first cassette release, and then I used my friend Keith Utech over at Milwaukee Cassette Works for my second tape release after he started up his own full-service cassette business to run alongside his record label. (Utech Records) I’ll continue to use Keith / MCW’s services for the forseeable future, because he does great work across the board and has been a good friend and supporter for many years now. Get in touch and let him know I sent you.

http://www.utechrecords.com/Milwaukee-Cassette-Works

6 Likes
#33

@stripes your tape came in a really neat cardboard mailer, would you mind sharing where you got those from?

#35

Thank you!

I actually just heard back from a friend who recommended bags unlimited. They seem to have a similar one too https://www.bagsunlimited.com/product/3428/audio-cassette-mailer-white-corrugated-cardboardbr-mails-1-cassette-case

1 Like
#36

I wouldn’t recommend uline.

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#37

i normally always get mine from duplication.ca but they couldn’t get them to me in time (my fault) so i ordered some from amazon prime so i could get the tapes out on time even though it’s a bit more expensive.

2 Likes