#84

I used https://www.bandcds.co.uk/ for Ghost Piano, Part 1 and was very happy with the outcome. Quick, reasonably priced and good service. Nice full body cassette shell printing options too.

2 Likes
#85

wow, lot of options to choose from!

#86

Tempted

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#87

Urgh. Do not like those :stuck_out_tongue:

#88

Yes they are hideous and thats why i find them tempting

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#89

If somebody makes a fake cassette player that takes USB stick cassettes then I might be interested :smiley:

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#90

Ooh. That’s just downright kinky :wink:

#91

Cheesy, but good cheesy.

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#92

I’m about to release my first album and I’m going to try to run a small batch of cassettes with Duplication.ca. Any tips or tricks before I commit? Ideas on selling?

Cassette releases
#93

Heads up!

1 Like
Cassette releases
#94

Yeah, the cassette I just release was delayed over 2 months because NAC was experiencing material shortages. The wait was haaaarrrrd. Hopefully it’s just temporary–that letter from NAC says it’s due to renovations at the facility that refines the gamma ferric oxide so that seems like a pretty temporary issue.

#95

For those who have used Duplication.ca, any opinion on the audio quality of their high speed versus real time tape services?

#96

I have not used their services, however I’m old enough to have used standard and high speed duplication the first time cassettes were popular.

High speed definitely sounds worse. It’s totally fine for speeches (many church service sermons, for example, were what kept tape duplicators in business) but if you want a great sounding cassette you won’t get it from high speed. But also, it won’t sound dreadful, just not as good as standard speed. This is due to physics, not any particular company’s practices.

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#97

I just got 100 blank c46 tapes from a friend (who drastically overpurchased) with a view to releasing my own material. Since I bought them without cases I’ll be making cardboard O sleeves for them. Since I don’t have a duplicator (real time or otherwise) I’ll be duplicating them one at a time in real time.

If I don’t love this release before I start duping I’m going to utterly despise it by the time I’ve finished…

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#98

Appreciated. I’m old enough to have used both techniques as well, but can barely remember the audible results…due to my aforementioned age :wink:

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#99

High speed dubbing rolls off around 16khz. For some material this is nice (makes it “warm”) for some material it isn’t (makes it “murky”).

I hear you re: remembering. haha

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#100

True but also worth bearing in mind that a tape duplication company’s high speed dubbing equipment may not be comparable to / as bad as the high speed mode on a hi-fi tape deck

#101

In germany there is http://tapedub.com (based in berlin), also run by really decent people!

2 Likes
#102

Nostalgia for me too. Cassettes went out of use when I was very young (born 1991).

#103

While there is a nostalgia element for some people I find that I sell as many or more cassettes to people who certainly weren’t alive to own one the first time around.

For me and others I’ve spoken with the main reasons for cassette popularity are:

  • The physical object itself is satisfying–shape, mechanical tactile element, a little bit of print design, sturdiness. I’ve sold many to people who don’t even own players and also are not “hipster/consumers.” They just wanted one because it was an object they could fit into their life.
  • Sound quality, what it does to sound, the whole “tape mojo” thing which is real enough and certainly contributes to some things.
  • Philosophical statement about media that is re-usable. Even commercially released tapes could be overdubbed using nothing more than a small piece of tape. The “hackable” cultural artifact aspect of not being part of a playlist/platformed society.
  • The listening experience of having a set program of sounds that will continue for a determined length of time, followed by a pause where one has to stand up and go flip the tape, then another continuous length of program. This experience is also like playing records. But it creates a very clear being-in-the-world experience to have that pause and move some muscles in the middle of it all. Like a frame around a painting, it separates the experience from the wall of everyday life.
  • Economics, as a cultural producer (eeew) I can sell tapes for around $10. The profit from one sale (the cassette manufacture in my home-brew setup comes to about $3 in a run of 25) is the equivalent of about 160,000 streams on Spotify. I am proud of my work, but none of my current music will ever see 160k streams. Sharing music on cassette is a way for me to sustain myself and provide funds for future work.
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