#22

A lot of 3-head reel to reels work like a tape delay too, without modification or modding. If they are out of spec (wow flutter, freq response and so on) but still working you can find them for a couple tenners, which being out of spec isn’t necessarily bad when used as a tape delay. Depending on what you want.

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#23

That’s an excellent call - definitely worth checking the “for spares or repair” sales on that basis

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#24

All you need is a mixer with send return and one extra open channel. I got mine at a thrift store for 20 euros, no mods required. Here’s how it would bevset up:

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#25

I got several Panasonic and Sony mini-stereos, my kids left them here when they moved out.
I also got some cassette players for ambient/noise music.
I recently bought an ITT tapedeck, but as you can see, it’s not yet in use.

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But to be true, I mostly listen to the digital download if there is one. I buy the tapes because I love to have things and to support the artist. And to get the booklets etc.

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#26

This is also key for me. I listen to the tapes but I also listen to the downloads and the main thing is that I always want to support the artist and to have a less abstract connection with them via a tangible physical product

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#27

I love the speaker on my recently acquired Marantz PMD221. It’s my favorite limited-range playback system right now…I find sometimes it’s nice to have something in the background that’s not like super high fidelity and detailed and it is great for that.

I did some experimenting with pointing an SM57 right at it, playing back some tapes I like, and I was impressed with the results. I can definitely see myself using that technique for recording and mixing.

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#28

“Monaural output” is hard pass.

It would be nice if some Reputable Manufacturer would release a portable cassette player again but I fear the economics don’t stack up, especially given the number of low-cost, high-quality players still floating around.

Oh and I too would love a Marantz CP430.

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#29

I listen to the tapes for certain types of music. More ambient, experimental, long-form styles I will put the tape on as my deck is hooked through my monitors anyway. I actually only tend to buy that sort of music on cassette come to think of it. Oh and extreme metal.

#30

Have picked up TONS of tapes from bandcamp over the past couple of years, I use a Sony Wm EX-314 walkman most days to and from work, I have to listen to a lot of audio at work all day so the tape works nice to prevent listening fatigue with it’s lack of high frequency content.
Looking to acquire one of the Sony DD series walkmen (walkmans?) soon, just to kick my analog on the go consumption up a notch!
At home I have a wonderful Technics RS-B765 which i’m using to dub tapes for my label and listen back in a high fidelity way. Direct drive - super solid! I have a fostex x28h for four track recording of modular and stuff, some dictaphones, some crappier walkman, some weird german top loading thing with a speaker that’s a bigger version of one of those marrantz pmd thingies.
I wouldn’t recommend a four track for listening back to store / bandcamp bought tapes as the vast majority now tend to be Type I whereas most four tracks are made to take Type II tapes I think.
Always good to have some cheap weird lookin tape players dotted around for lofi playback too.

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#31

Yes, the prices have gone up recently…
The one I bought was from someone who “didn’t have time to test if it works”.
Guess I was lucky. It does.

Had a DIY tape delay on my mind too :slight_smile: I’ll get round to that someday I hope.

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#32

Yikes! I missed that, glad I passed for other reasons. Hope I didn’t encourage anyone to make a mistake here. No stereo is ridiculous.

#33

older pic but only the turntable has changed. Harman Kardon CD401.

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#34

Walkman Pro D6c

http://www.walkmancentral.com/products/wm-d6c

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#35

That is one of the grails of portable tape players. Well done.

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#36

Thanks! I’ve had it since the early ‘80s if memory serves… Still works great, I recently dragged it out of storage to feed sounds into my Morphagene… The best kind of recycling!

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#37

Finally replaced my nakamichi BX-150 with a BX-100 I tracked down on ebay. Nice to have a good deck again. Breaking it in right now with Anura’s new album. :slight_smile:

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#38

Marantz PMD430 for recording and home listening. Sony WM-EX921 when I’m on-the-go.

#39

Might be the wrong thread (there are a bunch on cassettes) but I’m curious about finding a cassette player that’s:

  • Portable (In the walkman portable sort of range, bit bigger is acceptable, but the “portable” table-top units with included speakers are too big)
  • High quality - with at least Dolby HR-pro and the audio chops to make the best of it
  • Ideally can record too (but not required, which is why I’m not sure this is the right thread)

Does not need an internal speaker (prefer not, in fact), but ideally has a headphone amp.

I’m totally unaware of any quality walkman-ish portable units for the higher-fi cassette tape experience at all, so I’m hoping people can point me in the right direction here.

I would also appreciate any tips on affordable compact decks for studio recording (that don’t have a mixer or other portastudio type features, just solid high quality basic “record to cassette” capabilities and not enormous home-hi-fi size crates, if the portable unit you recommend doesn’t record.

Basically I want to make cassettes and then be able to walk around and listen to them, but at a relatively high quality of experience as far as cassettes go, without going into audiophile-grade ridiculous price kind of craziness.

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Cassette Recorders
#40

Honestly if physical media and audio quality is important then I think you’d love minidisc. Cassette in 2021 (for me) is all about embracing and exaggerating the things that cassette was poor at anyway.

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#41

I’ve done the whole minidisc thing. I liked it (but sold all 200+ high end discs and both of my vintage Sony recorders). But that’s not the point of this request. I want to be able to listen to a bunch of older cassettes and make my own for friends who like cassettes, in this case. I can’t stand the lo-fi nature of them, though, and want to make the experience less miserable for myself. And who knows, maybe I’ll like them again for some strange nostalgia in the end. :man_shrugging:

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