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Cassette Decks?

T

Ted Russell

I'm looking at replacing one and then eventually two of our station's cassette decks because they are cheap and flakey.

What is the best cassette deck that would be available? I need to be able to record stereo line and play back stereo line. I don't care if its balanced or unbalanced. I just want one that is going to work well and last for a few years.

Thank you all for your suggestions.
 
Freeware or cheapware with a computer.

Still waiting to see a high school student editing cassette tape.


HISSWho usesHISS cassettes still? HISS And why?HISS
 
ChiefEngineer said:
HISSWho usesHISS cassettes still? HISS And why?HISS
Click to expand...

Well we do at KEOM, but usually just for air checks. I keep hearing we're getting a system that will capture all AC's to a hard drive, but that still hasn't happened.

I'm starting to wonder if I didn't just dream tthat up ???

R
 
If you are looking for a brand new "pro" quality deck (19" rack mount), Tascam, Denon and Marantz still build reasonably decent quality machines for studio use.(in the $400 - 800 range) If you want one that is bulit like a tank, Tascam is probably the way to go.

If you are looking for a deck just for occasional use to transfer a few tapes to digital, there are a lot of passable used very little cassette decks with Dolby B-C HX Pro to be had in the $10 - 30 range at your local Value Village (or whatever second hand store you may happen to have in your area.) These machines won't be as robust or durable but they'll be a lot cheaper. (Sometimes you can find some fairly good Sony, Onkyos, Yamahas, and even Nakamichis kicking around for cheap.)

In my home studio I use a recent vintage Yamaha with Dolby B-C HX Pro, Bias control and switchable MPX filter.($9.99 at Value Village)
At our radio station we use a Sony dual well consumer deck (w/ pitch control(!)) for transferring older sermons to digital for broadcast.
 
One word of caution regarding Tascam decks. I would suggest avoiding the purchase of a used 122 MKII. The reason is the idler assembly wears out quickly. This makes fast winding of tape in either direction, practically impossible. It can also cause tapes to get chewed up, since the take up reel has a tendency to lock up when the idler is worn.

I have seen three different decks of the same model, go through this problem. Two of them belong to KEOM, and one of them I personally own. All three of them were purchased brand new.

R
 
Thanks for adding the word of caution to my Tascam recommendation. I was unaware of that problem. This leads to a question: is the idler assembly something that can be purchased fairly inexpensively and replace easily, so that a used Tascam deck would become an attractive purchase?
 
ChiefEngineer said:
Freeware or cheapware with a computer.

Still waiting to see a high school student editing cassette tape.


HISSWho usesHISS cassettes still? HISS And why?HISS
Click to expand...

Wow, that was helpful. You should save that and take it out at parties.

Now that you mention it, this is for a High School radio station. We do use Sound Forge and Adobe Audition for our Audio production and editing. The Cassette really is just for backup in case the computer should crash in the middle of a concert or football game that we're recording. Also for quick air-checks and transfering old material on cassettes onto the computer.

Thanks for the serious replies. I'll take a look at the marantz decks. Actually if SONY made a studio version of the TCD-5 I would go with that hands down.

I've seen the the Tascam Mk-II in action and like it very much, but I do remember them often being out for repair. Same thing with the Denon decks. Usually stupid stuff like the power or eject button got popped through the chassis or the door falling off. I have also seen speed control issues with both the Denon and the Tascam as well as alignment problems with both.

I'm also a little wary of Tascam as of late because I have another piece by them, a CD recorder which is completely flakey. I loved their old CD players, but a lot of my colleagues really didn't like them.

I don't understand why no-one was able to make a truly rock solid cassette deck. There were really good Reel to Reel decks available. The cassette decks were always in the repair shop though. Meanwhile the Marantz and Sony portable recorders always seemed to work really well. It makes me wonder why they can make a robust excellent portable, and couldn't get it right in a rack mountable form.
 
ChiefOperator said:
Thanks for adding the word of caution to my Tascam recommendation. I was unaware of that problem. This leads to a question: is the idler assembly something that can be purchased fairly inexpensively and replace easily, so that a used Tascam deck would become an attractive purchase?
Click to expand...

If the part is still available, probably. When mine went bad, I sent it out for repair. We did the same thing with one of our decks at work. But sooner or later the replacement part will do the same thing. Mine is pretty much on the brink, and the one we had repaired at work, is in a spare production room.

I'm hoping this was a design flaw that Tascam corrected on the MKIII. We have one of those in the master production room, and I bought a 112MKIII for my own studio. Both seem pretty rugged. I like the fact that both of these decks can sense the tape type via the notches in the cassette's shell. I neverr could convince my employer that a type II chrome dioxide tape requires the 122MKII to be set for CRC2 via the front pushbutton selector. He always insisted the deck should be set for normal bias, type 1 tapes at all times. Well sure, if you like the raspy shrill brightness of a type II tape set to type I on the deck.... Drove me nuts! ::)

R
 
Ted Russell said:
I don't understand why no-one was able to make a truly rock solid cassette deck. There were really good Reel to Reel decks available. The cassette decks were always in the repair shop though. Meanwhile the Marantz and Sony portable recorders always seemed to work really well. It makes me wonder why they can make a robust excellent portable, and couldn't get it right in a rack mountable form.
Click to expand...

Probably because cassette tape in general, is poor audio quality at best. Open reel decks usually have far better performance and sound a hell of a lot better than cassettes.

Cassettes were originally better off as being a consumer item, IMHO.

R
 
Cassettes were originally better off as being a consumer item, IMHO.

I wholeheartedly concur. The actual tape is too narrow to get decent tracking (even on the best of machines) so you end up with a lot of phasing problems between tracks.

I don't understand why no-one was able to make a truly rock solid cassette deck. There were really good Reel to Reel decks available.

Probably because all of the parts are much smaller in a cassette deck than in an open reel and therefore prone to more breakage. Plus fewer plastic parts on an open reel as well.(certain plastic parts on an open reel machine most likely would only have had a lifespan of about .002milliseconds anyway! :) )
 
Actually, ITC showed a set of prototypes of cassette machines at an NAB in the distant past. They never went into production... which was a shame, they were a rugged looking as the other ITC stuff of the day.
 
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