Cassette/ Analog appreciation

Occult Research is a cool electronic label that sells cheap tapes. I also liked that Aphex Twin's last EP was released on cassette. Fit the 80s vibe of the artwork and ads

Can anyone recommend a good tape deck? I want don't want to pay $100 for a good Tascam or something but I don't want a cheap piece of shit

File: IMG_7549.jpg (718KB, 1983x1512px) Image search: [Google]

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Recent

>>73396950
Awesome. I'll check that out

>>73396965
Not sure. All I can find is used sony handhelds and shit like that. My car's tape player is pretty good quality but I just bought a "Super USB Cassette Capture" from amazon for like $14.... it already fucked up a Flamin' Grooves cassette :'( and I can hear clicking at the beginning and end of a lot of the cassettes. Not sure if that's the fault of the player (Probably) or the tapes themselves

>>73397038
Sick

Recent acquisitions:
Strauss/Berlin Philharmoniker/Karajan - Eine Alpensinfonie (Deutsche Grammophon type II tape)
D. Tiffany - s/t
Morbid Angel - Blessed Are The Sick
the Straight Outta Compton reissue
and I'm hoping the reissue of Flamingosis - Great Hair finds its way to my mailbox soon

>>73396965
>Tascam
>$100
ahahhahahaha

No seriously though, how much are you willing to spend? Depends on where you live and market randomness ofc, but for (well) under 100$ you can get a mid-range Onkyo, Yamaha, Technics, Sony, Denon, Aiwa, Teac, all brands that made quality decks. Not all of them are though, Technics I know made some really bottom of the barrel decks as well. A good general rule for cassette decks and for anything else is that if it looks and feels cheap then it most likely is. Steer away from the ones displaying "METAL" or "Full Auto Stop" on the front; they're advertising their most advanced feature which in these cases pretty much is considered standard after 1979.

If you're willing to spend $100 though try to find a Nakamichi BX150 or a Sony ES model and you won't be disappointed

>>73397092
>"Super USB Cassette Capture"
Rid yourself of that abomination and promise yourself never to buy something like that ever again

>>73397701
>>Tascam
>>$100
>ahahhahahaha

Sorry, I meant Marantz. I was looking to get a PMD-222 because I heard 3-heads are good and I want to use it for recording/tape delay/pitch shifting too. Those are usually $100+ for a good condition one. Are they any good?

>>73397092
Yeah this is one of my favorite releases of the past year if you're into "braindance"
https://occultresearch.bandcamp.com/album/baklava

>>73397961
Yeah, the three-head portable Marantz decks are highly regarded, the PMD-430 is somewhat of a legend.

If you're serious about recording and experimenting in that way you more or less need a three-header, so disregard my earlier post, you're not going to find one under $100 unless you really luck out at goodwill or something like that.

Do you specifically want a portable like the Marantz though, or are you open for a full size deck?

>>73398381
I'd prefer a smaller size so I could move it to and from my studio desk to my receiver, but it doesn't necessarily have to be portable. Thanks for the advise so far though

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>>73398636
Alright then. Sony also made some models in the same form factor like the TCM-5000EV (though that particular model is mono only unfortunately), so there are alternatives to the Marantz models out there

If you want to spend some money on a full size deck, hunt down a Nakamichi BX300/MR-1. Basically the same deck except for that the MR has balanced XLR outputs. Three heads, pitch control, direct drive, dual capstan and adjustable bias tuning on the front panel is basically anything I can imagine you needing. Plus it looks absolutely bitching in your hifi stack
I'd recommend some more but pitch control which you require isn't the most common feature, I honestly can't think of more three head decks with it