Today I learned this cassette player exists. Now I can't stop watching it...

[Andrew_McP]

 

[bimbleuk]

I think Techmoan on Youtube would be a good channel for you to check out if done not already. The ingenuity of this type of electromechanically operated device is impressive.

 

[Penfold101]

Definitely Soundwave.

 

[Gepetto]

Whilst impressive, the most prevalent thought I have on cassette tapes is trying to slice the tape back together after extricating it from the deck!

 

[theone8181]

While I'm of the generation that tape players were around, it's been a long time since I had one. Wouldn't it be easier to just read the tape backwards, I don't think there's 2 rolls of tape in them.

 

[Bigpig]

I swore I seen this week someone stating cassettes are making a slight comeback lol

 

[arknor]

While I'm of the generation that tape players were around, it's been a long time since I had one. Wouldn't it be easier to just read the tape backwards, I don't think there's 2 rolls of tape in them.

its 4 narrow tracks across one face of the tape.

2 of the tracks are in reverse so when you flip the tape they play correct.

so yea would be easier to play the tape backwords, didn;t some Walkman etc do it.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I swore I seen this week someone stating cassettes are making a slight comeback lol

They have been saying this for a couple of years.

Cassettes is my least favourite audio formats (excluding the master tapes, I only mean the consumer side of things). But there always has been this following of them, not just in the HiFi audio or home audio space but also in music making in terms of guitar pedals. I have several that trys to give your guitar sound that LoFi effect, a little scratchy, worn tape feel.

 

[Grimley]

Nakamanchi were considered to be the rolls royce of cassette decks back in their day. The 'Dragon' model was their flagship model, wasn't cheap though. Made about the time CD's started so it was niche rather than mainstream.

 

[hornetstinger]

 

[Hugest_UK]

Nakamichi were the dogs danglies back in the day

 

[Diddums]

Does it rewind the tapes with a pencil too?

 

[arknor]

I swore I seen this week someone stating cassettes are making a slight comeback lol

its the last chance before all the nostalgia dies off.

The people who were kids with cassette recorders going around recording sounds, their voice etc and thinking it was amazing are soon long gone.

Some of the players are pure mechanical art though.

 

[BUDFORCE]

They have been saying this for a couple of years.

Cassettes is my least favourite audio formats (excluding the master tapes, I only mean the consumer side of things). But there always has been this following of them, not just in the HiFi audio or home audio space but also in music making in terms of guitar pedals. I have several that trys to give your guitar sound that LoFi effect, a little scratchy, worn tape feel.

Yea tapes were awful.

 

[BillHicksRIP]

I remember seeing a Nakamichi tape deck do that physical flip thing in the movie 9 1/2 Weeks. That was a long, long time ago.

- edit - Good lord, it's on YouTube, albeit in potato quality. This was the epitome of 'rich guy's pad' back in the late 80's.

 

[ttaskmaster]

That's a pretty massive mechanism to do what most car stereos could achieve just by flipping the play direction rather than flipping the whole cassette...

 

[OspreyO]

I'm of the tape generation and they were great.

Vinyl and CDs too large to be portable, and CD portable used to clip music very poorly. Tapes were noisy yes but still had that analog range of Vinyl. But they were not robust. Both tapes and players used to break.

No one makes the high quality mechanisms anymore. Any new ones just use a cheaper generic mechanism.

 

[OspreyO]

High point of the gadgets was mini disc but they are stupid prices now. If you can get a working one. Very fiddily to use.

 

[Flibster]

That was one of the ones I was thinking of.

There's also this one that's not quite as barking mad.