That would be me.

I remember what seemed like a very short transition time from 8 track to cassettes to CD.

Of the three, cassettes seemed, at least to me, to have the shortest shelf life.

I remember a time when having a cassette deck with "Dolby" noise reduction was a very good thing, though I no longer remember how it works.

I do know, after looking at a number of "boomboxes" online, that the majority of them have cassette players that no longer function, which suggests to me that they are prone to breakage and failure.

I'm sure, that to this day, cassette tape still has it's adherents.

If there are any reading this, I would love to know why.

I remember putting a #2 pencil in the capstan sockets many a time trying to untangle and rewind the things.

But, after boombox shopping, I realize how much I've forgotten, and how much I didn't know to start out with.

So, diving in....


"Cassette Tape 1101 - an in Depth Look Into This Analog Tape Recording Media"

"cassette tapes...
out of "style" for about 20 years yet they just hit their 50 year anniversary and are still being made.

cassettes are what brought about the move from listening to music in a group setting, to listening to music in a private setting while on the move. without cassettes, the walkman wouldn't have happened and who knows which way portable entertainment might have gone.

audio hobbyist are rediscovering cassettes. this resurgence is fueled not only by nostalgia, but also cost. it's cheap for a small band to put out music on cassette tape and it gives the fan something tangible to take home. a tangible item is something an mp3 download will never be.

this instructable should take the average geek from being totally clueless when it comes to cassettes, to being somewhat of a guru. we'll cover tape types, brands, era's, and clues that may help you decide if an unknown tape is of good quality.

if you're interested in learning more about the inside of cassettes and how to fix them, please visit my instructable on cassette tape repair.
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to ... ette-tape/ "


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.instru ... _page=true

https://www.amazon.com/Califone-2395AV- ... C94&sr=8-2

If you were looking for a boombox that did have a quality cassette player and recorder, perhaps you weren't looking in the right place.

Thanks!

I think a lot depends on the quality of the cassette recorder/player and how well it's looked after. Anything portable is more likely to get damaged.
As for tapes, I never had a problem with them with this machine. Back then I used to buy C90s you could usually get the whole of a borrowed LP on each side of one and I recorded a lot of them.

There were quite a lot of cheap twin deck radio/cassette players in the late seventies and eighties.

Everything here including the tape is from the early seventies. The cassette player had new belts over ten years ago. I don't play it much these days, just enough to make sure it's still working.
I think was about £100 when I bought it back then. The tape is a store-bought one.
Recorded on a little Lumix camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyjSDNEsF34

Best sounding cassette I've ever heard.

Thank!

There is a boombox cassette going at auction right now for $150,000.

Brand is "Hermes".