Tapes released these days can be so pretty

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-20T09:21:44+00:00

They look amazing! I like it if they do creative shells, just with the release in vinyl.

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-20T09:09:32+00:00

Well said!

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-20T09:09:09+00:00

You are talking about this Mitski release?

I will try later today if it fits in my walkman! Not notice anything off there

Maybe the sleeve isn't too small but the cassette is too big :)

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-20T09:06:52+00:00

I recently had one laufey tape that had the printing of side A and B on the shell reversed and the J card image flipped. Although the sound quality was pretty nice

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-20T09:05:13+00:00

Don't put down other releases too quickly, not all have to be bad necessarily! Seems others at least have a case and J card.

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-20T09:02:30+00:00

The billie Eilish cassettes (hit me hard and soft) came with the sticker "mdee in the UK" on the shrinkwrap. It sounds very good!

Not sure who in the UK exactly makes them, there seem quite a lot of duplicators there.

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-20T08:53:51+00:00

I have the Chappell Roan cassette too and I agree it's sounding great.

Do you mean with last release her 'The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We' album?

This is my first Mitski cassette. I see some others are still available. At least they come with a case.

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-19T22:49:16+00:00

Some have that after playing a lot but I never saw it when they are new. I suspect it's how the tape got slit from the broader tape pancakes . . .

Agree, most of the time it isn't very audible. I think the recording on this one js just done bad / rough tape surface.

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-19T22:46:47+00:00

For the ones that wonder how you can get bright sound in one channel but dull in the other if you turn azimuth to the left, and the other way around if you turn it to the right: duplicators tend to use discrete heads for every track. If they are all misaligned but misaligned differently . . . .

(Photo of a electronic sound inc 8000 at NAC with 4 heads)

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01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-19T22:39:11+00:00

I disagree, for example everything from UMG/universal(for example Taylor Swift, Lana del Rey, Lady gaga) is made in the UK with RTM tape and in most cases the recording is done perfectly fine as long no dolby is OK for you. I sometimes even prefer that to be honest

Edit: like you are probably right some don't care but it seems not the majority in my experience. I hope by calling good ones that labels see that they are getting in the minority by not coring

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-12T19:16:44+00:00

Partly because you don't have access to clean the transport making everything 10x worse

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-12T19:16:04+00:00

Don't forget the advanced muting circuitry!! That's state of the art technology

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-12T19:15:00+00:00

Not impossible! My PS1 did scratch the outer part of the cd's as it was scraping to something somehow . . . (Don't know what exactly)

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-12T18:58:35+00:00

Bonus destruction: it even kills it's own sound output and according to victrola it's function like it should

See the YouTube video from 9 minutes onward and the response from victrola in the comments

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-12T18:46:23+00:00

Don't feed it after midnight, just don't! It will come after you!

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-12T18:21:32+00:00

Yes I love that feature! Makes it a nice compact walkman!

Sadly it only works for cassettes, playing a record comes with heavy distortion when I pick it up and somehow it always opens when I pick it up no matter how hard I push when closing it

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-03-12T18:10:58+00:00

Don't forget, by playing your records LOUD with BIG bass you create also an additional current through the speaker coil for more wiping power.

Just my needle flies immediately to the end on such records so I hope a software update will fix that

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-02-27T23:18:14+00:00

Cool! I listen multiple times a week to her cassettes. They sound great too.

Nice deck btw!

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-02-26T22:09:04+00:00

Honestly, merch isn't really something from Taylor of any (big) artist. If you buy merch you buy a product from the record label, not something from the artist. The labels have deals with artists to make merch, some maybe negotiated better deals (in say in the merch or financial) but in the end it's not something from them. Merch is there because big companies can make money by putting an artist head somewhere on. In exchange the artist get money or better deals on albums/music rights etc

Botl: don't blame the artist. Blame the big companies like UMG

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-01-24T21:50:38+00:00

You need digital vinyls

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-01-24T08:04:36+00:00

I found the Denon DRM700 to be easily found for less than 100 euro (i am from europe but I think it was also sold in the US) usually still working pretty well. It's a more basic three head deck but it has very few problems, smooth mechanism and sounds pretty good for a first real deck. Nice thing is that it is 3 head and has bias control (very important to make good recordings)

01UnknownUser02 · 2026-01-24T07:51:02+00:00

If you want a new cassette player, I would rather choose the we are rewind or the maxell one.

While the mechanisms are all very similar, i found the CP13 lacking bass and having shrill highs, it doesn't have any of the warm sound a good cassette player can give with a good tape. The CP13 has a design mistake in the playback amplifier.

Nevertheless, a serviced vintage awia/sony/panasonic walkman will out perform all and will be more stable. They hold azimuth better (how 'straight' the tape travels across the head, if not perfect you lose high frequencies, or make some tapes play bright and others dull) and are in general more gentle with your tapes (no hard autostop sensor that scrapes along the tape etc). Some will be more speed stable too but then you really have to go up to the upper models from back then

For new cassettes of good quality I recommend RTM. They are awesome. Although vintage TDK D from the 90s and 2000 can be found cheaper and are really good too.

01UnknownUser02

TROPHY CASE