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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
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Points: 20623
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Posted: November 15 2015 at 08:56 |
I still have an old Onkyo cassette deck but when I play the cassettes they sound very muddy.....so not sure if the highs have dropped off over time on the actual tape or if the heads on the deck have gone bad. Any ideas...?
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
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aglasshouse
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 27 2014
Location: riding the MOAB
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Points: 1505
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Posted: November 15 2015 at 09:27 |
^Not sure about that; some of my tapes fluctuate abnormally in volume when I play them in a cassette player and I'm not sure why
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http://fryingpanmedia.com
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Meltdowner
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Posted: November 15 2015 at 09:36 |
^^ Did you try cleaning the heads?
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Nightfly
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Posted: November 15 2015 at 10:12 |
^^^ If all of them sound muddy it will probably be dirty heads, if it's just some of them then it will more likely be tape deterioration. Try getting some head cleaning solution and clean with ear buds.
^^ If they're fluctuating in volume it sounds like faulty tapes. I've had that happen in the past.
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20623
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Posted: November 15 2015 at 11:35 |
Meltdowner wrote:
^^ Did you try cleaning the heads?
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Yes..several times with a tape cassette head cleaner and with a liquid wipe system....didn't seem to help.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
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Rando
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 08 2006
Location: Bay Area
Status: Offline
Points: 472
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Posted: November 16 2015 at 15:20 |
Yes...Cassettes - How many times I still do this - These days I find the best ones at yard sales!
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- Music is Life, that's why our hearts have beats -
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Catcher10
Forum Senior Member
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Joined: December 23 2009
Location: Emerald City
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Posted: November 16 2015 at 18:05 |
dr wu23 wrote:
Meltdowner wrote:
^^ Did you try cleaning the heads?
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Yes..several times with a tape cassette head cleaner and with a liquid wipe system....didn't seem to help. |
Depending on age of the deck and usage, only other possibility could be heads are magnetized, which can cause drop outs and over all dull sounds, especially in the highs.
You can get a tape head demagnetizer pretty cheap on flea-bay....I still have a hand held one from Rat Shack that works very well. It is very, very important that you follow the directions on head demag or you will defeat the purpose.
When you clean the heads use Q-tips and 91% or better IPA, never use Rubbing Alcohol as that contains a lot of water and well, water and metal are not good together .
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poeghost
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 13 2013
Location: U.S.A.
Status: Offline
Points: 175
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Posted: November 16 2015 at 18:28 |
Catcher10, what is IPA?
I still have a cassette deck and some portable players/recorders. I listen to cassettes quite often.
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micky
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Joined: October 02 2005
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Points: 46833
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Posted: November 16 2015 at 18:33 |
aglasshouse wrote:
Hey guys!
So...there's a vinyl thread...and I don't know if there's a counterpart for those little rectangular tape-y things. I find them quite interesting and I happen to own a few. Of course, they aren't as majestic as vinyl, but...
..I mean they're easy to play and stuff...
..and there's these...
Anyway! A hit or miss discussion has been started and I am the creator. Go semi-all out! |
no!!!! It is too late but what have you done. We have enough of the vinyl hipsters.. that is just what we need to encourage... a bunch of millennial cassette loving hipsters. As if the racist right wing nuts weren't bad enough. Yes we had it best in the 80's, but it was the women.. not the modes of music. Revel in your times.. yeah your women look like sh*t and fake and plastic.. but man alive. You will never have to repair a f**ked up cassette tape or have to wait to hear the song you want to hear because you have to hit rewind.
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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aglasshouse
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 27 2014
Location: riding the MOAB
Status: Offline
Points: 1505
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Posted: November 16 2015 at 20:27 |
micky wrote:
no!!!! It is too late but what have you done. We have enough of the vinyl hipsters.. that is just what we need to encourage... a bunch of millennial cassette loving hipsters. As if the racist right wing nuts weren't bad enough. Yes we had it best in the 80's, but it was the women.. not the modes of music. Revel in your times.. yeah your women look like sh*t and fake and plastic.. but man alive. You will never have to repair a f**ked up cassette tape or have to wait to hear the song you want to hear because you have to hit rewind.
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I was unaware of your personal beef with the tapes. If I had known this earlier I would have shut it down right away. I apologize sincerely.
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http://fryingpanmedia.com
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Atavachron
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Joined: September 30 2006
Location: Pearland
Status: Offline
Points: 65266
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Posted: November 16 2015 at 21:00 |
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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Catcher10
Forum Senior Member
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Joined: December 23 2009
Location: Emerald City
Status: Offline
Points: 17847
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Posted: November 16 2015 at 21:28 |
poeghost wrote:
Catcher10, what is IPA?
I still have a cassette deck and some portable players/recorders. I listen to cassettes quite often.
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IPA = special beer......
IPA = Isopropyl Alcohol (or beer)
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Catcher10
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: December 23 2009
Location: Emerald City
Status: Offline
Points: 17847
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Posted: November 16 2015 at 21:32 |
micky wrote:
aglasshouse wrote:
Hey guys!
So...there's a vinyl thread...and I don't know if there's a counterpart for those little rectangular tape-y things. I find them quite interesting and I happen to own a few. Of course, they aren't as majestic as vinyl, but...
..I mean they're easy to play and stuff...
..and there's these...
Anyway! A hit or miss discussion has been started and I am the creator. Go semi-all out! |
no!!!! It is too late but what have you done. We have enough of the vinyl hipsters.. that is just what we need to encourage... a bunch of millennial cassette loving hipsters. As if the racist right wing nuts weren't bad enough. Yes we had it best in the 80's, but it was the women.. not the modes of music. Revel in your times.. yeah your women look like sh*t and fake and plastic.. but man alive. You will never have to repair a f**ked up cassette tape or have to wait to hear the song you want to hear because you have to hit rewind.
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I am sure if you had a '67 Mustang you would be driving that or at least tinkering with it every weekend in the garage.
I am not a hipster...on the contrary, my dumb a$$ decision to fall into the digital/CD music trap is something I slap myself in the face for daily, that was my hipster move back in the late 80's.
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Intruder
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 13 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 2190
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Posted: November 17 2015 at 09:46 |
The CD player in my car broke, but luckily the car has a cassette deck. I dusted off about 10 boxes full of cassettes and am now digging in......no, the sound isn't nearly equal to the car CD player, but the titles I have in the boxes are magnificent.....hundreds - literally hundreds - of Grateful Dead shows from my days in a Deadhead tape swapping club. I'm exploring 1977 - one of my favorite Dead years - at the moment.
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I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20623
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Posted: November 17 2015 at 09:52 |
Catcher10 wrote:
dr wu23 wrote:
Meltdowner wrote:
^^ Did you try cleaning the heads?
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Yes..several times with a tape cassette head cleaner and with a liquid wipe system....didn't seem to help. |
Depending on age of the deck and usage, only other possibility could be heads are magnetized, which can cause drop outs and over all dull sounds, especially in the highs.
You can get a tape head demagnetizer pretty cheap on flea-bay....I still have a hand held one from Rat Shack that works very well. It is very, very important that you follow the directions on head demag or you will defeat the purpose.
When you clean the heads use Q-tips and 91% or better IPA, never use Rubbing Alcohol as that contains a lot of water and well, water and metal are not good together .
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The head cleaning system came with it's own fluid and tips for cleaning.....I'll try a de-magnetizer.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
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Catcher10
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: December 23 2009
Location: Emerald City
Status: Offline
Points: 17847
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Posted: November 17 2015 at 11:27 |
Intruder wrote:
The CD player in my car broke, but luckily the car has a cassette deck. I dusted off about 10 boxes full of cassettes and am now digging in......no, the sound isn't nearly equal to the car CD player, but the titles I have in the boxes are magnificent.....hundreds - literally hundreds - of Grateful Dead shows from my days in a Deadhead tape swapping club. I'm exploring 1977 - one of my favorite Dead years - at the moment. |
Nice!! My cousin was a huge Phish follower...traveled all over to see Phish and also was into recording their shows. He used a portable Sony DAT recorder and had two small mics he would place in his beanie cap, I know he had probably 200 tapes. Quality was very good, considering he was standing in the crowd with lots of fan noises, clapping, screaming.....
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