Best products from r/cassettes

I bought my friend this one.
The first review states:
>Everything on this thing works great. The radio, tape player, buttons etc. It feels sturdy and made well. I have been recording mix tapes off spotify and it's very easy to do. It takes some volume adjusting to get the tapes to come out with a nice sound. There is slight air sound in the background after you record a tape, but it's been so long I think that's normal? It's noticeable because the quality of music is crystal clear digital. I don't see why people are rating this low. If you are looking for a good tape player/recorder and don't want to shell out up to $200 for a sony walkman, just get this, for $25 bucks you will be happy with your purchase.

It's easy: get a cassette deck if you don't already have one, then a stereo cable with a 3.5MM plug on one end and two RCA plugs on the other, like this. Connect your phone to the input jacks on the deck, play your music (Spotify, etc.) at about 80% volume, and set the record level on the deck so the peaks are at 0db and make a test recording. If it sounds OK to you on playback (no obvious distortion) then you're good: make those playlists and start cranking out tapes.

If your files are on a PC/laptop (rather than a phone) and you don't want to transfer them the process is still the same-- just plug that 3.5mm plug into your headphone jack on the computer.

Nice collection! :D

I had all of these except for the Show cassette (I had the vhs) and The Walk, until my home burned two years ago.

Just recently I have purchased a cute 'lil cassette player ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JWC2624/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and one batch of cassettes from ebay.

No Cure yet, though. I am hoping that when we finally sort through the rest of the remainders, some of my cassettes survived after all.

edit: omitted word and punctuation.

Don't use that cable, it's got a female 3.5mm end. Use one of these instead: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0040HE0LO/ref=sspa_mw_detail_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You do not need audacity. Plug the 3.5mm jack into your speaker or headphone out on your comp/phone/etc. and the rca jacks into the back of your tape deck. Hit record on your tape deck, wait a few seconds, then hit play on Spotify. Record a few seconds and then play it back to make sure it sounds ok. Lower the volume coming out of your Spotify device if it sounds distorted. After your levels are good, you should be all set to record your final tape.

You should be able to record an entire side of the tape from 1 Spotify playlist, however I've noticed that you should sum the times of your tracks instead of relying on Spotify playlist length. Spotify will report that a playlist that is actually 30.5 minutes as just 30 minutes and if your tape has 30 minute sides, some of the final track will get cut off.

Hope this is helpful!

Most cassette decks can play and record, just look for one that feels solid and actually works at thrift stores. I see decks all the time for $20 or less. Just don't get cheap, plastic, modern stuff that look like a Jensen: https://www.amazon.com/JENSEN-MCR-100-Cassette-Player-Recorder/dp/B00UY8QEGW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=jensen+cassette+player&qid=1570928230&sprefix=jensen+cass&sr=8-2
Look for vintage stuff, with well known brands such as Sony, pioneer, etc.

If that thing in the top right is not a pad spring, then you can simply splice the tape back together.

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Unwind enough tape to give you some slack to work with on either end. Then line up the two ends and tape them together. The tape should be on the side that doesn't contact the tape head (in your cassette player). I've heard you can use scotch tape and the like, but I never have. I use a product like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GK77D1G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This labelmaker from Amazon might be up your alley! It's the embossed kind so it physically stamps the tape with the letters.


It's what I used to make labels for a cassette run of one of my albums, which turned out pretty cool

Your tape has a magnetic bias on it that is stronger than erase head and the record head can handle. You need to bulk erase it to restore it to operational capability.

As far as C120 cassettes, the primary recommendation is to avoid these tapes due to the thin tape or only run end to end (don't rewind or Fast Forward in the middle). You can find 5 pack at https://smile.amazon.com/Maxell-Audio-Cassette-Normal-120us/dp/B00C3OZQXM/ref=sr_1_3?hvadid=78615123795759&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=120+minute+cassettes&qid=1565521425&s=gateway&sr=8-3

They weren't as ubiquitous as 60 and 90 mins but def existed back in the late 80s / early 90s.

https://www.amazon.com/Maxell-Minutes-Blank-Audio-Cassette/dp/B000001OKY