If I want to hook up a cassette deck to a mixer, what do I have to watch out for? The mixer has a switch to take phono-level inputs, so that’s cool. Or should I be using line level?
But what level to set the output from the mixer to the tape deck? The outputs are line level. I also have the option to send any mixer channel out the mixer’s headphone jack.
Don’t buy a modern one they are a bit crap, you can’t really go wrong with a Sony walkman (most of the WM series are good to excellent) Aiwa and Pioneer also did some fairly good walkmans. Just make sure it is fully working and preferably with new belt.
Yes line level is fine, most decent decks have good metering and depending on which tapes you use you can happily record at +3 to +6db.
Cheers. Experimentation will be fun.
Yes indeed, tape can be used for fairly clean recording with care, or if you want to you can exploit the tape saturation by running levels hot, great for sampling from and what not, experimenting with eq and levels can yield some really nice results.
I’ve found a great repair shop near me, and it sells restored gear. I’m going to pick something up this afternoon. Not cheap, but it comes with a warranty. Not bad for 1980s gear!
I’ll report back when I have it. Probably a Technics, but I forgot to note the model number when I last visited.
Awesome, yeah good 80’s and 90’s gear was built to last, so once serviced they tend to be very reliable I’ve found. I have a Sony TCD-5m from 1978/9 and it went in for a service a year or so back, re-capped and calibrated and it is literally as good as new again.
There is audio gold in london which seems interesting. Will check it out.
This thread has inspired me to enquire as to the whereabouts of my old man’s Aiwa AD-F770 (I think?). Came from a studio apparently. Sure it would need a service but I could tell even as a kid that it was a quality bit of kit.
Now … this thread is awesome …
reading the posts and thinking, hadn’t I seen something like a cassette recorder long ago … somewhere in the house …
and literally in a very dark corner and under a huge cover of dust, just some minutes ago, I found an orignal box with a mint Yamaha MT50 inside, 4 tracks, manual included … stored away for ages … must have been there for the last 15-20 years now.
Just out of curiosity I connected it to power, put in an old tape, and got lovely cute Mickey-Mouse music in stereo. Recording speed must have been a bit slower on my old stereo recorder …
Just orderd some new tapes and I think, I owe this sleeping beauty some attention in the future … 
My initial plan is to record mixdowns of my songs to tape. That way the songs will really exist, in a more physical sense. I like the idea of listening to my own stuff on tape, and maybe making some mix tapes too!
And of course I can have some fun making custom inserts for the tape cases.
Any recommendations for a deck? Can be a double deck of any kind really. Looking to record ambient and such or record drum loops or whatever really. Just want a recommendation on decent brands/models that don’t cost a fortune or brands/models to avoid.
Just made a first recording with my “new” deck. It’s a Technics RS-BX707.
The recordings sound fantastic, onto an old SA-90 my mother sent me last week. I’m surprised how good, actually. Dolby C and a good strong recording level seem to have done the trick.
I read on a forum that the BX series aren’t as good as earlier models, but this one seems just fine so far, and comes with a one year warranty. I’m also fully aware of the quality of info on forums. or at least the obsession with frankly irrelevant minutiae.
This forum is the exception, of course
The machine has three heads, and direct drive. 3 heads is neat, because you can monitor the just-recorded track. That opens up the possibility of using it as a tape delay, or as a send effect.
I would have preferred something that looked a bit more retro. This is typical 1980s/90s Technics style, with blue-green LEDs etc, which hits all my nostalgia buttons, but is a bit ugly in the room.
Still. Quite happy so far.
Reading all this posts make me wanna undust my kenwood midi hifi and try out the cassette recorder … just to see what will happened.
Do it!
Do it.
hehe
i am just about to convince my girlfriend we need that in the living room! 
Anyone here tried recording to vhs or betamax tape recently? I remember a lecturer at SAE in Sydney in 2000 talking about how great it sounded so im hunting garage sales for recorders and tapes.
Awesome…!