What to do with old cassettes?

[editor]

I lobbed of a load of mine but kept some of my fave mixtapes

C30, C60, C90, Go! Farewell then, trusty old cassettes

 

[imposs1904]

Not mine, but a nice wee collection:

 

[keybored]

Get a cheap boiler suit and some glue, smash the tapes open and make a shimmering, ferrous ghillie.

 

[danski]

Be aware of ‘sticky spool syndrome’.

If a tape hasn’t been played for ages it can sometimes stick to itself so it’s recommened to forward and rewind the tape before you play it.

 

[stethoscope]

Bic biro's were invented for spooling tapes

 

[cupid_stunt]

As we are talking about tapes, remember these beauties?

 

[cupid_stunt]

Bic biro's were invented for spooling tapes

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

pirate radio innit

they may not even be any good now, some will be ancient

I played some tapes I made from nearly 30 years ago the other day and they were fine.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Not mine, but a nice wee collection:
View attachment 125836

Who'd have thought all that taped shit with badly drawn covers would look so appealing in the future.



I never did them for myself (always wanted the real thing where possible) but do have a few comps made and doodled by past girlfriends.

 

[mojo pixy]

I taped an album the other day for the first time in about 20 years. I found a record in a charity shop I wanted to give to a friend**, but I enjoyed listening to it so I taped it before I gave it away. Doing that was a proper blast from the past.

** It'll Shine when it Shines, by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I wanted a song on our last album to sound like it was 'on tape' so I played it from the desk and recorded it to a crappy tape recorder in the middle of the room. I then played the tape recorder playing it back into a cheap microphone.

It ended up sounding pretty much like the original, but with the sound of the tape being clicked on and off at the beginning and end.
Interesting side note. The pressing plant at first rejected the recording because of the click sound the tape machine play and stop buttons made. I had to explain at length over the phone what they were, as the pressing company (or whatever you call them) seemed to have no idea what a tape machine was.

 

[sealion]

I chucked a load of them when i moved house. I regret it now because it was akin to having a diary of my youth in a way. Stuff recorded from pirate radio, from vinyl i'd bought and lost, recordings of parties/ raves we played at. It always took me back (to happy times) when i played them back. I probably dumped 150 plus tapes that covered my musical tastes from the age of 15 up to 25.

 

[Sea Star]

Not mine, but a nice wee collection:
View attachment 125836

awww, looks like my old collection. Now I feel sad

ETA - I left a load at home when i came to London thinking they'd be safe there - my best ones, the ones I made when i was aged 15 to 20. They never surfaced again. I'm pretty sure my mum threw them out

 

[mojo pixy]

I chucked a load of them when i moved house. I regret it now because it was akin to having a diary of my youth in a way. Stuff recorded from pirate radio, from vinyl i'd bought and lost, recordings of parties/ raves we played at. It always took me back (to happy times) when i played them back. I probably dumped 150 plus tapes that covered my musical tastes from the age of 15 up to 25.

I did exactly this too and I also now wish I hadn't.

 

[sealion]

I did exactly this too and I also now wish I hadn't.

I kept them in old trainer boxes and reluctantly dumped because i needed the extra space and rarley listened to them. I gained that extra space and is now full of vinyl, which im supposed to be cutting down on

 

[spitfire]

Some of the cassettes I digitised were of me doing [bad] shows on pirate stations in Ireland.

Did you ever play on Power FM in Dublin? That was my brother and his mates station, still going but internet only. I played on there once or twice.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Did you ever play on Power FM in Dublin? That was my brother and his mates station, still going but internet only. I played on there once or twice.

No, I was only at ABC Radio in Waterford & Hits954 in Limerick, back in the early 80s.

 

[spitfire]

No, I was only at ABC Radio in Waterford & Hits954 in Limerick, back in the early 80s.

I remember the glory days of Sunshine FM......early '80's as well.

 

[Spymaster]

Not mine, but a nice wee collection:
View attachment 125836

That's good wallpaper (for the khazi rather than the laptop)

SPLIT ENZ ... my word, that brings back memories!

 

[cupid_stunt]

I remember the glory days of Sunshine FM......early '80's as well.

Sunshine & Nova in Dublin, South Coast & ERI in Cork plus ABC in Waterford were rated as the five 'super-pirates' at the time, out of 70 odd stations across the country, being the only ones with professional imported transmitters, pumping out 1Kw or more.

There was a strong connection between Sunshine & ABC, with DJs working for both at various times, I used to stay in the Sunshine staff house, situated behind their broadcast base at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock, when I was up in Dublin doing the rounds of the ad agencies.

One such DJ was Johnny Lewis, he could always drink me under the table, who has been out on the Radio Caroline ship this weekend for their monthly live link-up with Manx Radio, also transmitted on their new licenced outlet of 648AM for the Suffolk & Essex, ironically a former BBC World Service channel, and more ironic using the former BBC WS mast at Orfordness.

 

[BCBlues]

I still play them. I bought one of those systems where you can transfer vinyl and cassette onto mp3 or disc but I can't be bothered, I just play them.

These two are my faves at the mo, ive got hundreds of others and like sealion said up thread they are like a diary of your youth.

 

[eatmorecheese]

I feel old

 

[eatmorecheese]

Not mine, but a nice wee collection:
View attachment 125836

That's a great picture. The hours of devotion that went into this collection

 

[alan_]

I feel old

.

 

[souljacker]

I chucked a load of them when i moved house. I regret it now because it was akin to having a diary of my youth in a way. Stuff recorded from pirate radio, from vinyl i'd bought and lost, recordings of parties/ raves we played at. It always took me back (to happy times) when i played them back. I probably dumped 150 plus tapes that covered my musical tastes from the age of 15 up to 25.

After reading this, I've just pulled the bin bag of my tapes (i.e. not the purchased ones) out of the bin. There will be some absolute gems in there from pre-commercial kiss, rave fm etc.

As for the commercial ones, there aren't actually many, but i'll put a list up and if anyone wants them, they are welcome to them.

 

[Chilli.s]

Tapes, audio or video should not be sent to landfill as the music/films/tv is so entertaining to young plants that they stay in the ground and won't grow.

 

[plurker]

1. Get some sound editing software. Audacity is good and free, but there are others. Install it, and configure your input source to be the mic/line jack on the computer. (Of course you'll be playing the tape into the computer through a cable from the Line Out socket in the tape player, into the Mic/Line In socket in the computer.

Genuine question.
You mean take the feed direct from cassette player to laptop, not running out via amp?
I'm running an old NAD separates system and there is no line out on the tape deck itself.

I have about 50 rave tapes and pirate (DonFM and Girlz FM mainly) that I've been meaning to do for ages. I've resolved to digitise them all this year

 

[Ground Elder]

I've every intention of acting on this post pk's and have done since I bookmarked it in 2005. I suspect despite it's antiquity, it still contains solid advice

 

[albionism]

 

[mojo pixy]

Genuine question.
You mean take the feed direct from cassette player to laptop, not running out via amp?
I'm running an old NAD separates system and there is no line out on the tape deck itself.

You may need to go through the amp but some tape decks (like mine) have a line out with volume control and / or headphone socket. Fair question.