Cassettes may be making a comeback

Getizzyback wrote:

Back in the day, I was the "Cassette Doctor".... Everybody who knew me would bring
me their busted cassettes and I would fix them up to the best of my ability. I would usually
have to change the reels inside to another cassette casing. Some cassettes have the little
mini screws, some were just snapped together.....remember those little square cushions
in the middle that kept falling off? oh yea.....the memories of fixing them with superglue...

You were doing God's work.

Runicen wrote:

Boris2008 wrote:

S.D. wrote:

There's a sucker (moron) born every minute.

I agree but mostly these cassette tapes come with FLAC downloads and are only a buck or two more than a simple download. It's just a fad but I've bought a few as a collector.

Wait...  So cassette releases have been faster on the uptake for offering lossless downloads with the physical product than vinyl?  So much for vinyl as an audiophile format (and yes, I know it's not, but considering how it's marketed).

It's not so much the format as such, more that I buy most of these cassettes through Bandcamp and you can always get a lossless dl whether you buy vinyl, cd or cassette.

The type of download offered seems to vary depending on what label released it. I've bought LPs with .mp3 download codes, I've bought them when you've got a choice of .flac or .mp3 and I even bought one that gave me the option of a hi-res 24/96 download. The most recent Steven Wilson album I bought on blu-ray and it also came with an option for a lossless .flac download (but sadly, not hi-res for whatever reason).

It's a crapshoot. All I know is a .mp3 download is no incentive at all for me to purchase something.

S.D. wrote:

It's a crapshoot.  All I know is a .mp3 download is no incentive at all for me to purchase something.

Seconded.

Interesting article about the tape trading community.

Cassette Revolution: Why 1980s Tape Tech Is Still Making Noise in Our Digital World
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/cassette-revolution/

Thanks for the link. It was an interesting read.

While the low-cost aspect of cassettes is awesome, it's become the lo-fi version of SACD - nobody has the ways or means to acquire a working player. Hell, I wouldn't even HAVE one if I hadn't gotten a wild hair to figure out how to replace the belts in mine. It arrived pretty much unusable until I did that. Not that many people are similarly inclined, sadly.

Tapes will always hold a nostalgic place in my heart as I wore a many of them out and watched a many of them get eaten. I will never buy another one though. Now CD's I will buy as long as I possibly can.

7thSecond wrote:

Tapes will always hold a nostalgic place in my heart as I wore a many of them out and watched a many of them get eaten. I will never buy another one though. Now CD's I will buy as long as I possibly can.

Wow, talk about a blast from the past. Haven't seen you around here in ages. Welcome back!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

7thSecond wrote:

Tapes will always hold a nostalgic place in my heart as I wore a many of them out and watched a many of them get eaten. I will never buy another one though. Now CD's I will buy as long as I possibly can.

Wow, talk about a blast from the past. Haven't seen you around here in ages. Welcome back!

I thought the same thing.

Getizzyback wrote:

Back in the day, I was the "Cassette Doctor".... Everybody who knew me would bring
me their busted cassettes and I would fix them up to the best of my ability. I would usually
have to change the reels inside to another cassette casing. Some cassettes have the little
mini screws, some were just snapped together.....remember those little square cushions
in the middle that kept falling off? oh yea.....the memories of fixing them with superglue...

 I remember doing that! Yea, I hated those little F'n squares too!