Cassette tapes for 4track Portastudio

christiannokes · Post by **christiannokes** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:30 pm

I remember hearing that I needed to only use Type II cassettes on my 414. Is this true? Is it noisier or something?

Also, I have had my 4track since 98 and I have never demagnetized it; would I notice a huge difference if I did so? It sounds good now.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:35 pm

I would think that you might benefit from a bit of demagging after 14 years.
Do you keep the heads clean? Ever been aligned?

GJ

christiannokes · Post by **christiannokes** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:41 pm

-Never been aligned

-Cleaned the heads a couple of times in 2002.

Ha ha, It is such a long time.

christiannokes · Post by **christiannokes** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:41 pm

What is a good way to demag? Should I buy one?

austin · Post by **austin** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:59 pm

I've demagged my cassette machines (a 414 and a 488) only once, and it did make a bit of a difference, but definitely not a "huge" difference.

But yeah, clean those heads! In fact, don't record another note until you do.

I clean the heads literally every time I turn on the machine.

will · Post by **will** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 8:31 am

austin wrote: I clean the heads literally every time I turn on the machine.

That and use the cassettes with thicker tape (C60) instead of the thinner tape (C90 or longer). I always had very good results with Maxell XLII's when i used my Tascam 488.

artercay · Post by **artercay** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 9:25 am

at the risk of threadjacking, anyone know of a good source for type II cassettes? maxell type II 60 minutes are tough to run down...

dubold · Post by **dubold** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:04 pm

artercay wrote:at the risk of threadjacking, anyone know of a good source for type II cassettes? maxell type II 60 minutes are tough to run down...

yeah, i'd be curious to know as well..

Neal · Post by **Neal** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:36 am

http://www.tapes.com/ecpbasf-typea-high ... -6211.html

haven't bought anything from these guys yet cuz I have a stack of cassettes still, but it looks like a pretty good deal.

artercay · Post by **artercay** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:16 am

a bunch of tape labels use tapes.com but the quality seems highly variable... specifically, the reels always seem to have too much wobble. i miss the days of the maxell 60 minute shells that were built like tanks.

CBA713 · Post by **CBA713** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:31 pm

I've scored some TypeII Maxell's off of eBay pretty recently for relatively cheap. More than what they would cost at the store when they were available, but not bad.

A friend of mine finds NEW TypeII cassettes at local Good Will stores all the time. Check those out if you have some close.

What about a cleaning/demagnetizing kit... where could I get one of those? I have a Tascam 424mkII that's in super good shape, but I'm not the original owner so I don't know if it's been serviced.

C

christiannokes · Post by **christiannokes** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 9:58 pm

"What about a cleaning/demagnetizing kit... where could I get one of those? I have a Tascam 424mkII that's in super good shape, but I'm not the original owner so I don't know if it's been serviced."

I wanna know about this too. I hope someone out there knows where to get a kit..and one that is "compatible" with a Portastudio if that even applies.

christiannokes · Post by **christiannokes** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 3:57 pm

Bump. I just saw a thread that mentioned the Han D Magnetizer. Would this work on the 414?

flocentblack · Post by **flocentblack** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:24 pm

christiannokes wrote:Bump. I just saw a thread that mentioned the Han D Magnetizer. Would this work on the 414?

Han-D-mag will work just fine. Its a bit overkill if your only going to de-mag cassette decks, but you won't hurt anything as long as you use it properly, and you won't need to buy another demager if you ever start using larger open-reel decks.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:50 am

While we're at it, anyone know of a source for new/blank metal cassettes (Type III, not pre-recorded Sabbath or anything) that are under $12 each?

GJ

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Cassette tapes for 4track Portastudio

Cassette tapes for 4track Portastudio

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