would you release on, or buy a cassette tape?

[synnack]

I think this is a pretty interesting topic and curious what you all think.

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles ... te/?page=2


Would you release your music on cassette knowing all the production you put into it would largely be lost? would you buy a release on cassette tape knowing you can get the mp3 online that may actually sound better?

[coldbuggin]

i personally wouldn't. vinyl or digital only.

[contakt321]

Novel, but I wouldn't for the fact that many young consumers don't have a tape deck AND you can't dj with cassette

[leedsquietman]

I don't even own a tape player any more and the cheap hifi which had a dual tape deck has broken.

Like 8 track tape, it's becoming a bit of a novelty, I know of a label which specializes in small run cassette tapes and it's supposed to be in vogue, but I don't know of anyone else demanding a return of cassettes - it was cool when I had a portastudio and people still had tape players but mp3 and CD and vinyl (for DJs) are the only formats worth having.

[The Leveller]

Defintely not. Cassette was a disaster, albeit a convenient and portable one, and I praised the day when CD came along. Now I'm digital through and through thanks.

[Klauser]

I would

Just for the retro factor

[drewbixcube]

Novel, but I wouldn't for the fact that many young consumers don't have a tape deck AND you can't dj with cassette

can't you?

[JuanSOLO]

YES and YES.

My band has tentatively scheduled a recording session with a guy who will record directly to 8 track?
Sure it's a novelty item, but fun, and it will sound unique as a result.

Tape cassettes, like analogue synths, have a particular sound to them. One that cant be emulated very well by digital technology.

As much as I enjoy HiFi, and the convenience digital formats, I miss the organics of analogue technology. I have and will continue to do things like spend long amounts of time to get the perfect recording and production, only to send that recording through a television speaker and re-record it to VHS and re-release it on MP3.

Sometimes I miss the days of recording on Tascam 4 track cassettes with shitty mics. All those recordings had a special quality that could never be duplicated on my computers. One of the more obvious ways to experience that HI Fi digital is overated is to play something like an old James Brown record.

Granted there are some things that are spectacular these days, ALL DIGITAL, but I think the bottom line is if a song is good it will be good wether it's Hi Fi or LO Fi. Just like the movies, if a story sucks, special effects wont fix that.

Lastly, when I used to get and album on tape, I used to listen to the whole thing, then make my opinions. These days it's so easy to click next, and so easy to miss out on gems by doing this.

[Lazos]

I'm intrigued by the idea. I ended up reading the entire article and all of the comments on it

One point that absolutely cannot be dismissed by mp3 and CD advocates is the fact that cassettes (and vinyl too, but less so), by their nature, invite eventual listening to the entire ALBUM. I don't think that the concept of an album is dead by any means, but I think the "album" as a conceptual entity is weakened by media like CDs and mp3s that invite quick track changes and thus cater to and encourage short attention spans. And it is still true that many artists spend a lot of time considering track order and the concept of their album.

However, I'd never go and have cassettes manufactured for me. I also think a big part of the idea here, is that there may be some MORE "perceived worth" here than the average independent musical act selling a manufactured CD. Do the potential customers of said average independent musical act get the "labor of love" part of manufacturing your own cassettes with hand-rendered art and such?

I suppose one might have to offer both unique homegrown CDs and cassettes alongside each other to see how much "cassette nostalgia" there is in the equation. Just some thoughts.

[ikeaboy]

i like the format's sound quality but hate the inaccessibility of individual tracks, but how many people have functioning tape decks hooked up? except folks with real old car stereo

[leedsquietman]

Recording to 8 track analogue multitrack on 1/2" reel tape is one thing, this can still be a very valid way if you take care to maintain the equipment of recording and some people like the 'analogue mojo' and tape compression. Well maintained machines can then output to analogue or run through an audio interface of A/D converter and edited up in DAW software etc. These are usually paired with fairly capable mixers too whch go far beyond what a Tascam or Fostex cassette portastudio affords.

There are still quite a few bands who like to record to analogue tape (typically 16 or 24 track Studer A80s or Otaris) and use analogue outboard gear during mixing and mastering, although they will typically want a digital format as well as analogue (the White Stripes album Icky Thump being an example, with the vinyl album completely analogue and mastered for dynamics with the CD version more aggressive and compressed).
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct07/a ... k_1007.htm
(even if you don't like WHite Stripes, this article is fascinating to anyone with an interest in the recording and mixing process)

This is a bit different from using an 8 track cassette portastudio to record. Cassette doesn't saturate as much as 1/2" or more reel to reel tape, 8 track cassette portastudios typically don't have phantom power for condenser mics and a limited 3 band EQ with fixed bandwidth etc. They were great in their time, but given today's standards, most people would prefer software, or even the current SD card or internal HD digital hardware recorders.

Availability is a key factor - as mentioned, once upon a time all hifis came with a cassette deck, all car stereos had one, but in the last few years virtually none use cassette any more and while you can still buy cassette players from TEAC and others, the prices are high because of low production - these units were once 50 bucks a throw and now cost much more.

[kristoffer1989]

i would if it came with mp3's or a cd.

[distaudio]

I believe it is just another ploy by hipster wankers.

I can understand vinyl due to its sonic benefit and linear response. But you can keep your hiss and noise of tape.

Just another example of shitty 80's revival. But hey, if people are willing to part with their cash for them, more power to 'em. It has its place and it's genre specific, I don't think it would pick up in electronic music circles. Except maybe for noise artists.

Why not just start releasing things on Piano Roll?

[kristoffer1989]

I believe it is just another ploy by hipster wankers.

I can understand vinyl due to its sonic benefit and linear response. But you can keep your hiss and noise of tape.

Just another example of shitty 80's revival. But hey, if people are willing to part with their cash for them, more power to 'em. It has its place and it's genre specific, I don't think it would pick up in electronic music circles. Except maybe for noise artists.

Why not just start releasing things on Piano Roll?

I would buy something on a piano roll

[slirak]

I certainly feel nostalgic about cassette tapes. They sounded crap and were often a hassle - remember how car cassette players used to chew up your tapes? But cassettes were instrumental to discovering music when I was a kid. You used to hand tapes to your friends and have them copy their favorite songs to them. If you were lucky, they had older siblings with some really cool records you'd never heard of. And you'd record all sorts of stuff from any radio show, without any adult ideas about discrepancy. And that made your world just so much bigger!

But what I find interesting (and a bit silly) is that most of the people now releasing and buying stuff on cassette wasn't around back then. Maybe it's a yearning for a time when music was a bit more tangible and a bit less über accessible than in the age of unlimited downloads. Or it's just some indie kids looking for yet another way to separate them from the dull mass consumers of mainstream music...

I still gotta quote Bow Wow Wow: C30, C60, C90, Go!!!