BBC Type 1 & Type 2 Cassettes - Brilliant Basic Cassettes or Bargain Basement Crap?

*THE MUSIC IS OUT OF SYNCH"
These were common and cheap in the UK in the 90s and are still reasonably priced today. Is that because they're rubbish?
In this video I put 2 generations of Type 1 & 2 through their paces.
Decks Used : Nakamichi CR-7 & Revox B215
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[@chinnyvision]

At uni our technicians were all ex BBC VT engineers (one of them very senior). They sold media at cost price to students and swore by Fuji which is apparently the brand they favoured in house for video or audio dubs in the mid 90's.

[@simongallagher2177]

YES a new cassette video! Just when I thought we'd been abandoned forever!

[@CassetteComeback]

I've done 4 vids in the last month...

[@simongallagher2177]

@@CassetteComeback I'd forgot about the Maxell one but ones like this are best!

[@Rompler_Rocco]

*Those of us who enjoy the comments section here need to pull together to keep the trolls in check* ! 🚔

[@CassetteComeback]

Trolls don't care. It just legitimises them...

[@AlexTechYT]

@@CassetteComeback very true

[@JD-lk7im]

Trolls look like the Boots Audio cassette man.😂

[@ianz9916]

I still have seven sealed 2nd Generation BBC Chrome tapes that I bought back in the day. My go to tapes were usually Maxell or TDK but I was tempted by the BBC tapes because I worked for the BBC from 1979 to 2000 and I liked having some BBC branded tapes. I now only have six that are sealed because I wanted to check what tape was inside. It is exactly the same as your one. I presume the others are too because they came from the same batch.

[@Sandino22]

Just found your channel a few months ago, as I have gotten back into cassettes and have watched many of your vids. Great work I have learned a lot, thanks!

[@gazjones4763]

"BBC wouldn't put its name to junk" true statement back then... However Mrs Browns Boys...

[@CassetteComeback]

😆

[@DVDandFilmBloke]

Oh and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and Open all Hours (yeah I never understood the appeal). In my opinion the BBC is clogged with junk and have been since 1999 and the tax payer is forced into paying (regardless if they watch the BBC or not). Yeah, I know I'm biased since I want to see the licence fee scrapped (make the BBC earn there money, there days of leeching are hopefully numbered). This is not a critique of the video or the tapes themselves because the BBC actually weren't the joke they were back than as they are now. I know I'm a bit of a hypocrite but I don't want this to turn into a shouting match and I didn't want to join the comments just to slag the BBC off, it was just vaguely relevant to this comment (why bother slagging them off here when there are plenty of videos elsewhere).

[@FiguredOutReviews1]

Don't usually comment but just dropping one to show support and say I love your stuff. Cheers.

[@paper_panzer]

Glad to see the comments section is back, the trolls can stick it where the sun don't shine... Another excellent demo Tony!

[@stpworld]

What is that sony av switch you have called with the tape loop? I cant find your video were you featured it

[@ralphreinhardt6020]

Hi Tony, great to see a new video from you. Made my morning. Just when I thought you'd found every cassette in the world. You go and find more, very cool ! Keep up the great work sir . 🖐🙂👍

[@Rompler_Rocco]

Excellent! Better day now. Thank you, Tony.

[@seeyouinmist3924]

i take no greater pleasure that watching excellent vintage electronics whirr around in Tony's videos. This one is better than any prime time TV that's on at the moment, although I did enjoy the tribute to Bobby Ball. Rock on Tony!

[@Lone49Wolf]

Hey Tony, I just wanted to say thank you for uploading this video, as it arrived at a very good time for me. I have been at home recovering from Covid and your video was a bright spot in my day, and lifted my spirits. So Thank you! John

[@CassetteComeback]

Get well soon, and the s statistics say you will.

[@jammasterj13]

Great video. I used these tapes back in the day, for recording my DJ mixes

[@TheBrandonn]

My guess is bbc is probably some pretty good quality cassettes. I had their Wallace and gromit vhs set as a kid and it still looked amazing even after the 200th watch 😂

[@ChrisJones-ri2jx]

Really look forward to your videos.... such enthusiasm for something that is very important to many of us... Since I rediscovered loads of old tapes( mostly no good... humidity dust and no covers) and bought a good deck cr2... I've started make tapes again.... not up to albums but so much fun to make and play...... hope that I'll find a reasonably priced 3 head deck.... Haha..... Keep up the good work Tony Chris in rural lockdown France

[@psychofreak1982]

Thank you so much Tony! I'm going to order some BBC Type I tapes right now. I love your videos!

[@danupton3636]

Always enjoy your videos. Annoyingly watching them usually leads to another order being placed. Keep up the excellent work. Don't let the trolls get you down. Keep doing what you do, its great.

[@vinkoivomilicdiaz6932]

We want a special for the Philips FX Ferro tapes with the red seal (mid-90's). Very interesting.

[@MatthewNorthArchive]

Great Video. I used them all the time back in the day. The logo on the tapes was the BBC sport logo that was licenced via BBC enterprises at the time John Birt era where strange things like this happened. They were never actually used much at the beeb, the cassettes of choice used were TDK Ar and D !

[@bletheringfool]

These are great. I personally used to find them in the local BBC shop (and Woolworths). I remember in the BBC shop bargain corner, for a while, I got a few of these cheap when they changed their logo in the 90s and were looking rid. I also bought a TARDIS pin badge for 50p around the same time. I will say this, the BBC are still technically making Red Dwarf as they own UKTV/Dave. For me having the stickers with the old BBC logo on them is nostalgic too.

[@luthiercremona]

Hi Tony!Thanks for the vídeo!Last generación BBC CDS was the one I liked the most.Really velvet sound with clear hights.and fuller bass.Perfect!!Regards!

[@jeremytravis360]

Hi Tony, I just spoke to my friend Peter who was a BBC sound engineer. He told me that internally within the BBC they used basic Agfa ferric tapes and TDK Metal for broadcast use. He said he didn't know what they used for marketing but they tended to stick with brands they already knew as policy. I always thought that BASF chrome tapes were excellent.

[@CassetteComeback]

Nice. Oh yeah, this was just a little side earner for all involved, but it worked out well for us consumers.

[@MatthewNorthArchive]

@@CassetteComeback See my comment above!

[@mrx7956]

Hey Tony, even if easier said than done, but let the haters hate, ignore them. You do a wonderful job and thanks to you I found my new love for cassettes. They are an old technology and some are weaker then others. There is no competition to win. It's just a wonderful hobby. Let's simply enjoy it... So do I enjoying almost all of your videos.

[@granttaylor3697]

There is hope for the hobby, I am working some very new technology for Cassette decks for the 2020's, with a new type of noise reduction, digital bias and a tracking system to minimize wow and flutter. I have got the first prototype now working with dual bias AC/digital and now working on the adaptive noise reduction, that will be able to emulate B & C type, that is programmable for a range of settings for record and playback. The performance is good as any mid range Cassette decks of the 1990's, to make improvements to this old format, this technology requires high bias type 2 tapes, that are getting harder to find these days.

[@cjmillsnun]

I remember these very well, and still have a stash of unused gen 1 type 2s, and no, they are not for sale.

[@roberttaylor7462]

These were good; just went back to some of mine recorded in the old days and found to still be so.

[@GrahamAtDesk]

I don't think I ever saw one of the Beeb's audio cassettes, but in our family the BBC VHS tapes were the go-to option. We really rated them.

[@gajdankristof5768]

Yey, now i can thank you for getting me into this hobby😅 Great channel btw!

[@markphilpot4981]

Loved the story on the Revox B215 you made a while back. These certainly turned out alright. Hope you, your family and your mates are all well and Covid free. We’re having a resurgence of it here in the colonies. Not a pretty picture. Hopefully soon we’ll have a new Pressie! Stay safe mates! God bless you Tony!😊👍🏻😷

[@mapp4751]

would love to purchase a few more of these,did get an FX as a very welcome bonus with an order much appreciated! Cheers!

[@Seven-ny6rq]

I remember buying these BBC cassettes at the checkout at B&Q back in the day. Cheap as chips at £4.99 for a C90 10 pack. Never expected them to sound as good as they did. However some did play ‘tight’ on my personal stereo and car cassette player.. So much so that the auto stop would click in and stop the player. Overall though a great bargain cassette. Wished they’d only come out about 10 years sooner than they did when I was heavily buying cassettes in the 1980’s

[@KoolAidBuzz]

Just started the video but had to say I'm glad to see the comment section back! Who doesn't like talking to Tony?!

[@dougbergen8157]

Thx for the great video again. Learning about cassettes I own and ones I've never seen. Btw where is the link to the scan you made of the Scotch recording pamphlete. Thx

[@chinawheels3558]

CASSSETTESSSSS??? GOOOOOOOD!!!!!! Hahaha... Seriously, I love it when you calibrate tapes and go through the whole process. Man, do what you love, we can feel your passion and that's exactly why we're here (or at least why I am here).

[@imansfield]

Great video Tony! Don’t listen to the haters. I could sit and geek-out to your videos all day! I do actually have some of those BBC chrome tapes stashed away somewhere. You’ve inspired me to crack them open and do a lovely recording!

[@CassetteComeback]

It's easy to not listen to the haters when it's not aimed at yourself...you can only get slagged off so many times before you decide to switch off...

[@imansfield]

@@CassetteComeback yes I can imagine it would get you down. I got a nasty reply to a tweet once and it did really upset me. So sorry you’ve had to put up with this.

[@kirkmooneyham]

Just as a generic statement, darker Type I tape usually tends to sound at least decent, I guess the cobalt helped quite a bit.

[@perfectelectricals4447]

Good one 👌CDS 60 & FX 60 earlier i got ths 1 frm my frnd in 1998

[@oliverlotus]

I appreciate your passion Tony. I put more or less anything in my Nak BX150 and DR-8 and they make great recordings. And not a third head in sight!! Keep up the good work!

[@BigKelvPark]

Another great job. Is that a small chip on the front of the meter panel on the CR-7? That would have me in tears.

[@johnfourshareddotcom9928]

great to see this - you've confirmed what I think about the BBC cassettes - great quality ....their similarly branded VHS tapes were great too probably still got a load of cassettes and VHS tapes still sealed .... so sad that so many people dumped their old cassettes .... no matter, I still pick up blank tapes for next to nothing - if you know where to look ....

[@pootis3836]

Hey, comments are on. Lovely! Don't be nasty now poeple so that they can stay on. Love the videos!

[@CassetteComeback]

Saying "Don't be nasty" on social media is like asking water not to be wet...

[@pootis3836]

@@CassetteComeback Yeah you're right. :( But one can hope.

[@analoguecity3454]

I enjoy watching you calibrate! I guess that makes me a nerd!?

[@CassetteComeback]

Like the rest of us in here...

[@benkrake3678]

Honestly Tony, if people don’t like the way you do your videos, then they can go jump. I rather enjoy watching your videos in fact, it was because of your videos that I got back into using cassettes. Keep up the good work! 🙂

[@interstat2222]

BBC blank media’s biggest UK stockist was WHSmith. Strand’s other big brand Bush was mostly Argos, Goodmans went mostly to Index. Once they came down with Bush tapes when I ordered BBC from the catalogue and the manager told me “they’re just the same”!

[@user-zt2bj3rb1k]

Hello from Ukraine. Thank you for the video

[@vikramjitbanerjeetuki]

Thanks for these videos ❤️

[@vnv_jruza]

I love your roast of the daft comments :D I'm also enjoying the music selection today.

[@Ale.K7]

Great sound!

[@stvlu733]

Cassettes GOOOOOOD! LOL! I use them everyday on my high end equipment an like them still with all the minor flaws. Analog still has it's place for sound in my stereo setup.

[@ralphreinhardt6020]

Me too cheers .

[@nicomeier8098]

I'm Dutch so I have never heard of these BBC tapes. I would love to have some of those real Chrome tapes - they sound fantastic to me, really musical.

[@CassetteComeback]

That's the thing, you don't know what you're going to get as I've had many that were Ferro cobalt.

[@JD-lk7im]

Hi Tony and all.. I had a rummage through my collection when you mentioned Goldstar. I come across a couple of sealed Goldstar Chrome-X CRX 90 made in Korea that mimic TDK SA90's.. Any clues? Ta v much

[@CassetteComeback]

Yeah, there's 3 different types of these. 2 of them are as good as an sa-x in my book.

[@cubdukat]

The hubs strike me as kinda BASF Ferro Extra 1-ish. Did BASF ever do any OEM work? It would certainly account for the pure chrome aroma.

[@madtopp]

hey tony could you connect the cassette to your camera so we can here the tapes propperly. i had a few of these nip tapes with a assortment i brought last year and i agree the 92 versions do luck great and tbh i could not tell any diff between the tape/source on them but again as i have said before i watch through a now tv box then later comment on a laptop . oh and a bit of topic i was watching a repair vid on u-tube the other day of a repair /service of a what he says is a dragon slayer called the JVC TD-V1010 what do recon as these are supposed to be very rare. and at the begining of the video i thought that chir looks kinda flat then i realised you have a new surface to use

[@lennymaunton3183]

Just got 12 bbc FX super ferric unwrapped and sealed for £26 so will give them a go

[@anthonyr.3697]

Thank god i can ask so many questions now. 1st one, what are some underrated portable cassette players that cost less than they should because of the brand, look, abundance, date made, etc? Any help appreciated, thank you.

[@CassetteComeback]

Aiwa and Panasonic. They're still cheap compared to Sony.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

I've used plenty of these BBC cassettes, and on a decent deck with auto calibration, can sound good especially the type 2 chrome CDS cassettes. I've also had Sky brand cassettes done through Strand in type I ferric and type II chrome and these were also pretty good especially on a deck with auto calibration.

[@wrestletube1]

The Type I Ferrics sounded like way better performers here. It seemed like all 4 were Cobalt Doped Super Ferrics though in the first place but it seems like Ferric format was never up to the 70 Type II bios format for taking those big volumes unlike in Ferric mode but thats exactly why Type II Cobalt Type Ferrics were one of my Type I favorates because being Ferric format it was interchangeable for use on a Sanyo CD Dual Tapes Boombox I just put toilet parer in the second half of the recording tab hole and off I went recording on a Cobalt Doped Super Ferric on a boombox but then again the boombox may have ust accepted my tape anyway even with no bios switch I can't remember now but I did use bog roll sometimes anyway for taping over stuff with no tape around so I could be confused on my own methods. Oh Number 4 was real Chrome nice surprise there I wasn't expeccting no wonder why that required lower levels and Number 4 sounded a lot better on the king of Chromes as well what a surprise after hearing it on the other recorder the quality difference. I liked Number 3 the look and stuff the best but the performance wasn't impressive as the +5 of numbers 1 & 2 and all 3 of them are Ferrics but then maybe it would have performed as +5 as a Type I as it's still a Ferric who knows. It's 3 for looks and 1 or 2 for sound quality for me because they were Ferrics that took the +5 levels and that is noramlly a sign of a great Ferric quality but 3 was the winner in the one I would get a shell of.

[@oliverlotus]

If you've never tried it - Autoglym Vinyl and plastic renovator & a soft paintbrush does amazing things for 80's 90's audio components cosmetics.

[@rakondite]

Just a teeny bit of info for non Brits (and brits who don't know): The British TV licence fee also funds BBC radio (along with licensing of BBC material worldwide) and a small proportion Channel 4 funding (and I believe channel 5) as they are required to provide a specific range of programming.

[@sylviazittersteijn5174]

hi there, im not sure why anyone would complain about your videos,keep up the good work

[@gazjones4763]

Thats a fucking tune you've used to test this with. Superb.

[@richardwells1684]

I used to work in Currys and Dixons stores and picked up a few packs of these back in the day. Always kind of hoped they'd be OK, given the BBC affiliation. Still got a few, I'll have to give them a run.

[@HostiaRecords]

Yeah, Cassette Comeback is comeback

[@hannemankingtube]

Try listening to these vids on x1.25 speed, the pacing is much better ,and as his voice is quite low it still sounds normal at x1.25. If you do turn back to x1, his voice sounds really laboured. Sorry Tony(?), the content is excellent either way.

[@oliverlotus]

Just about to record Morrissey's new album onto a 1982 BASF Cr02 on my Nak DR-8.

[@Peterjames3535]

Have you ever used Columbia 1H and 3H Type 1 cassettes, they seem to be rare now. These two are listed in the user manual for my Aiwa AD-6550 which dates from about 1978.

[@CassetteComeback]

No, but Columbia cassettes turned in to Denon.

[@Peterjames3535]

@@CassetteComeback Oh wow, that’s amazing because I have a Denon PCM Master, Jazz cassette sampler tape here from the late 80’s and it does say in small print Columbia.co.ltd. Thanks

[@metadoe]

Ay yo mate, could you review a Sony TC-KE500S? Big fan from California

[@CassetteComeback]

I don't have one

[@DVDandFilmBloke]

I had no idea the BBC branded audio cassettes, I know they branded video cassettes (in VHS format, I don't think they branded cassettes for Betamax or V2000).

[@tarstarkusz]

Did the ones you recorded back in the day hold up? Do they still sound great today?

[@CassetteComeback]

They took a battering at the time in walkmans and the car, but all my old cassettes went in the bin around 2000.

[@josephfrye7342]

interesting and briliant cassette i wish i can find those British korean Japanese aisan style import cassettes though. but some are 1st gen version before it was later the 2nd gen version.

[@aman-mn5kc]

I remember back in the days, the first 10 seconds always sounded "drunk" when picking up a cassette to make a recording.

[@winni223]

Were they intended for recording BBC One and BBC Two respectively? ;) P.S.Thanks for making another video!!!!

[@tarstarkusz]

The people bidding the prices up are the same people who pay $100 for patch cables and a hundred or more for speaker cables. Cassettes were made by the millions. You can still buy most tubes for a buck or 2 and tubes haven't been made since the 70s and many of them since the 60s. Some guy just died with a warehouse that had over a million tubes in it and an online store. If there are that many NOS tubes still around, there has got to be a LOT of cassettes out there. I collect retro games and EBAY taught us all a valuable lesson back in the 90s, which is that none of this stuff is rare in any real sense. The only thing truly rare are prototypes. The capital costs to make consumer goods like tapes is enormous. It only works in volume. You have to be able to make and sell millions. Granted there might be specific formulations that are rare, but if they are, they probably weren't any good and were discontinued for that reason. Since most people will not have used them before, they have no nostalgic value. There are likely ungodly numbers of NOS tapes out there just waiting to be sold on ebay.

[@CassetteComeback]

I wish I knew where they were. I too had thousands of retro games that I hoovered up in the late 90s when everything went 3D. I cashed out about 5 years ago and was stunned by what they sold for (especially my AES carts)...but if I'd kept them until now they would have been worth double again. Like with video games, from a personal point of view, a turn at the table is getting too rich for me...

[@kiirunavaara]

Nice one! My guess is that the shells and hubs in the later version are from Forward. The secret is in the D-shaped clamp, where LG/GoldStar used the thicker C-shaped clamps instead: www.ez647.sk/cc/cievky/lg_wr.JPG Forward was really versatile when it came to mimicking others' hubs and shells. One detail which often reveals them are these somewhat TDK-ish D-clamps: www.ez647.sk/cc/cievky/philips_stv_wb.JPG But still you can't be sure that you have a Forward cassette there if you see hubs with these clamps, as others like Kolormagnetics made, er, "tribute" versions of them... :-) Oh, and please forgive me if I disagree about the older BBC FX' slip sheets - I don't really like them, not only because they hide too much of the tape, but also because they didn't mirror the design for side B, which leads to the back of the printed areas covering the few remaining transparent parts when you hold up the cassette against the light. Okay, it was still innovative in 1992 to make so much design out of a slip sheet, so there's still some interesting appeal to them.

[@CassetteComeback]

They looked good as a kid, but yeah, they're not practical now.

[@sanek1647]

Кассеты распечатаны Супер отлично!!! Отличный обзор характеристик! Благодарю! The cassettes are opened Super excellent!!! Excellent overview of the characteristics! Thank you!

[@mrnmrn1]

Tony, I'd like to grab the opportunity of the working comment section to discuss something about pure chrome tapes. I purchased some used pure chrome, mostly BASF, some AGFA, a Magna, an old slide-case Memorex, and an old Audio Magnetics recently, and I have a new BASF Chrome Extra II (in the "transversally reinforced' shell). I have a bad feeling that they're gone, even the better ones and the new CE II is on the way out. The strange thing with the old, used ones that they sound good with the original 20-40 years old recordings on them, but if I try to record onto them, the new recording is horrible. Yes, my 3 head deck (Sony TC-K511S) has manual bias and level calibration. Some of them I can't even calibrate to, if I crank the bias all the way down, and the level all the way up, it's still not enough, while an other example of the very same cassette calibrates perfectly with the same deck (yet those still don't sound right either). No matter how soft I record them, some of them distort the bass even at -8dB, the better ones around -4...-3dB. And that level of variation can appear within examples of the same cassette type from the same year. I am curious if is there any research about what happens with these chrome tapes over time? The really odd thing to me is that the old recordings sounding good (except the heavy print-through in some cases) even on the ones that I can't even calibrate to. I should check how well I can record on old chrome VHS tapes with a VCR. If those are bad as well, probably some nasty chemical degradation attacks the chromedioxide particles, and probably they are all doomed within a few years. Thankfully somehow it seemingly won't ruin the old recordings, just the re-recording capability of the tape. What are your observations about this? I know you mentioned degrading chrome tapes in some of your videos, but I can't remember if you mentioned while they're degrading, the original recording mostly remains intact, you just can't properly record on them anymore.

[@CassetteComeback]

As much as many will say to the contrary, pure chrome's are the hardest to now get a good recording on, especially on a late Japanese deck. When I compare a NOS chrome with an SA, they levels and bias differences are so big that I can't believe they would have released the tape like that back in the day, as they would have got so many returns. All I can conclude is that they are deteriorating. This seems to effect double coated and cobalt doped chrome's less than single coat.

[@kiirunavaara]

CrO2 is not chemically stable in the atmosphere. The pigment needs to be hermetically incapsulated into the binder dispersion, and remains quite stable in there as long as it does not get into contact with air and, even worse, humidity. Tape manufacturers put down lots of efforts on trying to stabilize the chrome pigment in the binder. You can find a row of patents by BASF and others on the subject online. Some personal observations: My chrome tapes which have always been stored at home in the quite dry climate of the living room hold up quite well. Those that have been in the car for a while, or been stored in the cellar, where it is cooler, but higher humidity, show more signs of deterioration. Tapes which have been fast rewound before storing are also more affected than those which have run through in play or record mode, which gives a tighter tape pack, resulting in less exposure of the tape surface to the atmosphere. BASF chromes which have been stored well are usually still good for recording, even though you need to make some compromises in sensitivity and output level. Agfa pure chromes from up until the mid-80's are mostly useless for re-recording now, but have already been so by the mid-90's :-) PDM and later Oosterhout-made formulas seem to hold up best of all pure chromes. At the end of the day, none of these will last forever. For irreplacable recordings, you are safer with a good FeCo, superferric or metal formulation. But you can probably slow down the degradation of pure chromes to a good extent by storing them dry, at moderate room temperature, and with a tight tape pack. It is humidity in combination with extreme temperature that kills them.

[@mrnmrn1]

@@CassetteComeback Thanks a lot for the answer. I think my deck would be fine for a good condition pure chrome, because I found some which doesn't need the cal pots turned to extremes. So even you with your huge batch of cassettes can't find a single example of pure chrome tape that is close to the bias of ferric cobalt type IIs? I've found on a (I think tapeheads) forum thread that they were marketed and individually tested by magazines to be very close to ferric cobalt formulations when they were new. So I have no more doubts, they are deteriorating. What I still don't understand is how possibly this deterioration not affect the existing recordings, while makes re-recording completely impossible on some examples. I guess the breakdown distorts the magnetization curve of the particles while somehow not affecting their magnetic retention. I will do some experiments in the future to find out, is it possible to make an OK recording on them if I modify a deck to extreme wide bias adjustment limits (like from almost zero to type IV levels of continous adjustment capability). I also have a very old noname Taiwanese/Hong-Kong made Type 0 ferric which acts like that. It sure was horrible even when it was new, but there's a voice recording on it, which has acceptable quality for what it is. If I try to record on it now, practically there is nothing on the tape. Doesn't matter to which extremes I crank the cal pots, if I record on it with +6dB, I may get a very distorted playback at -10dB. The 30-40 old recording on it is at around 0dB, and not distorted... I am also very curious how my old pure chrome VHS tapes will pass the recording test. The current recordings on them look fine. I may do the test this week, and report the results here.

[@mrnmrn1]

@@kiirunavaara Thank you for the very detailed reply. You nailed it, the most horrible in the batch are the AGFA and Magna ones (IIRC Tony said in one of his videos that Magna also used AGFA tapes)... :) This batch must have been kept under horrible climatic conditions, because most BASFs are bad as well. A few '90s made one might be acceptable. So I guess I would need a strong vacuum pump, some air tight containers, then replace the air with pure nitrogen for storing pure chrome tapes in them :) . Jokes aside, I will probably keep the usable ones in ziplock bags with a small bag of silica gel per cassette.

[@fedepede04]

Thanks Now I know... Cassette good 😂 Love your videos 👍

[@Alex-td5ed]

Can you do a video on a video cassette (VHS) or even start selling them (that would be cool) 😀📼

[@CassetteComeback]

I did a video on a portable VHS player I bought. Other than that the only (passing) interest I have in VHS is the awesome cover art of the pre-recorded titles.

[@watershed44]

@@CassetteComeback I'd be interested in those VHS tape reviews too. Lots of people in the USA recorded stereo audio onto VHS or SVHS tapes and the quality was amazing.

[@Thanson199415]

It's Christmas! The comments section is finally enabled o.0

[@yanks1fan09]

I miss the Leather Chair!

[@CassetteComeback]

Me too, but it's knackered.

[@Leurak]

why were comments turned off in pretty much all of your videos?

[@CassetteComeback]

They're turned off on all of them apart from this. These are only on by accident. Let's see how long it is until some bitter person decides to personally attack me and I turn them off on here too...

[@user-zt2bj3rb1k]

@@CassetteComeback People are envious. Don't mind this. Love what you do.

[@CassetteComeback]

I don't disagree, but it's hard when you do something for nothing to read constant personal abuse, hence why I turned them off. This is a 38 minute video and within 11 minutes I already had my first thumbs down...

[@Rompler_Rocco]

@@CassetteComeback Oh, no! I totally appreciate what you're doing, Tony. But if there is *anything* I can do to help solve this troll problem, I'm here. It is awful that these idiots have any power to shut down an otherwise excellent comments section.

[@macdaniel6029]

Tony, please don´t let some morons take you down. Without the comment section it is just not the same. I´ve never read real negative comment about you or your work. Thank you for your videos, please keep the comment section alive. Haters gonna hate.

[@Fluteboy]

I would look at these cassettes and think: "Are these for recording Steve Wright or Danny Baker? Do I need Virgin branded cassettes for recording Nick Abbot?"

[@mrnmrn1]

Tony, seems like the sync is off by seconds. 14:48

[@CassetteComeback]

Yeah, it's well off. Bloody editing software. I'd buy Adobe Premiere, but it's £30 a month...

[@stevesstuff1450]

Yes, it is..... on all the music recording segments by 3 or 4 seconds! Oh well, at least we got to hear how the tapes sounded...

[@mrnmrn1]

@@CassetteComeback Nevermind, this way it was almost a 'blind test' for the cassettes, as I had a hard time to distinguish when we listened to the tape and when to the source. I had to crank up the volume quite much to hear the tape hiss in the background. It means that these are indeed very good tapes. Especially for the price.

[@analogidc1394]

I have many different cassettes from the 70's through to the 90's, and some of the worst sounding ones I own are Sony cassettes from the 80's. I'm not sure if it's because they haven't aged well, or I don't remember how bad they sounded when I recorded onto them back in the day. I tried to rerecord onto one of them but, it sounded like quite muddy.

[@CassetteComeback]

Could be storage. From personal experience, I've never had a bad Sony cassette.

[@AlexTechYT]

I really enjoy your videos. I'm saving up to buy a few metal tapes from you by the way if those internet troll idiots start coming here, you should be able to delete and block them from the comments section in KZbin studio :)

[@CassetteComeback]

I can, but you have to read the crap first and after the nth one, you think it's just better to not read them.

[@AlexTechYT]

@@CassetteComeback Don't let them bother you, they clicked on the video so its at lest +1 view

[@SilvioTischer]

this is what we like. take some crappy tapes and turn them into gold

[@interstat2222]

Don’t think Strand ever made for Woolies. In VHS, Woolies were major BASF stockists (probably UK’s biggest) and got them to make them VHS tapes for them (along with Memorex who were essentially BASF near the end anyway). Woolies Audiotapes not sure who made them.

[@Rompler_Rocco]

🤔 Just obtained an interesting cassette, a late model Memorex "CDX2 Professional", completely identical to the CD2 true chrome, yet it says "Revolutionary Epitaxial Cobalt Magnetite Formulation". Anyone have any experience with these? I only have 2... will happily donate one to Tony if it's of any interest.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

The BBC never should have gotten rid of that logo.

[@zahrans]

The BBC never should have done a lot of things in the last decade or two....

[@HogGreen]

BBC FX Type 1 it is a Konica XR-I

[@CassetteComeback]

Yeah, all Saehan made.

[@wrestletube1]

+5 Signal now that does the talking more than my random rabbit about working out the true origins of Strand tapes it shows off what we really care about the quality of these tapes and how impressive or how shite they are.

[@eduardomalapit5825]

very good tapes...u can not distinguished the difference between the source and tape sound

[@mrnmrn1]

Hey, comments section is working again! Hooray! Please keep it like that, Tony. What happened? One very serious troll, or many 'usual'? You probably discussed it on Facebook, but I don't and won't have a Facebook account.

[@CassetteComeback]

Let's see how nasty and personal the comments get on this...

[@wrestletube1]

Having their own Production Music Library on FirstCom, Having their own records and cassette singles labels and having their own Sound Effects and Soundtrack libraries as well does tell you something that their tapes couldn't be crap or they would not be deemed good enough for their main purpose although they brought it over to consumer markets as well so people can enjoy uing their recordables in their own home like many other legit record label brands who brought out their own tapes for extra funds too EMI Supers anyone along with others who were legit record labels releasing the tapes they use as a consumer product line too.

[@wrestletube1]

Wait it's labled Strand The Video Collection as well as Korea the plot thickens that if BBC used these they are a very good 3rd party and not a bad one but being before 1994 and the birth of Scihan according to 45 spaces it rules it down to SKC. And it thickens even more if you add in the death of EMI and Berec Strand cassettes in their own right and that the round hubs of the earlier Strand tapes somewhat got into Korea down the line and became a second line of Scihan hubs in 1994 according to your own hubs video and maybe a second line SKC as well as these would be SKC and yeah seems like they put it on the Chrome and not the Super Ferric but those round hubs are indeed on one of these SKC's. Ok so after the nerdy guess is over guess I'd better take it back to you then Tony to watch the rest of the video see if I'm right with the SKC guess or even Scihan if Strand VCI got this new unamed company to make a product for them using their very own old EMI Super reels and their new Korean quality asian formula tape befor Scihan became to be. lol Ok it's turning into a ramble now lets watch and find the mysteries within right now. I do like to guess what it is with the clues when the comments are back what the OEM is before it's revealed makes it more fun now. I still think whatever brand it ends up being the product inside is just sent to a Korean production plant rebranded repurposed after EMI's Feltham's Demise EMI Super Chrome and EMI Super Type 1 anyway because of the Strand and Thorn EMI relationship thing down below and the fact they had a relationship with Korea after if it's better than EMI Supers it's because like with newer ranges of tapes the Korean plant took care of adapting the formular to newer quality standards but the base formula stayed the same as when it was done in the EMI plant I recon but things like Cobalt doping and Super Avalon particles became the norm so hey started going with the flow putting all that on their formula making it better at the new Korean plant as well. The V3 BERECs Strands already sounded better than I remember my beloved V2 real EMIs sounding but then all mine are kiddie trashed by myself so turned into Type 0s with my own child antics even to the extent they are plain black non labeled now but V2 was apperently better than V1 because that guy on twitter with the picture of the reel of a v1 burnt them so they must have been a real Type 0 V1 unless of course bad deck or he did it himself as a child but yeah Strands are known for improving their quality with every new revision both at the Korea plant and the old EMI plant as it is a BBC Super Ferric and Super Chrome Edit: It's CDS or CD Supers this time but I'm close no doubt it was a new updated formula of an an old Strand Super branded relic anyway albeit at a Korean plant not a EMI UK plant anymore. thorn-emi-video-uk.fandom.com/wiki/Now_That%27s_What_I_Call_Music_Video video-collection-international.fandom.com/wiki/Now_That%27s_What_I_Call_Music_Video Woaaaaa a second generation from RACS Eastern Europe I never expected that knocks the whole going back to EMI Supers again a whole lotta rambling rabbit now even though the plants are actually only middle men who take formulas or formula adaptations off of Strand VCI anyway so maybe it still all goes back to EMI Supers and new formula changes to adapt to the times at different plants in different places who knows now. lol Now Goldstar hubs on one as well. Well the saying does go with unknown looking tapes, you can make a tape out of a different brands hub, a different brand wheels, a different brand rollers, a different brand leaders and a different brand tape as well as a different brand shell and a different distribution brand so maybe the Scooby Doo sometimes amounts to nothing anyway yet alone EMI Supers lol. Giving Strand formulas to the OEM brands to make new tapes for them though means they could keep that formula and put them on other non Strand brands tapes as well as Strand sold these plants their full set of formulas from Type 0 to Type 4 to be the brand to make the new formulas for them and it's probably the case they sell them the final revision and ask them can they adapt this formula we are selling to you to make it even better in your version hen they give Strand that revision formula and so on. Strand is so confusing we should leave the Scooby Doo to the real experts but the fingerprints starts at Thorn EMI's and The Video Collection International and their relationship to sell VHS on both brands as a budget and normal version as well as Strand outsourcing EMI Supers, Hi-Fi, Super Chome, Star, Soundhog ect on audio tapes at the same time and EMI Plant Feltham actually being a real thing at the time so the original formula probably leads to the UK. Thats it for me so baffled about how many countries and brands outsourced updated formulas to Strand now but it's interesting all the same even if I am speaking crap about the origins leading to EMI Supers in the 70s and each revision and 3rd party rename getting a new adaption to the formula and sometimes new looks and hubs. lol The Strand version of The Video Collection even has a few logos that is something that does make sense when it comes to Stand exclusive to the US mind you because in the UK they probably didn't want to use their real name on their VHS brand to cheapen the product even more than already sounding like a budget range and the Strand version really does look cheap compared to the UK version as well it looks like it's the UK one but the radar thing is blanked out in the space and when the logo pops up it looks like a cheaper AMIGA Deluxe Paint which would have been the standard back then overed in red and text changed version but the text looks a lot cheaper than our one. lol kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYaad2OvmK56q7c kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2PRf3qtba-Fhac Ok time to stop talking just yet my watching do the talking. But now someone in the topic even threw TDK, BASF and Agfa in the ring as well to confuse us even more about the origins. lol.

[@Thanson199415]

How am I able to direct message Tony?

[@CassetteComeback]

You can't any more. I got inundated so now what you see it all that you get.

[@elk3909]

it may be controversial but i want my tapes to put out their maximum at all frequencies without distortion to get the best signal to noise ratio at all frequency ranges and than use a post eq to bring the frequencies and hiss down to my ears preferred response. everyone seem to want the tape to match the source but than the sparkle is not produced and this makes it sound very on focus and sharp

[@showstopperrob1097]

It's not a suprise to me the ReVoX is the king

[@GREENTICKETRO]

The hubs from FX cassette they are looking like hubs VCI normal tapes

[@hifi.david.]

Wooooo new subscriber here

[@James_Ryan]

Whoa, 1992 seems very late to be releasing a brand of cassettes (that was the year that I switched to Minidisc). Mind you, £1 for an SA replacement is an absolute bargain (and way less than the cost of blank MDs!)

[@CassetteComeback]

It was when cassettes were still near their peak. MD unfortunately made little impact, like DCC, it was only when CD-R in the late 90s started becoming affordable that the cassette was doomed.

[@James_Ryan]

@@CassetteComeback Cheers for the info. I've always thought it was MP3 players that doomed cassettes, but CD-Rs makes sense.

[@scotthullinger4684]

One of the best cassette tapes I've used has been a premium quality normal bias tape. Very good over all, but maybe not the best for the most high energy music. Otherwise, the best I've used have always been metal tapes, no question of it. But my God, why are cassettes SO very expensive these days? Quite seriously - a blank tape (metal) can end up costing more, sometimes far more, than the item which you're copying. $50 for a 2 pack of 90 or 110 minute metal tapes.

[@CassetteComeback]

Because they haven't been made for about 20 years, never will be made again, and all tapeheads want them...

[@scotthullinger4684]

@@CassetteComeback - If the demand is actually there, then I can only assume the demand will eventually be met by manufacturers. But demand is most likely not great enough to justify manufacturing them. For one thing, most people don't have a functioning tape deck, and never had one. Maybe the only tape player they ever had was part of a car stereo system. I have two tape decks, and one of them, my Onkyo, bit the dust. I have a Nakamichi which still works just fine. But it's not a Dragon.