Recording The Masters - RTM Fox C60 Cassette K7 Kassette - Quick Review - PRODUCTION VERSION

A "quick and dirty" review of the production version of the Recording The Masters RTM Fox C60 cassette.
Track used is a WAV file of "Tears In Rain" By Villarosso - My music production alter ego : open.spotify.com/album/3UKNVa...
CASSETTE DECK USED: Aiwa AD-S950
If you'd like to purchase cassettes shown in this video, visit my online store at:
www.cassettecomeback.com
Follow me on Facebook for special offers and new stock alerts:
/ cassettecomeback

[@Kezzeract]

You said one of the most important things you could have said, in this video; "Support them". For god's sake support RTM all you can. We don't want another tape manufacturer going bust! It's such a beautiful medium that, I'm sure, none of us want to see the death of.

[@CassetteComeback]

I agree and I have supported them. It's just there is so much NOS cassettes still out there, and I know I'm a dealer, but I'm seeing NOS Type 1 sell many times over compared to the Fox. We like the idea that someone is out there still making tapes, but when it comes to putting our money down, do we buy a Fox C60 or 2 X Sony HF90 for the same price?

[@michaelhausner9614]

I just bought a couple of these. They're sounding very good, and there's really low destorsion at high levels. Really good NEW cassette.

[@Musicradio77Network]

I heard that the C90 version is coming out on August 1st according to the RTM Facebook page. Can’t wait to review this one.

[@Seiskid]

Just found this channel. Nice review. Thanks for tying out these tapes.

[@lesrogers7310]

Great video and nice cassette deck....I have one of those. I've reconditioned mine with new belts and a good service. I have too say they produce superb recordings on all tape types.

[@CassetteComeback]

I love that deck. Can maintain it myself and it's always makes great recordings. I like that Aiwa is overlooked...my fave portable is an Aiwa too.

[@sevcaczech5961]

Great review Tony. Seems like there is a slight distortion at +4-6dB level, but very decent at +2dB. I like the sound, great tape. I must try mine.

[@CassetteComeback]

To be fair, I never record a basic ferric above 0db, I just wanted to see how far I could push them for the sake of the video.

[@alexeizhiltsov6797]

Thank you for the review! I have arrived to the same results using Sony TC-K777ES and Nakamichi Zx-680. Both, C60 and C90 showed great results. So I purchased several boxes of these. Only in once instance I have had a problem with C-90 cassette in which the tape flow became difficult, i.e. something is wrong with the case. I have not opened it yet to see what is the problem, but did not get upset as having plenty of old cassettes it is easy to install the tape from defective Fox into any of those.

[@m80116]

Check the rollers, they tend to cling. I lubed mine and they spin properly now. Also the guide pins could have been ingnored during assembly. I've since found at least one of my RTM cassette having the tape inside the guide pins.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Always appreciated when someone new steps into the ring with a newly manufactured magnetic tape. I wonder if it based on some formula that bigger brands used and this just being a current-day stock production of said formula. Also i just love the gorgeous orange. Not only for the labels but also for the tape-leader. Would be a great tape for small series home-recorded copies of an album someone would wanna sell and put selfmade Tape-labels on them. Ok, price wise they are pretty steep thou. Especially for Type1 material. I hope that price drops considerably. It just has to.

[@CassetteComeback]

The formulation is supposedly based on an 80s Agfa one.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

@@CassetteComeback cheers :)

[@sellmeyoursoul6601]

The C90 Fox with SKC hubs sounds better to me than c60 (or I cant dial it in), there is a new shell for the C90 now as the old one was pretty squeaky and its more expensive now. Overall the best choice for a tape nowadays, sounds like baby LPR 35 which it is. Hiss is the problem, esp if source has hiss aswell. It is great with dolby C, without it you have to record hot but it takes signal well. Very good response, good bass. Good for any genre of music, ofc if you dont mind abit of hiss on jazz or classical or whatever. I record at about -0,7 -1 bias after auto tape tuning on Yamaha kx 390. Support RTM couse its definitely the only quality cassette tape made today, their R2R tape is also great, so support them and Im sure they will develop a new formulation too

[@shaun9107]

Classic test , I have Lerned form these vids I almost thought this was another lost technology , Its hard to believe that they are re-making the same tapes again .

[@wildbilltexas]

I wonder how the Fox cassette compares to the current Maxell UR? The RTM Fox sounded a little crisper and handled the louder levels better than the TDK D which compressed it. I hope the new tape from NAC will be a better performer.

[@josephfrye7342]

good news villarosso has new album and singles updated at last on spotify :)

[@CanadianTalent1]

I recently put an order in for 2 new cassette tapes from wish.com. They were 2$ a piece, plus 1$ for shipping. I know they will be crap, but I'm looking forward to seeing just how bad they really are. P.S. I absolutely love your channel and I hope you stick around for a long time to come. I'm 27, and recently "re" discovered cassettes. I loved them when I was a kid, I made mixtapes all the time. Of course they were produced on a cheap RCA boombox so they sound like used cat litter being thrown at a window. I'm so happy to hear they are still producing new cassettes, both blank and pre-recorded. The cassette is coming back indeed.

[@CassetteComeback]

Ha! I have a video uploading as we speak that may spoil the surprise...

[@CanadianTalent1]

@@CassetteComeback How dare you!? Haha, I look forward to seeing it!

[@CassetteComeback]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJvdZWiHjbOWh6M

[@Musicradio77Network]

They are now selling it on eBay for a good price. I wish if there is going to be a 90-minute version of RTM’s Fox cassette in the future, as well as the 120-minute version.

[@graearea101]

did you reload newer AR to a proper 1988 housing? that's what should be done as the early 90s AD/AR cassettes were badly aligned.

[@75eszhgclk]

Sounded a little better than the d especially when driven hard. The ar went a bit better, but I always found that ar could almost be driven as hard as a metal. I haven't used my yamaha kx580 in quite a few years. You have stirred an awakening in me!

[@CassetteComeback]

Don't go there...it can become an expensive obsession. Run away while you can 😀

[@75eszhgclk]

@@CassetteComeback I like your videos very much. In the analogue era, i was very much at home. Anyone can download, but to create a good sounding tape took a bit of effort. Good videos. Thank you. Mark

[@CassetteComeback]

That's it. I make mixtapes with my kids. They'll treasure them. They won't treasure a playlist I shared...

[@DutchAlps]

That issue with the guidfance peg is actually something we have been able to see recently with all C-0 shells made by Italian manufacturer Musicbox. It seems that for playback performance it does not make a difference, but supposedly the peg takes off the stress from the rollers when, during FF or REW the tape reaches the end with a shock.

[@CassetteComeback]

Thanks for the insight. So, I couldn't just open the shell and manually thread it round? Thought it might have been due to the loading machine or something.

[@DutchAlps]

I think you can, the shell has screws. And I think you're right, apparently something is wrong with the production process of these C-0 shells.

[@CassetteComeback]

@@DutchAlps Yeah, I simply opened it up and moved to tape. Strange production problem, but at least it's an easy fix if it bothers someone.

[@mickaeljaeger7440]

@@CassetteComeback For information the audio tape from the C60 Fox is the same type from the 1/4" SM900 but divided by 2 (ex-BASF StudioMaster 900, the best high quality studio tape in history in my opinion)

[@CassetteComeback]

@@mickaeljaeger7440 Good to know, however since R2R is much wider tape, and runs much faster, then the inherent hiss of the tape isn't as much of a problem as when it's being run slower and thinner in a cassette.

[@milojenikolovski7522]

Very good tape, not fancy but sound is great, thanks for video. People in RTF from France know the job, they made professional grade tape for master studio recording.

[@OliverChesler]

Love the song!

[@bellandhowell2899]

Is there a U.K. distributor for these FOX C60 Cassettes?

[@rdrgtreer]

Very much like this song.

[@MatrixAlphaCWX]

Does this record it with or without Dolby on the cassette itself. Or is that only a playback option on this "Machine" to enhanced a tape being "played"

[@CassetteComeback]

If you engage Dolby on a recording deck, it will encode the recording with Dolby.

[@TheLeiPol]

It seems this company will start a Kickstarter for a new portable cassette player, stereo and recording possibility. Found this on the Vwestlife channel.

[@alexanderthomas542]

Sounds epic

[@chrisruehle6399]

You know, it really is all about the ears sometimes, and I was only listening to this, being a youtube video, on a set of headphones. But I personally thought the Fox had crisper highs, lower distortion and less compression at higher levels than the D. To me, it sounded on par with the AR, but again, just ears over a laptop. I have a box of Foxes coming, and will try them out soon enough myself!

[@CassetteComeback]

That's it. Doesn't matter what someone else says, as they aren't you. You've got to find things out for yourself and if you're happy, then it's all good.

[@Stoney3K]

I agree, when compared to the Fox, the D sounded a bit dull on the high input level, and the D was slightly more hissy. But I have to say when you use HX Pro and you slam the levels on a TDK D, the saturation on that tape sounds really good. Just don't bother with Dolby anymore in that case.

[@Musicradio77Network]

I've never seen that brand before, and they're still making cassettes today since they were obsolete for quite a few years since record stores doesn't carried cassettes including the pre-recorded cassettes. Many of the brands like TDK, Maxell, Memorex, Fuji (now FujiFilm) and many others are pretty much done with blank cassettes. So did Scotch no longer made these blank cassettes since the late 1990's, and Scotch still making tapes for sticking. Scotch has been making magnetic tape since the late 40's and intro the early 1950's beginning with an open reel (or what is called reel-to-reel) tapes, and it was a huge success for recording music, radio shows, live concerts, interviews and more. And then, Ampex was the first company to manufactured tapes since it introduced in 1947 when Bing Crosby did his own radio show and it was recorded live using the Ampex tape. In the 1960's Philips introduced the Compact Cassette, and then, in the late 1960's and into the 1970's Lear Jet manufactured the 8-track tapes with all 4 programs on a continuous loop. By the 1980's and 1990's, cassettes are still successful, but it wasn't long until CD's were introduced and then by the late 1990's, they made blank CD's where it was called CD-R's where you can make your own songs and burn it on a CD and play it in your stereo or in your car. Then came digital downloads, KZbin, and so on where it destroyed CD's and cassettes out of the water where it put into hiatus. Maxell made batteries instead of cassettes, TDK made capacitors and resistors for parts instead of cassettes, Sony and Memorex made blank media CD's and DVD's, and Scotch/3M made regular tape like Magic Tape, Transparent Tape and others instead of cassettes And I forgot to mentioned, the 1970's where two of the major record labels like Columbia and Capitol manufactured blank cassettes for recording music and others. But that lasted a few years until both brands died out by the end of the 1970's and went back to making music. But this brand I have never heard of before. I guess Fox is also available in the US at many stores, and it's C60 only, but I don't know if Fox is making a C90 blank tapes. Walmart sells cassettes under the ONN brand which is the same thing as Fox did.

[@CassetteComeback]

The fox was the first brand new cassette tape for years, except for Chinese tape. They're not available retail yet and I'm not sure if they have any USA retailers as they are French.

[@Musicradio77Network]

In addition, Walmart now sells ONN C90 cassettes. And guess what! I bought these today. I have to try them out.

[@thespeez]

I thought it was still possible to get Maxell URs, TDK Ds and Sony HFs.

[@Musicradio77Network]

I saw these on eBay, but I might as well get it soon. These RTM Fox C60 cassettes are still all around eBay and Amazon, and they are all US made. It would be perfect for recording Old Time Radio shows.

[@CassetteComeback]

Ah, you're Chris Boisso!

[@Musicradio77Network]

Cassette Comeback Yes I am.

[@reginaldoschiavini]

Dear friend, I really enjoyed your video, in fact very enlightening. However I need information. Except for the current error, there is only the RMG and the US NAC that make new and only iron tapes, correct? My question is which of the two is better, American or European. There is a good price difference between them. I congratulate you on your great tape deck. thank you Reginaldo

[@CassetteComeback]

I've done a video on the NAC. Watch that and you'll get your answer.

[@reginaldoschiavini]

@@CassetteComeback thanks a lot!!!!

[@MrocznyTechnik]

Could you please play it back on single capstan? Dual capstan is virtually not sensitive for shell quality. Single capstan is different story and shell precision is crucial for keeping wow and flutter on decent level.

[@jasejj]

The problem I see with these is the shells (and that's something that they can get right, if anything modern processes should ensure these are perfect). It's hard to see from a video of course, but these look no better than the current run of generic Chinese shells/hubs (and there are still some grotty little independent Chinese factories somewhere making tapes, "BKB" seems to be the current brand-name they're using), right down to some of the moulding details. They're obviously not the same, but I dunno, I think they could have tried harder. Not wishing to put this company down but when there are seemingly infinite supplies of NOS TDK FE/D, Maxell UR etc tapes still doing the rounds I will take some persuading to buy these.

[@mireillepinzuti183]

I have purchased 10 pièces of those but my TEAC W1200 don't l'île them. I have issues when I record on... Thé balance was not thé same to left from right...

[@wisteela]

Really does sound good. Nice looking too.

[@UrOpinionsSucc]

This tape is pretty good. But this tape is an early product. They said they'll improve the formulation.

[@dylanlarson435]

Do they record well in a four track cassette recorder?

[@CassetteComeback]

Haven't got one to try, but if you're doing it at high speed, the sturdier the shell, the better so maybe they will be fine, maybe not...

[@dylanlarson435]

@@CassetteComeback Thats the million dollar question, isnt it. I am already looking to handcraft my own four track cassette recorder. I have a few models that I will take inspiration from. Just had 20 7 inch lathe cut/embossed/mono records pressed by www.hauntedbirthday.com and waiting for that to ship to my PO box. I needed to put my tape recordings to another analog medium. It feels like a true labor of love. If you want to contact me, i have a patent form pending with my lawyer for a new 4 track cassette recording device. I am looking to partner up with someone that knows more technical information then i do. I believe the market is there because ebay is selling fourtracks for the price of a piece of a running driving car. Hit me up. Im prompt.

[@CassetteComeback]

I have a friend who refurbishes Tascams and the like and he had ideas too. Perhaps you should get together?

[@dylanlarson435]

@@CassetteComeback That would be ideal! Could put some cash in his/her pocket probably too. I can be reached via linkedin or facebook under my name. I have my own consulting practice and specialize in aerospace sales and purchasing. This is my passion though. Looking to get a record cutting machine for lathe cutting records on polycarbonate soon. soundcloud.com/goony-bird just got 20 7 inches for three of my songs. I'm getting the record cutting machine so that I can go lo-fi to lo-fi and die on that hill for the sake of it and nothing else. I also would love to preserve audio archives on vinyl/polycarbonate.

[@user-qt1sv4qh4j]

Здравствуйте! Спасибо за труд! Подскажите пожалуйста, где можно купить в России эти замечательные кассеты? Спасибо.

[@alexeizhiltsov6797]

Хотя увидел поздновато, но вдруг еще актуально. В Москве можно купить в магазине "Сфера звука", в том числе через Авито, могут послать по России. Есть и C90.

[@chrisdeboden1977]

The quality is very high. On my Yamaha KX580se they are as good as a TDK AD from the good days.

[@GustoTheGamer]

I just buy used TDK type 2 tapes from the 90’s/2000 for 50 cent...works great. Better sound

[@Stoney3K]

Same here, I go thrifting once in a while and there will always be some TDK D's, Philips UCX's and Maxell UR's in the €0,25-each bin. And if they're garbage, just keep the case if it's still good and you haven't lost much.

[@kirkmooneyham]

However, just as NOS cassettes won't be available for that many more years, neither will used cassettes in good enough condition to rerecord. At some point, all that stock will simply be gone, or degraded to the point of uselessness. Better to support new manufacturers, so that they will be able to continue to turn out new cassettes...and maybe even afford to make some minor upgrades in the future.

[@MrocznyTechnik]

To bad it is sold for the price of 5 Maxell UR90s. This whole RTM thing looks like a gizmo, not areal business able to change world's supply/demand structure. With this price tag I can go for Sony UX Type II NOS. Superb both in terms of the bandwidth and distortion. However nice to hear such news.

[@CassetteComeback]

That's it. I still think the real need for new tape is for duplicators, not home tapers.

[@inkshop963]

I hadn't heard or seen the use of K7 outside the Province of Quebec in Canada the word for seven in French for seven is "sept" pronounced "set" . so calling it a K7 makes perfect sense. I have heard old BASF tapes from the war years and they sound as good as now as they did then. It was apparently just a plastic substrate coated with barn paint or what we would call primer. I know from a technical end that orienting the little particles with a magnet made them less noisy and a stronger output. Azimuth control and accurate slitting of the early tapes also had a lot to do with how they sounded. Apparently Memorex in Santa Clara California was excellent at this, and by "shing" at one aspect of production, they were able to put out some pretty reasonable product. Some if their industrial tapes and seismic tapes were the best available. I'm sure they have since been eclipsed by digital product. Cheers!

[@edised71]

In French (and so...in France as well!) we always shorten the word cassette as K7, it's a classic :)

[@RWL2012]

I remember the K7 section in supermarkets when I was in France :P

[@FrightfulAccountant]

In the old day I would never had called that 'a nice brown'. It was ugly brown, the brown for dictation cassettes. Music needed dark tape. Supers and chrome. Still, we are not in the golden years anymore and we are running out of equal brown TDK Ds and Maxell URs, tomorrow this will be the only available cassette for us. But I can't wait for a new breed of my beloved Type II's...

[@CassetteComeback]

Watch the start of this video... kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5fUm4ebbcaNgLc New Type 2s aren't coming, and even if they did, you wouldn't buy them.

[@kallekillerapa]

I just got me a box of 10 to try out. Good idea to support the maker otherwise they will do a short production run and abandon the production and we will ba back to Maxell UR for the next 20 years.

[@thespeez]

I thought TDK stopped making tapes altogether!

[@JacobFrey]

They did. No new cassettes are being manufactured by TDK or anything using the TDK name.

[@Musicradio77Network]

Jacob Frey Maxell is the only one left. But they are still making cassettes under ONN which is a Walmart brand.

[@m80116]

It would be interesting to understand the BIAS noise. TDK D is quite noisy but shows better numbers than Sony HF in measurements. I can't understand WHY your recording, even when no tape is playing is so hissy. I've got a set of these tapes with new calibration cassettes (clear case) from a UK lab. The noise floor seems pretty high. RTM claim it's the same tape formula of their reels where hiss isn't as important as in the cassette domain. My biggest complain is that every roller partially clings to its pin during normal operation, it can spin lower speed and sometimes even stop completely. Naturally the tape has no trouble slipping over it but it's quite low grade having such behavior especially on a cassette used for calibration. I lubed the pins with a tiny bit of oil stained on the point of a needle and now the rollers spin freely. The other thing to note is that in my cassettes the tape went past the guide pins beyond the rollers, as usual in every other cassette mechanism, so I believe it's reasonable to assume it could have been loading error or perhaps purposely done to increase the tape tension onto the rollers that otherwise tended to stick.

[@cubdukat]

They seem to be based off of BASF's best Type I reel-to-reel tape. I believe it was the equivalent of Ferro Maxima I. A lot of decks don't seem to like BASF Type 1's. I used to like their Ferro Extra I tapes as a cheap mixtape, but they got to be too much of a hassle to calibrate in my Sony deck. The German-made ones were better behaved than the Saehan ones were, but neither one sounded their best.

[@m80116]

@@cubdukat how are BASF ferrics? Do you turn the BIAS to positive or negative to calibrate? I think I never calibrated one, I used them on my RS-TR decks which have ATC (automatic calibration).

[@AnthonyStone-dn9ym]

at 6:40, the sound went away!!

[@johnstark5324]

Not much difference from the D and the AR beet the dog nuts out of both.

[@CassetteComeback]

A lot of the difference with cassettes is perception...I've done some serious recording on the Fox today, and the results are good.

[@johnstark5324]

I just recently got Teac C-3X recapped and calibrated with a full rebuild, yes I am a Tapeheads member and did the work myself, and am able to tell the difference even thru You Tube on these tapes. I have had no experience with the Ar before this owing most of my tape is on reel to reel. So it was great hearing the AR for sure.@@CassetteComeback

[@christopherrigby2798]

@@CassetteComeback The AR is great-used and still use them a lot-but I would agree the D is very good sounding tape and the FOX might well be all someone needs which is available as a 100% new type I. There's nothing wrong with 'pure' ferric of itself-it's all about how good it sounds.

[@thespeez]

It seems like that FOX can't hold a candle to that AR; Too bad :( !

[@CassetteComeback]

But RTM never claimed it was a super ferric, so it's only to be expected.

[@MrocznyTechnik]

But this is only badly overpriced SM900 tape in a shitty cheap shell. Good deck will squeeze a lot from this decent BASF Type 1 formula, however when I look at this shell I'm a little bit skeptic. What if your deck is not blessed by dual capstan and it's sensible for the shell quality?

[@lloydgarland4667]

Hmmm, for me, "no better than a D" says it all, what a shame!

[@CassetteComeback]

It might seem "faint praise" on my part, but the comparison to a D is a compliment. These were never going to be a "super" ferric, as the chemicals for cobalt doping are no longer available, so that they make a tape as good as a D, is as good as we could hope for. I'm going to record a proper mixtape and let it go round some other fans, to see how they really perform when they're not being simply scrutinized.

[@lloydgarland4667]

I somehow hoped for better. Great job by the way!

[@CassetteComeback]

Secretly I think we were all hoping for a "new" AR / XLI-S / HF-ES, but we have to be realistic. RTM have said themselves it's based "on the original AGFA and BASF specifications", i.e. IEC 1. The cobalt doped super ferrics, didn't adhere to IEC 1, so what we have is what RTM said it would be.

[@sevcaczech5961]

@@CassetteComeback yes, and actually RTM never said it would be superferric. The american NAC use to say they will have "superferro" cassette. I don't know how much they succeed and I still believe american cassette can be litte better, but I doubt it will be big difference to RTM as both must be based on pure Fe2O3..

[@CassetteComeback]

That's it. There's no Chrome, cobalt or metal pigments suitable for audio cassettes any more, so realistically the best were going to get is going to be on par with early 90s D / UR / HF if they do it right...the rest is just hyperbole.

[@gligorievskikosta1495]

Poor design and bad looking shell. for that price? thank you but no. there are still plenty of NOS type II tapes, and also tdk D.

[@TheMultimaxfm]

hey, i beleive they will work on design! price is for NEW tape, new PRODUCTION. There are almost no factories producing cassete tapes! TDK Shows less stable levels.

[@bumerlager]

Чувак не правильно вообще пишет.)))