Cassette Tapes. Does anyone still buy them?

[pastoralguy]

I've grown accustomed to the renaissance in vinyl that seems to be sweeping the world's music lovers. I was amazed on a recent trip to Prague to see and feel those new vinyls in the Bonton and Suprafon shops. Then, on returning home I had reason to go to the last surviving HMV at Edinburgh's Ocean Terminal and was stunned at the amount of popular genre music to be found on black disc. Although I'd never buy them, well unless I win the lottery and could afford an outrageously expensive turntable, I'm overcome by nostalgic feelings of my early days of record collection.

However, Mrs. PG and I are starting to find cassette tapes in charity shops and wonder if their popularity will catch on to the extent that major record companies will start to issue them as well. We were stunned to see a collection of what to my untutored eye looked like esoteric rock music cassettes going for up to £30 each!! Now whilst this particular Oxfam has form in asking ridiculous prices for their stock this seemed greedier than usual.

Would anyone here pay up to £30 for a used cassette tape of unusual performances or repertoire? And does this mean that, eventually, CDs will make a comeback and be valued accordingly?

[LMcD]

As I still have 2 CD players, and a radio, on which I can play cassette tapes, I occasionally buy one from a charity shop if there's one complete work on each side! I doubt whether they'll enjoy the kind of revival that vinyl is currently experiencing.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Now whilst this particular Oxfam has form in asking ridiculous prices for their stock this seemed greedier than usual.

Its quite common - check the item against the Amazon price using your smartphone in the shop, and usually its the asking price excluding the postage......

In which case, unless I'm 100% certain its a CD I want (it would be a CD - and isn't likely to be on Naxos Music Library (again I can check in the shop using that app)) then I rarely feel the need to take a risk on a CD I might enjoy - but quite possibly won't. And that approach leads to the recurrent thought that its likely a waste of time (alternatively money) and I might as well only look at the scores and books......

Edited to remove my feelings about vinyl and cassette, given the OP.

[MrGongGong]

OOOOOOO yes they do

https://www.linearobsessional.org

CDs never went away

[pastoralguy]

I always felt that a vinyl Lp was an object one had a relationship with whereas a cassette was something you used. Stretched tape, poor sound and the dreaded drop outs! Why anyone would want these things is beyond me. (Mind you, I still love using my open Reel machine).

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I loved cassettes in the '80s & '90s, and I still have a huge collection of the things - none of them played in over five years. I got to know the Wagner operas playing them on the car player on visits to family from where I was living. Longer sides than LPs, no scratches, easy to pause after a section and pick up later without the "pin the tail on the donkey" fun & games of LP. <sigh>

And then the joys of copying radio broadcasts ...

But, no - I don't still buy them, and certainly wouldn't part with £30 for one! CDs are so very much better in almost every way.

[cloughie]

I loved cassettes in the '80s & '90s, and I still have a huge collection of the things - none of them played in over five years. I got to know the Wagner operas playing them on the car player on visits to family from where I was living. Longer sides than LPs, no scratches, easy to pause after a section and pick up later without the "pin the tail on the donkey" fun & games of LP. <sigh>

And then the joys of copying radio broadcasts ...

But, no - I don't still buy them, and certainly wouldn't part with £30 for one! CDs are so very much better in almost every way.

Casettes were great for the reasons fernie has stated, but most commercial prerecorded MCs suffered because the major record companies insisted in using cheap casettes! Minidiscs were even better and deserved more support from the industry - looking on ebay recently the cost of purchasing used MDs is rising, presumably they are still popular even though obsolescent.

[MrGongGong]

But, no - I don't still buy them, and certainly wouldn't part with £30 for one! CDs are so very much better in almost every way.

go on... you know you want to
i'll even sign it for you

[teamsaint]

quite a number of rock bands are releasing on cassette these days. Not really sure why this is better than vinyl or CD other than retro appeal. Maybe short runs are cheaper or easier , although I'd be surprised.

I still occasionally listen to mine, especially the radio broadcasts, ( got some decent Cure and Undertones if anybody is interested, and a rather good Smiths session) . Cassettes did have a versatility that was very welcome at the time, but quality was mostly awful.

PGs mention of reel to reel reminds me that when my lottery tickets do the decent thing, high on the list is a machine like the one n the Jazz Movie all night long.

This one in fact...

https://musicalassumptions.blogspot.com/2019/07/all-night-long.html

[pastoralguy]

This one in fact...

https://musicalassumptions.blogspot....ight-long.html

Make that two!

Actually, before I slag off cassette tapes too much I'm reminded that I recently had a cassette from 1976 transferred to cd that had a conversation I'd recorded surreptitiously of my father with some friends that was recorded six weeks before he had a massive stroke that robbed him of his speech. Thank goodness he didn't know what was in front of him.

Oddly enough, all the other cassette tapes I had disintegrated but not that one. I did have some lovely Wigmore Hall Recitals from Perlman and other luminaries of the 70's, 80's and 90's that were mush by the time I tried to play them despite being reasonably well taken care of.

[gradus]

quite a number of rock bands are releasing on cassette these days. Not really sure why this is better than vinyl or CD other than retro appeal. Maybe short runs are cheaper or easier , although I'd be surprised.

I still occasionally listen to mine, especially the radio broadcasts, ( got some decent Cure and Undertones if anybody is interested, and a rather good Smiths session) . Cassettes did have a versatility that was very welcome at the time, but quality was mostly awful.

PGs mention of reel to reel reminds me that when my lottery tickets do the decent thing, high on the list is a machine like the one n the Jazz Movie all night long.

This one in fact...

https://musicalassumptions.blogspot....ight-long.html

Looks like a Ferrograph? If so forget it and buy a Revox/Studer if you want real quality. On second thoughts maybe it's a Vortexion?

[pastoralguy]

looking on ebay recently the cost of purchasing used MDs is rising, presumably they are still popular even though obsolescent.

That's very encouraging since I have thousands of them including almost every minute of the Radio3 'Beethoven Experience!' I was off work with something so I recorded everything with a minidisc running at X4 speed. They live in a shoebox with a copy of that weeks Radio Times!

[teamsaint]

Looks like a Ferrograph? If so forget it and buy a Revox/Studer if you want real quality. On second thoughts maybe it's a Vortexion?

I read somewhere that the one in the movie was standard BBC kit at the time, but what do I know, I still want one, or the one you suggest.

[Dave2002]

I recently sent rather a large number of cassette tapes to tape heaven - either a skip, the bin or the local dump.

I do still have a cassette tape deck, and a few blank tapes. It's unlikely that I'll use these again, though I might use the deck for a few tapes which are perhaps unlikely to ever be issued on CD or in other formats.

It didn't fill me with gladness to discard these, but it was a practical solution to reduce other problems, and I had hardly used the equipment for years.

I also noticed on one of my trips to the dump that someone had dropped a whole bunch of LPs into the very large household waste container - without even taking them to the shop on site. I fear that ultimately many of us will have to take similar actions.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

go on... you know you want to
i'll even sign it for you

I was taking it as understood that I meant "unless it was issued in powder-blue plastic", of course!