HEAD ABOVE THE REST

TAPE MACHINE HEADS

Playback and record heads have always fascinated me.

They sit there all shiny and solid but when you insert a cassette and press play

they make you sing and dance! Standard tape machines have one head that records and then it also plays back the tape. You cannot hear what you have on tape until you play it back. Three head machines on the other hand allow you to monitor what you record as the record/playback heads are in one block. These were always more expensive machines and usually sounded far better but there are some two head machines that come really close.

Let your ears decide. 

Technics RS-BX404 Head

Pioneer CTS-430S Head

Yamaha KX-530 Amorphous Head

Pioneer CTS-810S Play/Rec Head

Sony TC-R503ES Auto Reverse Head

DEMO-CRACY!

MAKING DEMOS

When I started writing songs and making demos in the late 80s,

I used a Fostex 4 Track cassette recorder. I used this for over a decade, then

I started recording to Hard Drive. As you know digital recording can make life a

hell of a lot easier but then again you can get lazy. What I mean by this is you can loop,

cut and paste sections and do all that trickery that is at your fingertips. I got a mad notion

last March when I saw the two Microphone inputs on a Technics RS-BX404 cassette

deck I bought second hand and I thought "What if I made a demo on this in a 2 track style?"

Well, I did and not only was it fun again to play a guitar and sing a rough song from

start to finish it sounded really, really nice. There is something about going direct

to tape. After the first few songs which were done with just an acoustic and vocals

I got more adventurous and ran a drum machine and a Telecaster through

an amp with some effects pedals and put that in to one channel.

Then I ran the vocal mic into a Roland Jazz Chorus amp and used that to

effect the vocals. The results were surprising to say the least. It sounds

warm and deep and much more musical than recording to PC.
I might just get the old Fostex 4 Track out soon for a laugh!

These demos were recorded over 3 weeks.

The L and R inputs on the deck

The set-up for maximum direct to cassette fun!

Sony Discman

SONY DISCMAN

Another discontinued line from Sony is the CD Discman.

I've a had a few over the years but sadly some are now deceased.

These are the survivours!

Sony D-NE320 (2006)

This is a great example of value for money. It will play standard CD,

CD-R/CD-RW, mp3 CD. The sound is great with some nice EQ to play with, it is

pretty sleek and you can shake it about and it never skips. The remote is basic but

at least it has one. All this runs on one AA which seems to last forever! 

Sony D-EJ119 (2004)

A more sober and chunky player that sounds great but only plays standard

CD. It takes 2 AA, will play CD, CD-R/CD-RW. There is no remote, but 

G-Shock and Digital Mega Bass. A stylish but minimal looking bottom

of the ladder player of discs!

Sony D-NE1 (2003)

High end player with lots of features such as ATRAC 3 plus, CD-R/CD-RW and mp3 playback Optical Out, Gumstick Battery X 2, charging cradle, AC adapter, AA battery adapter, remote and excellent sound. The unit is pretty slim too, but these were

expensive at the time.

Goldstar

The Korean electronics giant's venture with cassettes!

CRX 90 (Type II)

A mid 80s TDK SA imposter!

This cassette by Goldstar is so like a TDK SA from 1984 you have to do 

a double take! The hubs and shell design are not TDK so it's hard

to say where it's made.