I so wanted to extol the virtues of this Type I cassette after recording the first half of one of my two 70s mixes onto side 1 of this new C-90 tape from ATR Magnetics. As you know, ATR's MDS-36 is my go-to open reel tape on the Revox where it can be flogged like a rented mule and it just keeps sounding better. I've learned to take a more conservative approach to recording levels on cassettes because, well, cassette. All that said, side one sounds great when recorded to +3 peaks on the Nakamichi using Dolby B. I was primarily monitoring the taped signal through my Beyer cans from the headphone amp in the Nak. Bias is dead nuts on - leave the dial on the 482Z at top dead center. A/B comparisons with the source are very, very close. Excellent high end, good bass slam, open sound. I need to compare to my Type II recordings and the one metal tape I have, but on preliominary listens, I'd say my search for a standard new cassette tape is over and I could quit hunting NOS.
Until we got to side two.
Started out fine, then 25-ish minutes in, I started hearing a very weird high-pitched distortion from Carlos Santana's over-driven guitar riffs during the Singing Winds, Crying Beasts intro to Black Magic Woman. The distortion continued, getting worse through Black Magic Woman, Marshall Tucker's 24 Hours At A Time and Leon Russell's Back To The Island. It is most notiecable on Back To The island as it is the quietest of those songs. I shut it off at that point. Upon rewinding the tape a bit and hitting play, I was treated to a mechanical squeal that accompanied the distortion. While the mechanical noise has disappeared, the noticeable distortion remains. Side 1 is fine through this same part of the tape, as well as at the corresponding distance in on side 1.
I think my plan is to ship it up to Jim and see what he can confirm from listening to it on his 122s while talking with ATR and re-recording the mix on the second tape I bought to see if I have a single tape anomaly or if there may be issues with the cases. I don't know. I'm playing Side 1 on the full system right now and it sounds great.
Until we got to side two.
Started out fine, then 25-ish minutes in, I started hearing a very weird high-pitched distortion from Carlos Santana's over-driven guitar riffs during the Singing Winds, Crying Beasts intro to Black Magic Woman. The distortion continued, getting worse through Black Magic Woman, Marshall Tucker's 24 Hours At A Time and Leon Russell's Back To The Island. It is most notiecable on Back To The island as it is the quietest of those songs. I shut it off at that point. Upon rewinding the tape a bit and hitting play, I was treated to a mechanical squeal that accompanied the distortion. While the mechanical noise has disappeared, the noticeable distortion remains. Side 1 is fine through this same part of the tape, as well as at the corresponding distance in on side 1.
I think my plan is to ship it up to Jim and see what he can confirm from listening to it on his 122s while talking with ATR and re-recording the mix on the second tape I bought to see if I have a single tape anomaly or if there may be issues with the cases. I don't know. I'm playing Side 1 on the full system right now and it sounds great.