Cheap cassettes at *Warmalt

BlazeES

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#81
Did find this chick on the boob-tube and she puts these ferrics through a few tests, through a few different machines ... including a Nak ZX-7.


So I'm not expecting good things from these. :cool: But the ones I bought do look different...
 
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BlazeES

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#82
Ok, so here's the first installment.

The "Groove Onn" unwrapped.

DSC00002 - Copy.JPG
DSC00005 - Copy.JPG

First impressions: The Visuals

The shell isn't plastic welded but rather a screwed assembly. Off to a good start...
The smoked plastic also give it a higher end look and not as 'knock off' looking as the earlier reviews referenced on the internet.
There are slip sheets, which is also a good sign for a Walmart grade tape. But that is where it sort of ends.

Take a close look at the 2nd picture. That pressure pad looks mighty fuzzy - like a 70's bush before any kind of French Trim thing became fashionable.
Debby Does Dallas anyone? :p If the Seventies pron reference doesn't strike a funny bone... then think Chore Boy or Brillo Pad. Just sayin...
And look even more closely. You can actually see through the tape. W T H ?
I'm all for looking at a slightly see-through negligee on one of Nav's pride & joys... But I expect better than this from my tape stock.
And it doesn't take a PHD to know that the print-through performance on this puppy is gonna suck big time.

I'm also pretty shocked at the amount of particulate speckled all over that surface. Wasn't expecting a 2 dollar tape to be high-volume manufactured in a clean room environment but this looks pretty awful.

Not sure how they can call this thing 'High Output' with that meager oxide layer and such a thin substrate - but perhaps I'm jumping the gun here.

*

Not holding out much hope though and I'm starting to appreciate, more & more, the NOS survivors of eras past...
 
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J!m

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#84
If you try, in really bright light, you can almost see through the SA tape too.

But that's bad.

Popcorn is popping as I type...
 

BlazeES

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#86
I've never seen a quality tape under normal lighting this thin... And who calls any particular tape great is an entirely different discussion all together.

I'd venture a guess that the "D's" that have been floating round in abundance since 2000 were probably thin.

This thin? Don't know. Probably not quite this thin and doesn't much matter - because I don't waste time recording on junk - for recordings I play often and want to last...
 
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