Set-up for cassette duplication

[jayteamanis]

Heya folks, looking more into doing this for some local bands, but it seems like the only tape decks I'm able to find with inputs and recording capabilities are either shitty $80 Pyles on Amazon, or $300 Tascams. Has anyone done this and is willing to lend their advice, or even willing to sell some of their equipment? 

[allenh]

You are looking in completely the wrong places, Thrift stores, Criags list and local classified ads.

 

Every hifi cassette deck from the 70's onwards has record on it. Just get some 3 head machines from the 80's or 90's and drive them from a mixer which has more than one output set if you want to do more than one tape at a time, most mixers have a tape out pair which is the same basic signal level as the master and auxilliary outs but the tape out will be at a fixed level unlike the main and aux which will be adjustable with the master fader. You can even wire directly out of one deck into the next in a chain but setting the levels can be fun and they need to have headphone outs so you can check what you are sending out and getting in to each deck in the chain. you will get deteriation the more links in the chain you have though so you need to factor that in.

 

If you are duplicating tapes you line in to the mixer and then line and tape out to as many decks as the mixer will allow but the better way to do it if you can is to record the master on to open reel and then dub onto cassette from that, the problem being finding a decent open reel machine and finding enough tape that's still in good condition.

 

Anything 3 head from someone like Aiwa, Teac or JVC will be cheap enough and good enough, or if you can't get 3 head machines just make sure they were top end when they were new so good Yamaha, Pioneer, Rotel, Akai and Technics etc, the 3 heads from thise tend to be more sought after and expensive.

 

The daddy's with cassette were Nakamichi and Revox but those cost a lot for good ones.

 

You can use double decks but these never tended to be as good quality as the single machines and I don't think I've ever seen a 3 head double cassette deck but they would up the amount of duplicates you can do with less decks.

Also old Tascams are fine and no different to the ones made today, Tascam by the way is pro Teac in the same way Studer is pro Revox