My dad made me rethink blank tape quality after 20 years

My dad was going through my old tape collection last weekend and pointed out that most of my Maxell UR recordings from high school sound way better than my newer TDK SA ones... he said the bias on the SA's was always off for my deck. It honestly made me wonder if I've been chasing the wrong brands this whole time. Has anyone else found an old deck that just works better with cheaper tape?

2 comments

2 Comments

stone.thomas1mo ago

...and here I've been blaming my own ears not the tape all these years.

-2

campbell.logan1mo ago

I remember reading a study a while back where they tested different cassette tapes and found the difference in sound between brands was actually measurable, not just in our heads. Sony and TDK had slightly warmer lows compared to some of the cheaper store brands that sounded tinny straight out of the shrink wrap. So it really could be the tape messing with your hearing all along.