I mentioned this design variant of 1980s BASF chrome cassette in yesterday’s BASF CR-E II 1988 post, but didn’t have a photo handy and couldn’t put my hands on the actual product. A quick dig through some drawers, and a snap of the shutter today, has just remedied that, so here it is.
This CR-E II 60 minute tape was bought in England, in March 1986, so manufacture would almost certainly have taken place early that year, or in late 1985. The front faces of the cassette feature the chamfered user-write white label portion, and matching case relief – traits that were associated with the first half of the 1980s, and which would be resolved into a straight rectangular shape by 1987. The combination of this latter 1980s style of CR-E II label and the chamfer was short-lived.
In fact, the label here is a one piece attachment, so that’s black paper you’re seeing in the centre section – not black plastic as was the case on the 1987 and 1988 versions.
By 1987, whilst the labels looked broadly the same as the one depicted above, they were actually attached in two pieces. One white user-write portion at the top, and one grey/blue/white product ID strip at the bottom. Any black areas between the two were bare plastic. But this ’86 (or possibly late ’85) has exactly the same case as the ’84 – designed to take a one-piece large label. Exactly the same case was also used on the 1982/83 Chromdioxid IIs, as shown in the Why Use Analogue Tape in the Digital Age? post.
Another point of interest that renders this tape more in keeping with the early ’80s output than the late ’80s, is the screw type. By 1987, these CR-E IIs were held together with Phillips-head screws, whereas the ’85/’86 in this post follows the ’84 protocol of using single slot-heads.
The product was made in Germany, and its case inlay boasts:
“Real chromdioxid for powerful, crystal clear sound.”
And a powerful, crystal clear sound it does indeed deliver.
Tape Tardis 