1990s Mitsubishi C60 Audio Cassette

One of the brands less synonymous with the manufacture of audio cassettes was Mitsubishi. This Mitsubishi C60 tape was given to me by someone I was teaching to play keyboards, near the end of 1999. So there’s a lot of stuff I can’t be sure of about. What I can say is that this is a Type I normal bias cassette, and hiss levels are not at all intrusive. Beyond that, there are some problems, but how much blame the cassette should take for that isn’t clear.

Early 1980s TDK D 60 Audio Cassette

If you were in any way interested in music, or had a need to record audio during the early 1980s, you must surely recognise this cassette. It’s the ubiquitous-beyond-comprehension TDK D 60 – perhaps the general purpose tape of the era. Not because it was the best – but because it struck the perfect balance between price, aptitude and reliability. There were strong rivals, but TDK was a highly respected brand, and that counted for a lot among typical consumers, who wouldn’t necessarily analyse performance in any great technical detail.

1984 BASF Chromdioxid II Audio Cassette

Perhaps the memory most quickly recalled in a discussion about early 1980s chrome audio cassettes is that of the BASF Chromdioxid II. Heavy advertising on television meant a high profile. In those days the audiences per programme were much, much higher, with no Internet, and in the UK just four TV channels competing for share. So any audio cassette with a TV ad campaign behind it was pretty much assured immense initial uptake.