1987 TDK AD 90 Audio Cassette

Zipping back a quarter of a century to 1987, for a recollection of this TDK AD 90 audio cassette. These were mid-level Type I tapes – normal bias, but formulated to reproduce music at decent, if not jaw-droppingly impressive fidelity.

1982 Maxell UL 90 Audio Cassette

These were a common sight in the latter part of 1982 – particularly around the record fairs, where the live gig bootleggers would sit at stalls behind boxes of Type 1 audio tapes. The tapes would feature performances from popular bands of the day, recorded on the sly at various venues, on a pocket tape recorder – typically a Sony Walkman. Names such as The Jam, Echo and The Bunnymen, UB40, Duran Duran, Madness, Bauhaus, Altered Images and Mari Wilson were among those well known from the UK pop charts at the time.

1990 BASF Ferro Extra I 90 Audio Cassette

What an excellent tape this BASF Ferro Extra I was. As you’d expect, given the cassette’s name, it was a Type I, normal bias ferric, but it had a lovely refined sound. I bought a few of these in the autumn of 1990, shortly after getting myself a Tascam Porta 05 ministudio (26th September – still got the receipt). The Ferro Extra Is weren’t suitable for use in the Tascam (which only took Type II tapes), but I wanted to master some of the Tascam’s multitrack recordings onto normal bias cassettes which would play on the widest range of equipment.