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.

1976 Agfa High Energy Low Noise Audio Cassette

This really was a remarkable discovery. I found it among some odds and ends of my Mom’s, which were collected together and stored after she died in 1994. Not only was it amazing just to find a mid 1970s Agfa High Energy Low Noise audio cassette, but it was also quite a revelation listening to it.

1994 That’s AS:I 54 Audio Cassette

The That’s AS:I 54 was a really impressive Type 1 normal bias tape. The first thing you noticed about it was the unusually quiet performance. Noise levels are truly low for a mid-range Type 1. I used this particular cassette to record an acoustic piano performance, which I played on a Welmar upright in 1994. Tape hiss could be an issue on solo acoustic instrument performances even with Type II cassettes, but it really isn’t a problem here. I didn’t even use Dolby! The sound is what you’d expect from a very good normal bias tape. Rounded and warm, but with a well defined edge.