How to Buy Blank Cassettes

If you want your custom-mix tapes to sound their best, you have to start by choosing good tapes. Match the tape you choose to both your tape deck and what you're recording.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Blank Cassette Tapes

1. Check your tape deck's manual for the manufacturer's recommendations.

2. Buy "normal bias" Type I tapes for use with mini-recorders.

3. If you're playing tapes on a boom box, personal stereo or low-end car deck, buy Type I tapes unless the playback unit has a switch for "high bias" Type II tapes.

4. Choose "metal bias" Type IV tapes if playing tapes on a high-end cassette deck.

5. Check the Maximum Output Level (MOL) specification to compare tapes and brands within a type. Higher numbers are better.

6. Buy Type I tapes for recording speech.

7. Choose Type I tapes or lower-grade Type II tapes for dubbing from one cassette to another.

8. Buy Type II or Type IV tapes if recording live music on a deck.

9. Select higher-grade Type II or Type IV tapes for recording from LP or CD.

Tips & Warnings

• Higher-grade tapes within a type are typically distinguished by an "X" or an "S" model number.
• Most tape decks automatically set the bias for the type of tape by reading notches on the cassette.
• "C" indicates the total number of minutes on the tape.
• Type II tapes can record higher frequencies than Type I tapes and have a higher signal-to-noise ratio. Type IV tapes are even better.
• C-120s use thinner tape, which is more prone to jamming and breaking.