Re: [ARSCLIST] Help Purchasing a Microcassette

["Richard L. Hess" <arclists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK...here is my approach:

Philosophy:
(1) Think five times about adding a new machine to the equipment list because:
   (a) You've got to find space for it (I am limited to < 1400 sq ft 
for all of this)
   (b) You really need two
   (c) You need to understand it and maintain it
   (d) Think 10x before buying an expensive new machine.
(2) Find ways to re-use and re-purpose your core machines.
(3) If possible minimize the number of machine types and work these 
in depth. For me, the core
   machines are:
    (a) Sony APR-5000s
    (b) Studer A810s
    (c) Nakamichi Dragons
    (d) Sony APR-16
  And supported ancillary machines are (among others):
    (e) Tascam 234
    (f) Tascam 238
(4) Try to have more than one platform for playing common tapes 
(i.e., common formats play on both the A810s and the APRs)

So with this whole philosophy, where do the microcassettes fit in?

DRAGONS!

Yup! I have six (four in the studio at the moment, hooked up).

I reload the micro cassette tapes into a standard cassette shell.

I received a call last night - 9PM my time - from a writer in LA who 
had a microcassette come unattached from the hub. She spent two hours 
at Radio Shack with tweezers and Scotch Tape trying to make it work, 
and in the end called me. If Fed Ex works its magic, she'll be able 
to download the contents by the end of Saturday. I do this fairly often.

OK it plays backwards at 2x or 4x speed. What does that matter to a 
computer? You deal with it: Flip it and slow it down. Done. No 
special platform. The platform you have is about as good as it gets 
anyway. Bad thing: you have modified the original artifact. I keep 
the original cassette and I photograph it before removing the tape.

That said, Wes Dooley in Pasadena has a JBR.

Cheers,

Richard
At 12:25 PM 3/23/2006, Brandon Burke wrote:
> Friends,
>
> Searching through the archives just now, looking for microcassette 
> player recommendations,
> and dug up an old thread from 2003 [see quoted text below].
>
> Does anyone have further (or updated) recommendations regarding 
> microcassette players?
> Something with (at least) one 1/8" output?
> I will be plugging the unit into a mixing board and editing the 
> audio in WaveLab from there, if that helps any.
>
> As for the JBR mentioned below, sounds nice and all, but I'm 
> thinking something significantly less expensive than "multiple 
> thousand dollars".
> Not cheap, mind you, but a little more on the reasonable side.
>
> Any help would be much appreciated.
>
> thanks as always,
> Brandon Burke
> Hoover Institution Archives
> Stanford, CA 94305-6010
>
>
> ___________________________________________________________________________________________
> Date:         Thu, 13 Nov 2003 19:10:33 -0800
> Reply-To:     Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> Sender:       Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> From:         "Richard L. Hess"
> Subject:      Re: Help Purchasing a Microcassette
> Comments: To: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
>
> I am interested in this as well. The only answer that I know is the 
> JBR http://www.jbrtech.com/prod_ptu3.html I think it's in the 
> multiple thousands ($7?) of dollars.
>
> Cheers,
> Richard
>
> At 02:52 PM 11/13/2003 -0500, you wrote:
> >Can anyone offer me advice on which Microcassette we should consider
> >purchasing. The Georgia Archives has many recordings on the small
> >microcassettes that were popular during the 1970's. The hope is to
> >transfer the content to a more stable medium, so the Microcassette that we
> >purchase would have to have outputs.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >Lance Watsky
> >Preservation & Media Specialist
> >The Georgia Archives
> >5800 Jonesboro Road
> >Morrow, GA 30260
> >678-364-3764 (phone)
> >678-364-3860 (fax)
> >www.GeorgiaArchives.org
>
> _______________________________________
> Brandon Burke
> Assistant Archivist for Audiovisual Collections
> Hoover Institution Archives
> Stanford University
> Stanford, CA 94305-6010
> voice: 650.724.9711
> fax: 650.725.3445
> email: burke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tape Restoration Seminar:    MAY 9-12, 2006; details at Web site.
Richard L. Hess                   email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aurora, Ontario, Canada       (905) 713 6733     1-877-TAPE-FIX
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm