Holy Schmoly 😮 TDK MA-XG 90 was the tape of choice for my Nakamichi RX-505! Currently have 6 fresh blanks & 34 mix playlist tapes mostly from turntable/vinyl. Back in 1985-90 dollars 💸 they cost $100.00 for a 10 pack. Individual price was $12.99
I'm glad you re-uploaded this video... This is a real blast from the past! I had a load of these cassettes back in around 1991/92. They were bloody expensive. I seem to remember £20-£25 each!! I reckon I've still got some kicking around somewhere...
I've got one of those GX tapes and it indeed shows some powder. The tape was open, but hasn't been stored that well all of the time. I haven't tried to play it. Is the tape completely shot, or would winding it several times help to determine that?
I use a TDK MA-XG in my car. My CD changer died about four years ago, but I don't miss it because of this excellent tape. I erase it and rerecord new songs every couple of months. I have been using the same tape the whole time with no problems yet. I never had a tape last that long in a car back in the 80's or 90's. My recorder is a Sony tck-a3es. I have never heard a cassette sound so good.
Superb combination of deck and tape. Luckily I have not had lubricant breakdown on any of my TDK cassettes. I'm most impressed with the sheer toughness of your sole TDK MA-XG!!
Beautiful looking cassette, I almost shed a tear with the ruined one... Thanks for taking the time of re-editing and re-uploading the video after the copyright issues!
Cassette comeback, , in my case I’m 55 , and been using tapes since I was 17 , almost every day of the wk, and had some tapes 35 to 40 yrs and still play them in my 80s mainly technics stacking hi fi , cheers for the video, just discovered by chance thanks Shane uk 🇬🇧
I owned one of these and one of the clear versions. £8 each at the time. The 90s saw that fashion for annoying tiny windows - which I could never understand. It was like we were returning to the 70s and those damn BASF cassettes with their teeny slot of a window!
That was a nice show you put together, I never seen the tape looking like METAL SR SONY BLACK CASSATTE TAPE vibes, And i like it when you put the effects to change up the style it makes it look really cool and awsome! that's aso cool!
Hi, Tony! This is very strange why these TDK metal tapes are getting molded like this. Well, I don't have any MA-XG, since in 1990-s I don't remember them available neither in Moscow, Russia, nor in conventional U.S. stores (in the U.S. usually medium-level tapes were available at best, and usually Type II, all Metals I currently have I bought in Moscow, Russia in 1995-97 in Arbat street, who knows). But I have several TDK MA cassettes, 60, 90 and 110 minutes length, and they are all fine. But all of them are already recorded now, so I didn't store them sealed, I just started using them just after purchase. I had KENWOOD 7060S deck at that time (1996-2017). And all TDK MA I have are still just fine. Probably this is a problem of some TDK tapes, which were stored sealed and somewhere in wet basement, but thanks, if I will ever decide to buy such a tape for the collection (and it is really piece of art), I will be aware of that problem, so will ask in advance to send me detailed photo of the tape.
Oh, well, in second part of the video there is the explanation why TDK could have molding problem. Yeah, probably this is correct assumption, since tapes from other manufacturers stored under the same conditions didn't have any molding problems, while TDK tapes only did. And yes, my TDK MA tapes didn't have the problem since I didn't tore them sealed, I just started using them just after purchase in 1990s and I am still listening to these recordings on them.
Thank for Your TH-cam channel.This part is amazing and Dual is excellent.I love decks without door.Feel present of cassette.I am still use cassette deck which bring me nostalgia enjoy.Quality is still superb.
Wow! this cassette is a work of art! sound is amazing! I think that in warm countries we rarely faced a molded tape. Even now I don’t have any audio or video (Betamax and VHS) with mold. Great video!
I've read that it's related to the binder. I've got a mid 90s MA110 that showed signs of it, and did leave residue on the deck after the first few passes, but it did record fine, and the deck cleaned up no problem. YMMV! I don't know exactly how bad the problem would have to get before it renders the tape completely useless. I suppose in the case of the MA-XG, if it's REALLY far gone, then it's an expensive way to get a nice complicated spare shell!
These tapes were great. The quality was noticeably better than other metals but you needed really high end equipment to do them justice. I remember paying £10 for one in about 1994.
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That TDK MA-XG was crazy! rarely see that tape - thanks for sharing !! @1:00 - yep!!! I almost entered the CD world.. started to buy a few albums on CD instead of Vinyl but was disappointed pretty fast when I found out I couldn't mix them like a record.. (no CD-J's existed yet) and thse sound quality ..while 'clean' was lacking dynamics.. I still have some of those CDs with the longboxes. I will buy CD's today ,but only from small bands , private lables ect, stuff you can't find on Tape or Record. CD is a good Car format but I rarely pop in a CD now , I use a portable Sanyo cassette player (JJ series from 1990) I plug in with 1/8" jack.. or use Ipod with lossless files.
I’ve never seen this one before. These were commonly available on eBay for over $100 depending on the higher prices. These are too expensive to buy this one. This was due to white powder. But it plays decent without having any troubles than the previous Brand X “Type 0” cassettes.
the first version was a nice tribute to 2007-2011 era YT voiceovers 😄 On the topic of the XG... As a collectible -- absolute **drool** 😋 As a Type IV for testing out... uhm, I've been coming by (and tempted to get some!) Italian metal Magnexes (tsk tsk go away 😏) more and more often lately on a particular flea bay... and those are a heaaalthy bit below £10 a piece when bought in large bulk. (**tsk tsk** again, whoever's reading this with specific growing intentions 😆)
I actually own one of these. Yes, the package is open. Wonder if it's worth anything. It is the prettiest cassette I've ever seen. I should frame it. I seem to remember it not working well. It's a really HEAVY cassette! It had issues pretty early honestly.
Hi there, great videos - thanks! I will be picking up a used Nakamichi CR-1E deck early next week and would like to ask where, in the uk, you source new metal/chrome blank cassettes. Can you advise please? Many thanks in advance.
hi there sorry to bother you but i was just wondering if you can assist me with some old info . regarding the 1980s tdk add . if you can remember the brand or knew about the silver pherhaps tdk headpones that are worn in the commercial. the song in the add as " tdk does amazing things to my system " i once knew the seriel cold to the headphones only now found in japan but if your history goes this far into the headpnoes been worn in this clip.. would be very helpful thankyou
I've seen this before and it really is too bad that they can't be used anymore. I've also run into the "railroading" issue on some mid-eighties TDK SA cassettes where the tape has lines going vertical across it which creates an uneven sound. I love TDK but this is one of the reasons I stand by Maxell (both their cassettes and reel-to-reel) as they have no issues. If I had one of these powdered MA-XG cassettes, I might replace the tape inside with some type IV that doesn't have that problem.
The welded tapes are still a mystery as to how this type should be addressed. But given the expense of this one, I would not give up on it. If you have a better idea, I am all ears, but flushing good hard earned money down the toilet is not happening by me! I hope you feel the same about your investment and your music! Music is a treasure that shouldn’t be scwondered!
@Cassette Comeback Yes, please. It will be fascinating to see the results. Considering all the research that went into these cassettes over the years, it's surprising that at some point during the distributing and manufacturing process these mold issues wouldn't have been uncovered at some point when they were still actually in production, be interesting to speak to an engineer that was involved in TDK manufacturing and hear what they thought.
I have that which I purchased many years ago. At 5:12 you're right it's made of rubber that had been glued but mine the rubber had already dried starts to peel off.
I've got a TDK MA-110 (type 4), TDK Cue 54 (type 2), and a Sony MetalMaster 46 (type 4), all still in shrink-wrap. Do I use them or are they worth something? All have been keep well but I've got loads of older, good quality cassettes, previously recorded but could re-use. Cheers! BTW, my deck is Nakamichi 582Z so it's not like they will be abused!
I've no interest in metal tapes because I want to know that I am listening to a tape. I previously told you that I record with dolby c and play without. I realize now that was because I didnt have manual bias. Now I do and I can roll with negative bias. I still do the trick but I now use dolby b. I am not saying it sounds better than the source, just that it sounds different and I like the difference. Thank you for making these videos.
I owned one of these bad boys back then. Never liked the "military" optics and preferred the predecessor. But the tape itself was amazing and pretty much wasted on anything below a 757 Pioneer or a 9010 Kenwood deck.
Where did you find the hand winder. I want one for myself. It’s things like this that make restoration possible. If you haven’t posted this comment, please do. Anything that helps us save on an investment like metal and even chrome type tapes is a plus. The restorers of this tape type appreciate your help and advice. Thanks!
Were these MA XG tapes ever used for professional/broadcasting purposes?? with the level of construction/price/quality they pretty much qualify for such duties?
I am wondering if that plastic tape formulation is like hydrophilic and without opening the package, the moisture remains in the packaging...curious. That's the kind of tape that you taped your absolute BEST Grateful Dead show on...
@@AttilaTheHun333333 I was thinking more that more moisture could ingress that could egress, not that the tapes were sealed per-se. I have 3D printing filaments that will absorb moisture from a climate controlled room(
I might sound cringy right now, but is it possible to open the tape, wipe every centimeter of the tape itself and clean the chassis as well? Or this powder is the very important part of the metal tape?
Another relaxing and compelling video. Thank you 👍🏻 Not to divert too much from the aims of your channel, but as you record a fair amount of royalty free music from TH-cam would you share your choice of DAC, or maybe even show us it in use?
I´ve got a single one. And some MAs. And 20 SA-XSs And yes, I d say the MA-XG was TDKs finest hour, tape-wise.( They were very good at video tape too). Though, in my personal book , I prefer the Denon HD-M. Just as sexy-looking, sounds every bit as good, doesm´t go white and is a bit more flexible as to where it works.
So that was Last Revision of the Cassette....I purchased a Box of 5 in Probably in Late 1989 or Early 1990 in LA Tower Records and were Roughly $10-12 per Blank Cassette which was Alot Considering Basic Metal Cassettes were $2.50-3.50 per Cassette 60-120 mins... the Tabs on Top Pivot which allowed for ReRecording Over the Previous Material where on Lesser Cassettes you had to use Tape ove the Holes to Do the Same...
Maybe it's just my cloth ears, or perhaps the tape has deteriorated a little, but there seems to be a very slight loss in clarity in the treble/high-mids, tiny but it's there. Surprising for a 25 quid tape. Pretty little deck that Dual BTW. Dual stuff was great. Had a CS505-3 turntable back in the day. Didn't sound any worse than Marantz CD-75SE which cost about 4 times as much, and was the darling of the high-fi press back in '87. In many ways, the Dual deck had a more coherent sound. Pissed me off no end at the time!
What a shame about the tape. However, I think there is a possibility of recovery. At least it is worth trying. I will see if it is possible first. If I find it works, I’ll let you know.
That would be really interesting! I have two of these which I got recently which have the same problem as your first one in the video. I have another three which I bought (and used) back in the day which are completely fine, which seems to confirm your theory that it is bad if they stay sealed for years. On the other hand, I got lucky last week and got a sealed one for €12 which is completely fine :-) So maybe it is a combination of sealed+storage conditions (temperature).
That sounds like a really good tape but it's too bad that the TDK tapes go bad but when there good there really good and when there bad there really bad anyway keep on rocking 🎸!!!
There is a TH-cam channel “TE” and he has a cleaning video for cassette tape. This may not be the definitive way to clean the residue or other nasties off or out of a cassette tape, but it is the only one I’ve found so far. I googled it and found it. Not convinced this is the only way. I’m still looking for other alternative ways. I still say pissing away any high dollar tape is not happening by me. I am not a skin flint by any means. I just don’t believe in laying down and playing dead when it comes to investing in music products which are not easy to come by, ie. blank metal cassettes.
I've got this to it's best again. Used a hand winder to FF / Rew it a few times, then wiped the inside of the shell with a microfibre cloth. Seems all good so far, but haven't done a full record on it to check for dropouts.
I think TDK switch to polyvinyl wrappers in the 90s and polyvinyl tends to out gas which in turn ruins other plastics. I checked all my tdk, after watching your videos, but they are all ok.
@@CassetteComeback Chromium is an anti fungal. Same with iron oxide (it's being used in nano particles to make things antiseptic). So those would be more immune to the effects. PVC, that can be made from coal, was cheaper to make than polypropylene (oil prices jumped 23 percent from 89 to 90) which is what they probably used before. Lot's of cost cutting from japan as the yen hit a peak against the dollar and japan's economy started to collapse in 1991.
@fernarias Wow that is some interesting technical information, in any case a tragedy that so many high quality NOS tapes have been destroyed by these issues.
@@watershed44 I'm sure no one knew you would buy tapes and never use them (kept in the pack). I still have some that I bought to make mixed tapes and then didn't use them because cd-r came out and then became cheap (first one I bought was a 2r for 100 dollars at Fry's). I then just started making mixed cds and bought a cd player for my car(price also, 20 cdrs for 40 vs 1 tape for 10). The expensive tapes just languished in my collection.
I have to ask about the oxidation. I have some stored TDK MA-XG 90 which I bought in 2003. I have used a few of them and they show no evidence of oxidation and these still record fine. Three of the remainer are in the original TDK cardboard box they where supplied in and you can view the centre of the tape through the still sealed plastic cover. These also show no evidence of oxidation. It seems odd that the sealed tape shown here should have degraded like that but could they have been stored in an uber damp castle dungeon (or moat) ? The possibility of an original bad batch also exists but if the original tapes were unoxidised and sealed, there should never be a problem if they were stored in dry conditions (as mine have been).
Hi! I have a few of this MA-XG cassettes completely sealed and new. For how much could I sell them? Please help! I have no idea the value of them and I dont want to sell them cheaper than they are! :)
I haven’t arrived at a solution yet, but I spent way too much on these metal tapes to have them pissed away over something of which I don’t exactly know what it is. I will try to clean the tape first. After all, it can’t hurt it any worse than that off color crap that’s in there. I probably use a micro fiber cloth. Something soft that is not likely to hurt it. It will take time, but it will be worth it to save what I consider a worthy investment. Those metal tapes are far from cheap. Don’t have to explain that to anyone who has bought any!
Hi Tony. If you still have this cassette, for a reasonable price, I'm ready to buy it in this shape : unsealed and molded. I'm waiting for an answer from you.
I noticed some minor sybbalance on the hithat on the playback part. Do you think it’s from the heads, tape, source, etc. Anyway, It kinda feels like it limits the performance of the tape, at least for me personally.
Probably from the source. It's hard to get uncompressed royalty free music with vocals, so you use what you can find. The original video used a CD source, which sounded better.
Hi. I just subscribed to your fantastic channel. As someone who had decided to return to the wonderful world of cassettes, your channel is a boon to me. Anyway I have a question pertaining to this video. In the market you can get tape cleaning machine which look like a portable cassette player which supposed to get rid of those pesky white powdered substance. How do you rate those? Could they potentially damage the tape?
@@CassetteComeback Sorry I couldn't find the link. I saw the item in Facebook someone was selling them. The link: m.facebook.com/groups/612005459007841?view=permalink&id=856670744541310&sfnsn=mo. The language isn't in English though but it basically says the device can clean any dirty cassette including the one with white powder.
1100 meters of new 1/4” tape is a bit cheaper (at 7 1/2 it’s more than x2 cheaper) and way better than a metal type cassette. Type IV is for a collection imho.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard that when Metal first came out, it could wear through heads. After a couple years, manufacturers started using a harder steel in the tape heads to prevent this. I have no source to provide other than an old audio engineer friend.
Why are you unpacking these cassettes? these must be very rare, I have never seen most of the cassettes that you unpack in your videos in my life, here in the Czech Republic collectors would break your hands :D such a cassette is sold here for thousands of dollars..
I had one of these for special recordings, however became unusable as it would get stuck and got to the stage where fast forward and remind were a struggle for any deck. In the end I prefer the previous clear model
Anadailog channel will show you how to recover these METAL tapes , DO NOT BIN ! It would help if you turn the volume down when using the test tone and turn it back up when done ? There is no point in talking over it as we can not hear you , it is " LOAD "
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
Holy Schmoly 😮 TDK MA-XG 90 was the tape of choice for my Nakamichi RX-505! Currently have 6 fresh blanks & 34 mix playlist tapes mostly from turntable/vinyl. Back in 1985-90 dollars 💸 they cost $100.00 for a 10 pack. Individual price was $12.99
The Dragon Deck is thinking: Wow, finally some stuff up to my level.
It's probably also thinking WOW! a cassette that costs almost as much as me on ebay 😳😂
I'm glad you re-uploaded this video... This is a real blast from the past! I had a load of these cassettes back in around 1991/92. They were bloody expensive. I seem to remember £20-£25 each!! I reckon I've still got some kicking around somewhere...
The sound quality of that tape as you demonstrated it is stunning
Wow the tape has the same audio quality as the source. Respect, TDK!
It's the lube drying up. TDK GX reel to reel tape has white powder syndrome. Some of the LX reel to reel tape does this as well.
Thanks for the information, John!
I've got one of those GX tapes and it indeed shows some powder. The tape was open, but hasn't been stored that well all of the time. I haven't tried to play it. Is the tape completely shot, or would winding it several times help to determine that?
I use a TDK MA-XG in my car. My CD changer died about four years ago, but I don't miss it because of this excellent tape. I erase it and rerecord new songs every couple of months. I have been using the same tape the whole time with no problems yet. I never had a tape last that long in a car back in the 80's or 90's. My recorder is a Sony tck-a3es. I have never heard a cassette sound so good.
Superb combination of deck and tape. Luckily I have not had lubricant breakdown on any of my TDK cassettes. I'm most impressed with the sheer toughness of your sole TDK MA-XG!!
Beautiful looking cassette, I almost shed a tear with the ruined one... Thanks for taking the time of re-editing and re-uploading the video after the copyright issues!
You seemed to have upped the commentary volume and re-upload again?!? Mate, that is some serious attention to detail. I'll tap pints with ya any day.
Yeah, whilst getting rid of the copywrited track, I turned the backing music down in the edit.
@@CassetteComeback Amazingly responsive to your fans. It's goes a LONG way for a TH-cam channel, sir!
God of shells. Bravo for designers. This cassette is collectible, just for collection.
Cassette comeback, , in my case I’m 55 , and been using tapes since I was 17 , almost every day of the wk, and had some tapes 35 to 40 yrs and still play them in my 80s mainly technics stacking hi fi , cheers for the video, just discovered by chance thanks Shane uk 🇬🇧
I owned one of these and one of the clear versions. £8 each at the time. The 90s saw that fashion for annoying tiny windows - which I could never understand. It was like we were returning to the 70s and those damn BASF cassettes with their teeny slot of a window!
I think it was trying to stop them looking like a tape based media, and make them look more "digital"
4:41 Millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
😁
That was a nice show you put together, I never seen the tape looking like METAL SR SONY BLACK CASSATTE TAPE vibes, And i like it when you put the effects to change up the style it makes it look really cool and awsome! that's aso cool!
Great video for the "Be Careful $& Warning" (BC&W) Happy tapping!
I still have one NOS sealed since 1990 :-)
Tony thank you for the sacrifices you make for your channel and fans. i am sure it hurts the wallet unwrapping those rare tapes
It doesn't hurt, unless they turn out to be bad like this one 😀 Beneath it all, I'm still a taper and record several cassettes a week.
I vomited when you opened it but then what's the point in having such a beauty without using it
Hi, Tony! This is very strange why these TDK metal tapes are getting molded like this. Well, I don't have any MA-XG, since in 1990-s I don't remember them available neither in Moscow, Russia, nor in conventional U.S. stores (in the U.S. usually medium-level tapes were available at best, and usually Type II, all Metals I currently have I bought in Moscow, Russia in 1995-97 in Arbat street, who knows). But I have several TDK MA cassettes, 60, 90 and 110 minutes length, and they are all fine. But all of them are already recorded now, so I didn't store them sealed, I just started using them just after purchase. I had KENWOOD 7060S deck at that time (1996-2017). And all TDK MA I have are still just fine. Probably this is a problem of some TDK tapes, which were stored sealed and somewhere in wet basement, but thanks, if I will ever decide to buy such a tape for the collection (and it is really piece of art), I will be aware of that problem, so will ask in advance to send me detailed photo of the tape.
Oh, well, in second part of the video there is the explanation why TDK could have molding problem. Yeah, probably this is correct assumption, since tapes from other manufacturers stored under the same conditions didn't have any molding problems, while TDK tapes only did. And yes, my TDK MA tapes didn't have the problem since I didn't tore them sealed, I just started using them just after purchase in 1990s and I am still listening to these recordings on them.
Thank for Your TH-cam channel.This part is amazing and Dual is excellent.I love decks without door.Feel present of cassette.I am still use cassette deck which bring me nostalgia enjoy.Quality is still superb.
Это лучшая и интересная кассета за асю историю. Разобранная из 5 частей состоит
From all the Metal tapes I‘ve heard and listend to, I would say the That‘s Suono is the best of the best.
Absolutely informative video. Thank you for the excelent work you're doing for the rest of us.
Wow! this cassette is a work of art! sound is amazing!
I think that in warm countries we rarely faced a molded tape.
Even now I don’t have any audio or video (Betamax and VHS) with mold.
Great video!
This is truly an awesome tape. I'm hoping you'll do the Denon MG-X sometime soon. Another very hign end cassette.
I'll work my way through all the "big boys"
I've read that it's related to the binder. I've got a mid 90s MA110 that showed signs of it, and did leave residue on the deck after the first few passes, but it did record fine, and the deck cleaned up no problem. YMMV! I don't know exactly how bad the problem would have to get before it renders the tape completely useless. I suppose in the case of the MA-XG, if it's REALLY far gone, then it's an expensive way to get a nice complicated spare shell!
I'm going to try and clean it up.
Love my MA-R90 , MA90 , SA-XG90 , SA-X90 , SA90 ,,, thanks,, all from 80's
These tapes were great. The quality was noticeably better than other metals but you needed really high end equipment to do them justice. I remember paying £10 for one in about 1994.
That TDK MA-XG was crazy! rarely see that tape - thanks for sharing !!
@1:00 - yep!!! I almost entered the CD world.. started to buy a few albums on CD instead of Vinyl but was disappointed pretty fast when I found out I couldn't mix them like a record.. (no CD-J's existed yet) and thse sound quality ..while 'clean' was lacking dynamics.. I still have some of those CDs with the longboxes. I will buy CD's today ,but only from small bands , private lables ect, stuff you can't find on Tape or Record. CD is a good Car format but I rarely pop in a CD now , I use a portable Sanyo cassette player (JJ series from 1990) I plug in with 1/8" jack.. or use Ipod with lossless files.
I’ve never seen this one before. These were commonly available on eBay for over $100 depending on the higher prices. These are too expensive to buy this one. This was due to white powder. But it plays decent without having any troubles than the previous Brand X “Type 0” cassettes.
the first version was a nice tribute to 2007-2011 era YT voiceovers 😄
On the topic of the XG... As a collectible -- absolute **drool** 😋 As a Type IV for testing out... uhm, I've been coming by (and tempted to get some!) Italian metal Magnexes (tsk tsk go away 😏) more and more often lately on a particular flea bay... and those are a heaaalthy bit below £10 a piece when bought in large bulk.
(**tsk tsk** again, whoever's reading this with specific growing intentions 😆)
Really enjoying the channel Tony. Hope you don't run out of tapes to produce content anytime soon.
There's a few more left in me yet 😀
I actually own one of these. Yes, the package is open. Wonder if it's worth anything. It is the prettiest cassette I've ever seen. I should frame it. I seem to remember it not working well. It's a really HEAVY cassette! It had issues pretty early honestly.
Hi there, great videos - thanks! I will be picking up a used Nakamichi CR-1E deck early next week and would like to ask where, in the uk, you source new metal/chrome blank cassettes. Can you advise please? Many thanks in advance.
My website 😁 www.cassettecomeback.com
hi there sorry to bother you but i was just wondering if you can assist me with some old info . regarding the 1980s tdk add . if you can remember the brand or knew about the silver pherhaps tdk headpones that are worn in the commercial. the song in the add as " tdk does amazing things to my system " i once knew the seriel cold to the headphones only now found in japan but if your history goes this far into the headpnoes been worn in this clip.. would be very helpful thankyou
apparently FERMO seems to mean " immobile " or " stationary " in Italian according to the interwebs...great vid by the way
Heck, I'm half Italian and didn't know that 😂
@@CassetteComeback If you were a goa’uld, you’d have known it since birth. 😀
Dual C814 is an amazing deck!!!!!!!!!!!! It sounds so musical!
Now that is a good tape . Good find . I have a few . Near perfect
Wow" love the video, and love that dual cassette deck looks great 🔊🎥🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I've seen this before and it really is too bad that they can't be used anymore. I've also run into the "railroading" issue on some mid-eighties TDK SA cassettes where the tape has lines going vertical across it which creates an uneven sound. I love TDK but this is one of the reasons I stand by Maxell (both their cassettes and reel-to-reel) as they have no issues. If I had one of these powdered MA-XG cassettes, I might replace the tape inside with some type IV that doesn't have that problem.
Yeah, TDK and cheapos are the only cassettes I've had deteriorate on me.
The welded tapes are still a mystery as to how this type should be addressed. But given the expense of this one, I would not give up on it. If you have a better idea, I am all ears, but flushing good hard earned money down the toilet is not happening by me! I hope you feel the same about your investment and your music! Music is a treasure that shouldn’t be scwondered!
I would have tried out the "mouldy" cassette to see if the problem was just on the edges and see if it affects the sound.
I'm going to clean it and update.
@@CassetteComeback Thank you, hopefully it's just the edges!
@Cassette Comeback
Yes, please. It will be fascinating to see the results. Considering all the research that went into these cassettes over the years, it's surprising that at some point during the distributing and manufacturing process these mold issues wouldn't have been uncovered at some point when they were still actually in production, be interesting to speak to an engineer that was involved in TDK manufacturing and hear what they thought.
I have that which I purchased many years ago. At 5:12 you're right it's made of rubber that had been glued but mine the rubber had already dried starts to peel off.
That's a shame. I guess a plain plastic shell lasts longer.
I've got a TDK MA-110 (type 4), TDK Cue 54 (type 2), and a Sony MetalMaster 46 (type 4), all still in shrink-wrap. Do I use them or are they worth something? All have been keep well but I've got loads of older, good quality cassettes, previously recorded but could re-use. Cheers! BTW, my deck is Nakamichi 582Z so it's not like they will be abused!
Metal cassettes are worth good money now, only you can decide if you want to use them or sell them...
Need to restate it here. That tape is tre sexy!
Shame that tape was shot....minidiscs don't rot or go bad.. My fav is the TDK minidiscs... Still use tape sometimes...
I've no interest in metal tapes because I want to know that I am listening to a tape. I previously told you that I record with dolby c and play without. I realize now that was because I didnt have manual bias. Now I do and I can roll with negative bias. I still do the trick but I now use dolby b. I am not saying it sounds better than the source, just that it sounds different and I like the difference. Thank you for making these videos.
I have a lot of these tapes and I havent had one that was shot. Maybe I got lucky.
I owned one of these bad boys back then. Never liked the "military" optics and preferred the predecessor. But the tape itself was amazing and pretty much wasted on anything below a 757 Pioneer or a 9010 Kenwood deck.
What does that “Response Limit(-3dB) at Dolby Level” mean?
Where did you find the hand winder. I want one for myself. It’s things like this that make restoration possible. If you haven’t posted this comment, please do. Anything that helps us save on an investment like metal and even chrome type tapes is a plus. The restorers of this tape type appreciate your help and advice. Thanks!
Were these MA XG tapes ever used for professional/broadcasting purposes?? with the level of construction/price/quality they pretty much qualify for such duties?
I am wondering if that plastic tape formulation is like hydrophilic and without opening the package, the moisture remains in the packaging...curious. That's the kind of tape that you taped your absolute BEST Grateful Dead show on...
Interesting thought, but I doubt that tapes still in wrappers are hermetically sealed.
@@AttilaTheHun333333 I was thinking more that more moisture could ingress that could egress, not that the tapes were sealed per-se. I have 3D printing filaments that will absorb moisture from a climate controlled room(
Look at the comment I left above, it's the lube drying out. TDK started ussing some strange lube in latter years.
@@johnstark5324 I just read. Interesting stuff! Thank you for taking the time to reply to me here. Cheers.
You can spool new tape onto the reels.
Nice trick! Nearly fell for it too :)
I might sound cringy right now, but is it possible to open the tape, wipe every centimeter of the tape itself and clean the chassis as well? Or this powder is the very important part of the metal tape?
As it turns out it's lubricant breakdown. I FF/REW it a few times and it actually sounds as it should now.
Cassette Comeback It's awesome to hear that is usable now.
Another relaxing and compelling video. Thank you 👍🏻
Not to divert too much from the aims of your channel, but as you record a fair amount of royalty free music from TH-cam would you share your choice of DAC, or maybe even show us it in use?
I showed it briefly in a previous video, but I use a Topping D10.
@@CassetteComeback Thanks Tony. I'll get it on the Amazon wishlist. 👍🏻
I´ve got a single one. And some MAs. And 20 SA-XSs And yes, I d say the MA-XG was TDKs finest hour, tape-wise.( They were very good at video tape too). Though, in my personal book , I prefer the Denon HD-M. Just as sexy-looking, sounds every bit as good, doesm´t go white and is a bit more flexible as to where it works.
So that was Last Revision of the Cassette....I purchased a Box of 5 in Probably in Late 1989 or Early 1990 in LA Tower Records and were Roughly $10-12 per Blank Cassette which was Alot Considering Basic Metal Cassettes were $2.50-3.50 per Cassette 60-120 mins... the Tabs on Top Pivot which allowed for ReRecording Over the Previous Material where on Lesser Cassettes you had to use Tape ove the Holes to Do the Same...
I had MA-XG-X .... it costs a fortune
Maybe it's just my cloth ears, or perhaps the tape has deteriorated a little, but there seems to be a very slight loss in clarity in the treble/high-mids, tiny but it's there. Surprising for a 25 quid tape. Pretty little deck that Dual BTW. Dual stuff was great. Had a CS505-3 turntable back in the day. Didn't sound any worse than Marantz CD-75SE which cost about 4 times as much, and was the darling of the high-fi press back in '87. In many ways, the Dual deck had a more coherent sound. Pissed me off no end at the time!
The ones I have a metal frame and clear plastic face. Still work after all these years!
One of my metal TDKs have been white-moldy, but I cleaned it completely, since then it plays perfect without any mold on it. So maybe you should try.
I will get round to giving it a go.
I have a couple. I love them
What a shame about the tape. However, I think there is a possibility of recovery. At least it is worth trying. I will see if it is possible first. If I find it works, I’ll let you know.
I'll have a go. I've so many, it's got to be worth a shot. If I find a good method, I'll do a video on it.
That would be really interesting! I have two of these which I got recently which have the same problem as your first one in the video. I have another three which I bought (and used) back in the day which are completely fine, which seems to confirm your theory that it is bad if they stay sealed for years. On the other hand, I got lucky last week and got a sealed one for €12 which is completely fine :-) So maybe it is a combination of sealed+storage conditions (temperature).
Wow. Just Wow!!
.....15 pieces in the collection
Сколько за одну запечатку хотите?:)
@@midnightoil1814 Запечатанных нет....
That sounds like a really good tape but it's too bad that the TDK tapes go bad but when there good there really good and when there bad there really bad anyway keep on rocking 🎸!!!
There is a TH-cam channel “TE” and he has a cleaning video for cassette tape. This may not be the definitive way to clean the residue or other nasties off or out of a cassette tape, but it is the only one I’ve found so far. I googled it and found it. Not convinced this is the only way. I’m still looking for other alternative ways. I still say pissing away any high dollar tape is not happening by me. I am not a skin flint by any means. I just don’t believe in laying down and playing dead when it comes to investing in music products which are not easy to come by, ie. blank metal cassettes.
I've got this to it's best again. Used a hand winder to FF / Rew it a few times, then wiped the inside of the shell with a microfibre cloth. Seems all good so far, but haven't done a full record on it to check for dropouts.
I think TDK switch to polyvinyl wrappers in the 90s and polyvinyl tends to out gas which in turn ruins other plastics. I checked all my tdk, after watching your videos, but they are all ok.
Interesting, but why does it seem to just affect metals?
@@CassetteComeback Chromium is an anti fungal. Same with iron oxide (it's being used in nano particles to make things antiseptic). So those would be more immune to the effects.
PVC, that can be made from coal, was cheaper to make than polypropylene (oil prices jumped 23 percent from 89 to 90) which is what they probably used before. Lot's of cost cutting from japan as the yen hit a peak against the dollar and japan's economy started to collapse in 1991.
@fernarias
Wow that is some interesting technical information, in any case a tragedy that so many high quality NOS tapes have been destroyed by these issues.
@@watershed44 I'm sure no one knew you would buy tapes and never use them (kept in the pack). I still have some that I bought to make mixed tapes and then didn't use them because cd-r came out and then became cheap (first one I bought was a 2r for 100 dollars at Fry's). I then just started making mixed cds and bought a cd player for my car(price also, 20 cdrs for 40 vs 1 tape for 10). The expensive tapes just languished in my collection.
I had this back in the days. I think it didnt last long.
I have to ask about the oxidation. I have some stored TDK MA-XG 90 which I bought in 2003. I have used a few of them and they show no evidence of oxidation and these still record fine. Three of the remainer are in the original TDK cardboard box they where supplied in and you can view the centre of the tape through the still sealed plastic cover. These also show no evidence of oxidation. It seems odd that the sealed tape shown here should have degraded like that but could they have been stored in an uber damp castle dungeon (or moat) ? The possibility of an original bad batch also exists but if the original tapes were unoxidised and sealed, there should never be a problem if they were stored in dry conditions (as mine have been).
It's random. At this age, if they perform like they did 30 years ago, then take it as a win.
Can the tape be cleaned?
This is not bad or broken tape, You can record music on this TDK, white dust will be gone after few hours of music...
Hi! I have a few of this MA-XG cassettes completely sealed and new. For how much could I sell them? Please help! I have no idea the value of them and I dont want to sell them cheaper than they are! :)
Look at sold listings on eBay
@@CassetteComebackI have! But prices go from £70(95USD) to £350(476USD) for the exact same item.
I haven’t arrived at a solution yet, but I spent way too much on these metal tapes to have them pissed away over something of which I don’t exactly know what it is. I will try to clean the tape first. After all, it can’t hurt it any worse than that off color crap that’s in there. I probably use a micro fiber cloth. Something soft that is not likely to hurt it. It will take time, but it will be worth it to save what I consider a worthy investment. Those metal tapes are far from cheap. Don’t have to explain that to anyone who has bought any!
Hi Tony. If you still have this cassette, for a reasonable price, I'm ready to buy it in this shape : unsealed and molded. I'm waiting for an answer from you.
I noticed some minor sybbalance on the hithat on the playback part. Do you think it’s from the heads, tape, source, etc. Anyway, It kinda feels like it limits the performance of the tape, at least for me personally.
Probably from the source. It's hard to get uncompressed royalty free music with vocals, so you use what you can find. The original video used a CD source, which sounded better.
May I have that one for some tests???!!!The one with mold?!
That Dual is a babe! What a machine.
I would still buy them, just for the shell.
I'm afraid you'll chew your words when you see what prices those are going for... Just do a quick eBay search and tell us your impressions.
@@BilisNegra
I know the prices...I meant this defective tape.
@@AttilaTheHun333333 Oh, that's OK ;)
@@BilisNegra
The only tape I payed unreasonable money for was a TEAC 52G. I just had to have one for the design...oh well.
I’v got five of these tdk ma-xg cassettes. Interested in buying?
Super cassette!
Hi. I just subscribed to your fantastic channel. As someone who had decided to return to the wonderful world of cassettes, your channel is a boon to me. Anyway I have a question pertaining to this video. In the market you can get tape cleaning machine which look like a portable cassette player which supposed to get rid of those pesky white powdered substance. How do you rate those? Could they potentially damage the tape?
Never heard of those. Do you have a link?
@@CassetteComeback Sorry I couldn't find the link. I saw the item in Facebook someone was selling them. The link: m.facebook.com/groups/612005459007841?view=permalink&id=856670744541310&sfnsn=mo. The language isn't in English though but it basically says the device can clean any dirty cassette including the one with white powder.
1100 meters of new 1/4” tape is a bit cheaper (at 7 1/2 it’s more than x2 cheaper) and way better than a metal type cassette. Type IV is for a collection imho.
I’ve heard that some of them due to age the magnetic powder can destroy heads of your tape deck. Is it true ?
Anecdotally, I’ve heard that when Metal first came out, it could wear through heads. After a couple years, manufacturers started using a harder steel in the tape heads to prevent this.
I have no source to provide other than an old audio engineer friend.
I always say this but I wish I bought a few in the day.
Hit the DeLorean 😀
Tony,have you ever seen the crystal clear TDK MAXG 90???🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
Is there one without the metal shell?
Yes,want a picture of it??
I bet if you can record a reel to reel master of an album to that, it would sound nearly identical to the master! ........ Maybe not, IDK!
Either this or Sony Metal Master IMO
Why are you unpacking these cassettes? these must be very rare, I have never seen most of the cassettes that you unpack in your videos in my life, here in the Czech Republic collectors would break your hands :D such a cassette is sold here for thousands of dollars..
So sad.....Hope you received a replacement
I had one of these for special recordings, however became unusable as it would get stuck and got to the stage where fast forward and remind were a struggle for any deck.
In the end I prefer the previous clear model
Anadailog channel will show you how to recover these METAL tapes , DO NOT BIN !
It would help if you turn the volume down when using the test tone and turn it back up when done ?
There is no point in talking over it as we can not hear you , it is " LOAD "
i can't find it. Where is it?
The myth is true TDK do degrade faster than other brands
In my experience, yes.
Cassette Comeback I heard from another comment about TDK tapes degrading faster than the normal lifespan of a cassette
The BASF doesn't look good in those tests, but I see SR and no XR sony there, so it must be from overseas, therefore it doesn't mean much.
life time warranty, send it to them for a new replacement ;)
Reupload?
Watch it. I explain why.
Good memories dude !! I subd
This video shows how awful these were at showing fingerprints on the black part of the shell. They always looked bad as soon as you opened them.
Please review TDK MA-X
Send me one and I will 😁