The art of recording a mixtape

When I think of blank tapes in the 80s, I think creating an art piece and the beautiful complexity that came with it. 

What kind of music did I want to record on it?  New Wave, Alternative, Punk or Heavy Metal.

Depending of the type of music, I would choose the perfect cassette. 

What brand?  Maxell, Denon, Sony, TDK were my top favorites. 

What position? Normal, Chrome CRo2 or Metal

What length? 30, 60, 90 or 120 min

How much money did I had in my pocket?  I was in highschool...'nuff said.

What artwork?  What image from a magazine would I choose?

I used a lot of Maxell UR-90 (position normal), that's what I could afford and they sounded good. But I prefered the Maxell XLII-90 (Position Chrome/CRo2), that's been THE cassette I used the most for my recordings in the 80's.  Especially for all my New Wave and Alternative music. 

When I would have a little more money I would treat myself with a Denon just because it was more fashionable but I would end up most of the time being unhappy of the sound result, to high for my liking, not enough bass.  So these Denon were good for my Heavy Metal and Punk music.

Sony HF-60 (normal) and the orange Sony LNX-60 (normal).  For simple music use. 

Another brand I used a lot was TDK, of all kinds.  TDK D 90 (normal), good sound, not expensive. Perfect for enless mixtapes for my friends and sports tournaments. I tried the TDK MA 90 (Metal) but there is something I never really liked with the metal position, it sounded like an empty can....that's my personnal point of view from my teenage souvenirs.  TDK SA 90 (CRo2), great Chrome cassette but I prefered the Maxell XLII-90 by a bit.  TDK D 60, even if I prefered 90 minutes tapesl  And finally TDK SD 90 (CRo2), used them a lot, much more then the TDK SA 90 but less then the Maxell XLII-90. 

Sometimes you get yourself fooled by the cover.  That's what happened with the very colourful design of the Memorex dBS 110.  Loved the look, hated the sound, just not a quality cassette.

I guess my dad bought some BASF LH extra I 90 (Normal), didn't like it.  The end.

What about the length of a cassette?  I never, ever had the need for a 30 minutes.  I guess people used it to record their voice on it?  So short!  The 60 minutes was so popular but it was too long to record a full record that would leave to much blank space on each side.  My perfect size was the 90 minutes.  One full album on each side.  That was perfect to record my vinyl on my blank tape to listen on my Walkman at school.  I sometimes was tempted by the 120 minutes version to record long various mixtapes but I thought these would easily break and the sound would loose in quality. 

The artwork. I remember using my best writing to write the titles and artists.  My handwriting had to be even perfect than a French exam.  I would choose an image in a magazine that would represent the mood of my mixtape.  Even if my favorite magazines were music ones, I would prefer fashion ones for my mixtapes because there were a lot of abstract image to choose from. Cut the exact size and there it is; the perfect 80's mixtape!

MissEighties