VWestlife is probably not aware that playing cassettes longer than 90 minutes can rip the fabric of space and time

I find it strange that there were companies like Sony (amongst others) who manufactured not only cassette decks but also the longer-than-C90 tapes that they presumably warned against using in said decks...

The lengths you go through to avoid copyright claims - I'm actually impressed.

The playlist: 9:20 First Missouri State Bank 11:09 Keep Idaho Green 13:48 The Eye Institute, of Southern Arizona (Our Focus is You)

1994 me found this very useful 😂

It's always interesting to hear these various radio jingles from different parts of the country, especially such clear recordings of them.

I rarely went past C90, but that's because 45 minutes was sufficient to record an entire vinyl album. It was a very convenient size for taping full albums.

This video only proves how bad my audio equipment was back in the day. These cassette recordings sound better than my CDs did on the stereos I could afford, be it speakers or headphones. ** 80s nostalgia intensifies. **

Just a note from an active user of cassettes in the 70s-2000. The popularity of boomboxes, other portable cassette players, and the harsh environment of car cassette players, mean that many tapes were not being played in high quality or carefully maintained players. Even the 90 minute tapes would often squeal, and-or get eaten by the player. I learned early on to stick with 60 minute tapes or prerecorded music tapes. Even though I had a very high end double auto reverse cassette player for the home, since most of my mixtapes were made for portable or car use I just stuck with the 60 minute variety.

Pencils in the 80s worked fine. They must have been bigger back then, or something. I always used a pencil and never had problems.

I love being a night owl. I LOVED 120's. Best mixes ever.

I’ve suddenly becoming more and more into cassette. Channels like you, Techmoan, Cassette Comeback, and RetroCore AV have really made me dive deep into the hobby. I have a couple of blanks, but no working deck yet.

"The preferred writing implement for winding a tape is..." is a statement that must sound like absolute nonsense to anyone who didn't live through the format's heyday. 😂

I see you channeled your inner Project Farm with how comprehensive the testing in this video was. Great video!

I worked at an FM/AM combo radio station in the late 80s early 90s. While all this may seem silly today, at the time every radio stations would get 100s of "Air Check" tapes every week. These were audio resumes of people seeking employment at the station. Most of them were college radio Air Checks. A tape with proper bias, and level adjustment would always sound a lot better, especially on the Tascam equipment we used at the station. Also physically looking at a tape before using it is a lost art. I can remember people screaming while running down the hallways because of broken, mangled, or dirty tapes. We used a very expensive conveyor eraser for all tapes. A dirty tape is one where the last recording can still be heard when played back. Causing this in a radio station was the equivalent of a mid air collision to an Air Traffic Controller. Anyway any tape the did not have some sheen to it, I would never use, because that meant it was worn, or too old to have been coated in modern metals.

wtf I Love **First Missouri State Bank** now.

I've never actually seen the "pencil trick" in a cassette deck manual like that before! It's true that the Bic is easier to use, but the pencil does work fine if you bend it at a bit of an angle while you turn. Also, I wonder if standard pencil thickness varies somewhat from country to country; it seemed to be a better fit when I was young and our pencils were all made in Canada.

I forgot about the CD tapes. They're practically demanding you to make a tape of your CDs.

Hey! Wow! The Panasonic SG-V03 was my one and only main stereo back in the 80s. It was given to me on Christmas of 1984 (I was 16). The V03 had the DJ spindle without the arm. The V33 had the album spindle and arm and the bigger dust cover. Wow! So cool seeing that again. I loved that thing. It lasted me way into the early 90s. I held on to it and then later found it in my closet around 1996 in nearly mint condition, and then gave it to my son's friend who was a tech nerd and wanted it. So cool seeing that again!!!

Wow, the manual actually said "longer then."

Just the video I needed in 1991.

Three things: 1. I always keep a BIC Crystal pen around for the sole purpose of winding tapes 2. I really like your Denon 3-Head deck! I think 3-head decks are overhyped (although I can't say for sure as I've never had one) but it really looks nice 3. I've used plenty of tapes over C-90, including a few C-100s and C-110s, and rarely, C-120s. I don't avoid C-120s, I just don't come across them that often

I've used many of the cassette tapes you showed including metal tapes. I haven't had any issues. One issue that i had was always the Foam in the cassette deteriorating which i repaired myself. Love these videos. Take care!

Why is this bloke in the North of England going round singing about the First Missouri State Bank? 🤣 Weird looks from my family all day, who also wanna know why do I want to keep Idaho green 🤪

I've been wondering about this for years. Glad to see my unanswered question is finally answered

I've actually used Maxell 120 cassettes to record FM radio back in the late 2000s until 2011. Still have a couple of them kicking around and they still work fine!😁👌

Great video. That's my Denon deck, bought it in 1988 still going strong, fantastic machine with incredible sound quality, brings out the best of any cassette. All those new tanashin based decks don't come anywhere near machines like this.

Pencils used to vary in size back in the 70s and early 80s. I had a lot of pencils that were circular instead of hexagonal and a little bigger so you could easily use the wood above the point to stick in and turn the tape.

Where on earth did you collect these PSA/ Commercial songs? Musta all been done by one studio. I promise you those poor studio musicians did not expect this awful PSA song to still be played likely 30 years later.

I feel a strange urge to open an account with First Missouri State Bank now.

I never think VWestlife will beyond to far since i subscribe in 2014. In that time,I was a kids that want look decent home audio equipment review. I really love Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2 review & cassingles demo with a ton great 1990s song demo,York CD player with Dolby Surround Demo,Philips DCC Player,etc. Congratulation for KZfaq Silver Button. Thank you very much for make great video.

Yesterday, cassette comeback reviewed the TDK D! Great minds think alike.

i love 120 minute tapes :) never have had a poblem

Isn't a good thing when the tape stretches? You can record even more on it!

Thanks for introducing me to the smash hit " Keep Idaho Green"! No seriously, I like the jingles on this video.💚

Excellent video! I have been using cassettes since the mid 80’s and have never ever had an issue with long thin tapes on any machine.

I like your content has stayed consistent, even after 14 years!

Not gonna lie, the music was the best part of this video, lol

Just what a man needs on blue Monday. Waking up with an excellent VWestlife video! Great job, thanks again Kevin. 👍😊

Love the way you edited “…and KZfaq end screens” onto the marketing explainer bit at the end. I can imagine the creative director for the company they’d hired, brought onto explain the new stuff for the station, and trying to put it into reasonably simple words.

That Missouri State Bank jingle is pretty poppin!!!

Fortunately I was able to rewind this video when I was done watching in order to be kind for the next person. As it was under 20 minutes, it thankfully didn’t break my tablet in the process. ;-)

I will say the sounds of the callibration tones, putting the cassete in the deck, the tape cases, all music to my ears, literally. I started out making music with a tape recorder (6x C batteries required) from Goodwill and a 90 to 110 tape. 120 definitely marred my recordings. But flash to today and I favor that old warm, analogue and slightly warped sound. this video was such a great throwback, thanks from a 42 year old musician with almost 30 years in the game.

Loved the ending ... "and KZfaq end screens." I have used the 94 minute Sony cd cassettes 25 years ago. Great sound!

These Jingles Give a Nostalgia that i never Experienced.

I once had the TDK D180 back in the 1970s. Can't recall what happened to it - but I do know that I used it alot on an old Sanyo M2000. I have some Maxell UR C120s, generally no problems, but it is important that the transport is good: head height, guides are right, low pinch roller wear, and take-up spool tension is not too high. Nice video upload!

That grey TDK tape from the late 90s immediately brought back memories. That was the kind I used as a kid.

😂😂love the promos you find...such a joy

Wow, those recordings sounded dang good for cassette tapes. I really wish I had that sort of equipment, especially back in the day when I was young. I used to record a lot of things but it was nothing ever that professional sounding. Seems like when used with the correct equipment and calibration, it can sound just as good as a digital recording.

I had a couple of TDK D180s back in the day. They were so thin it was pretty easy to see through

My favorite KZfaq channel. Thanks for another great, useful video!

I don't know where you find all of these high production value jingles but it really added something special to this video. Awesome as usual.

Funny, I remember the Sony CD-it tapes. There was a 74-minute (later 80, I believe) to allow one to neatly fit a full-length CD onto a tape. But don't think I've ever seen (or would see the need for) a 94-minute version.

Have used C-120 for many years and never had one single defect, even with my cheap portable players.

Congrats on the 100 K award and thanks for that iconic Maxell commercial

I'm so glad I finally found some good music to play on KZfaq Music. Thank you! I'll be jamming out to the Eye Institute of Southern Arizona theme if anybody wants to know what I'll be doing for the rest of the week.

Good to see a demonstration of manual tape calibration. Only problem I've ever had with a 120 cassette is one that was used in a very nasty cheap portable. It has all the hallmarks of a do not use cassette. Drop outs, print through and stretching. It even twists and plays the b side backwards at one point. Tape artefacts, we love em. Despite this one off experience, I agree there is no reason why a decent long cassette in a decently maintained deck shouldn't be excellent. Surprised how good the 70s one performed

I used to buy 100 minute Metal Bias TDK, Sony and alike cassettes back in 90s, and very few, really few of them gave me problems. Most of them worked really great.

Your taste in music is impeccable!

Hi Kevin I have just purchased 4 CD Power 110 minutes cassettes that came from your neck of the woods - New Jersey to Worcester UK. Thanks for the great videos.

Hey Man, thanks for another great video!!! You're the man

Great video. From 1983 to about 1996 I spent a great deal of time recording my music to chrome tape and like you did here set levels correctly. Fun times and although I love digital I yearn for a simpler time, although it's actually simpler now. 😅 I almost always used 90 min tapes but I did use 120 to put Jeff Wayne's WOTW to tape and I never found a chrome or metal 120 min cassette tape in the UK. Always normal bias. Never had a snag with them (Sony). My preferred cassette tape was Sony Chrome type II of which I bought many hundreds over the years. Sadly I no longer have any tapes or vinyl records (sold them in the late 90s to fund a house move... Big mistake but hay ho)

I recently found a sealed 2 pack of Maxell 120 minute tapes at my local thrift store and thought of this video. Thanks for making it!

Another quality video filled with useful information... Thank you!

I've always used tapes longer than 90 minutes since the 80s and I've never had any problem with them.

My experience with longer tapes has been mixed. Some decks don't have enough back tension, and I've watched these thinner tapes wander over the edge of the guide roller in the corner of the cassette on the supply side...munch munch munch crinkle. :/ Sometimes they'll let you set levels/bias without any problems. Rewind to the beginning, start recording, and they get mangled as soon as the leader clears that roller. Keeping the capstan(s) super clean makes a difference. Nakamichi Dragon: Works well with C-120s, has only ever eaten only one or two. Owner's manual warns about C-120 tapes and says 'not recommended for high-fidelity recording.' Technics RS-BX707: Ate a couple until overhauling the mechanism and installing a sendust head. Manual says to avoid C-120 or longer tapes. Revox B215: Tries to eat anything that isn't the usual C-60 thickness. :-) Real-time counter has C-120 setting, don't remember anything in the manual about not using longer tapes. Back tension coming from the supply motor is a bit weak...might have some more work to do on this one.

That is one catchy bank commercial. They went all out with those old jingles.

I remember using 120 cassettes in the 90's, even cheap ones, with no issues in walkman, boom boxes, etc.

Congrats on getting your silver play button. My son (who is on the spectrum) checks my numbers every day and reports back to me, unprompted. "Hi Dad, you just hit 31,000 subscribers. You still have 69,000 subscribers to go" was today's report.

finally video about cassettes! love it

Another well done and entertaining video there VW. I enjoyed it v/much. 👍👍

This is a fun and informative video. Especially liked the picture on the TDK D90 tape showing a pair of headphones plugged into a Walkman that looked exactly like a compact cassette. Also the cassette that was 2/3 the size of a car dashboard!

I've used 120 minute tapes for years, since the mid 80's. I recorded them on a Hitachi two motor, 3 head deck. I would record NPR's Car Talk on one side and This American Life on the other. Then I would listen to them during the week in the car while I was making calls for my business. Had Ford decks and Chrysler decks. Never had any problems. I used Maxell and TDK tape. I think the problem with 120 tapes arises when you start fast forwarding and rewinding within the one hour side, attempting to find a specific place on the tape. The tape mechanisms are not as kind to thin tape in the fast wind modes especially car decks. As long as you pop the tape in, and play or record it in its entirety, the tapes perform superbly.

I’m still using 120min tapes for recording “You And Yours” and “The Archers.”

Found that really interesting, thanks for the upload! Love the jingles too. 👍

Thanks for the "unmute" indicators, much appreciated.

I own 3 out of 4 of the 120min tapes you tried (no 40+ year old Sony tape lol), and I've never had any problems. I still make mix tapes using my Sansul D-W11 tape deck from 1989, and I also download and record old radio shows for myself and for my Dad (working on a Lum and Abner mix for my Dad using the 120min Maxell UR), and I've had no problems whatsoever in the process.

Never had a problem with TDK 120 cassettes. No sound loss at all after 30 plus years and still using them today.

Wow, the very first mix tape I ever made (which contained mostly 1960s music) was on a Maxell UR 120!!!! Thank you so much for the video, VWestlife.... keep up the great work!!!

Beautiful singles. Congratulations on 100,000 subscribers. From A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.

The manuals that said to not use anything longer than 90 minutes were written when the next size up was 120, which used thinner tape. The 100 and 110 length tapes came out in later years. They used the standard tape thickness and just filled the reels up more thoroughly, so they were as safe to use as 90's. I used them for years with no problem. The problem with 120s and 180s was not recording quality, it was the higher probability of the tape stretching or breaking.

Very good demo on all these brands of audio cassette tapes. I remember The MAXELL brands & commercials those memories. I have most of the tapes you sampled & have no problems including the 120 minutes. However I noticed with later designed TDK tapes when I copied them from an earlier source (mostly other TDK'S) the 90 minutes was actually shorter than the original & had many early cutoffs on the newer TDK tapes. Ithe oldest one I have today I received in 1977 still worked very well. Some of my Sony tapes squeal on ocassions which is annoying, that was their CHF series not bad otherwise now over 30 years old. The newer cassette decks will probably digitize I hate to say it the older cheap cheap cassettes 😱. That I wouldn't use the naked eye can spot them as you showed how dry flat some are more thin than the manufacturers on all these brands don't mention. I found that surprise the cheap/ inferior tapes wasn't the 90 minute or the 120 minutes etc. it was the 60 minutes! 😵 I discontinued use of those when I upgraded in the 1980's it murdered my older built in table and shelf models from the 1970's. This was my experience, I would like to get those tapes you demonstrated they're worth recording from. This is an excellent video keeping this interest & hobby alive I thank you for presenting & sharing this. 👏👏👏👏🙂👍.

For years I comuted to Heathrow from Croydon listning to "Steve Wright in the Afternoon" that I had set to tape the previous day on a few BASF C120 Chrome II tapes that I cycled through. The Sony cassette player in my 25 year old Toyota never spilled a tape and still works today. And Yes - BASF did make C120 Chrome II tapes for real!

18:46 Sir you have a great sense of humour. Seriously great job on the video. Enjoyable and informative.

I actually got a cassette deck put back in a 2013 car I get loads of comments as its in a car with a touch screen its a long story of how it worked out. I even have bluetooth and an aux port to keep others happy.

I feel oddly compelled to open an account with the First Missouri State Bank, where first means more

Wonderful video, as always!

These jingles you're playing freaking slap! Lol right on 🤘

I've always used a big phillips screwdriver to take up the slack

I remember working in an electronics shop on Saturdays when I was 16 back in the day, we sold C-180 cassettes. They were expensive though. Not seen one since.

YES. This is the content I need right now.

Kevin, that PSA for Idaho Fire Prevention is really catchy. It would make a great video, if it hasn't already. Kudos to the ad agency who thought that one up, and I'm sure Idaho appreciates you giving them airtime on KZfaq. You nicely summed it up when you said that properluy maintained equipment is MOST important for C-120's to work well. Also, there are people who would never guess that a Q-tip moistened in alcohol is meant for tape path cleaning. The use of high quality TDK, Maxell and SONY ( not KDK and Maxwell and the like ( yes, they are still out there )) tapes is also a prudent lesson you've hopefully planted in the head of the un-suspecting magnetic media newbie. Again, excellent equipment, media, knowledge, and execution. Thank you. P.S. I think your outro sounds good too.

I agree with this to a degree. I used to buy albums and record them to cassette to play in my car because I felt that was the best sound to be had by cassette. I used nothing but alpine head units in my car, and Yamaha cassette decks in my home, which I considered some of the better equipment back in the day. I used the music search a lot, and have had more long play tapes fail/break than the shorter play. 90min seemed to be the sweet spot. I keep the decks serviced as in heads and pinch rollers cleaned and demagnetized. I used to own/run a pioneer authorized repair center so yes I knew how to properly take care of my equipment. As far as sound quality, I really could not hear any difference between the 120's & the 90"s. Just my two cents...Maxell UD/XL II 90's are the best tapes, with TDK SA 90's a very close second.

A Lot of 3 head decks have playback losses , listening to off monitor recording is often a big pitfall , especially with older ferric tapes . I had the Denon DR-M24 HR , virtually the same . It had huge playback losses with all ferric tapes AND I found that the level rec cal was fake . It's just mini recording level , it doesn't actually change the recording sensitivity of the recording amp ... Nice video btw 👏 , user manuals are often based on much more earlier stuff and sometimes manufacturers just used it to cover up their own flaws ... 🤫

That First Missouri State Bank jingle is a banger!

I love those jingles and yeah I didn't have any problems with 120 minute tapes in the mid 90s on cheap blue light specials integrated stereo tape decks. Also glad you finally got your Play Button award!

nice using Mix107.3 jingles. Where is this radio station located? as there are a number of mix107.3's that came up in a google search

I used to use those CD-IT 94's all the time and never had any issues playing them in my car. CDPower were good tapes too.

These commercial bumper things are super interesting and and very well produced

Even my Nakamichi Deck advises against tapes bigger than 90 minutes! I recorded a 110 minute TDK SA-X and it sounded amazing ! Thanks for sharing how you bias your deck ,it will come in handy ,I always did it by ear