Ive been watching videos by a guy called Hainbach as he uses micro cassette recorders to get lo-fi and texture in his music. I got very interested in this and bought a micro cassette recorder off ebay and then this video popped up, which I found very interesting. So many thanks 🙂
according to another video, this recorder came out in 1981. I remember using these in elementary school to copy my friends' songs from their normal sized walkmen to microcassette. I'd play the music back when I got home on the answering machine while I did chores/homework.
Thanks for sharing. I've been interested in getting a stereo microcassette recorder for a long time, they really are interesting pieces old tech. But, as I'm sure you know, that they don't show up too often online and especially in real life, and when they do, they command crazy prices.
I have two of the Sony M-1000's I have over 10 microcassette players lol 435s, 450, 570, 677v. The speed does vary a little with my M-1000 towards the ends of the spool. edit: I just posted a video on my channel showing off my recently fixed Sony M-1000
Hi: I'm enjoying your videos! When I was a kid, I always joked about how silly it would be if stereo micro cassettes were a thing, not knowing that this format was tried in the early 1980's, just a little before my time. I recently picked up a non-working Olympus SR11 on Ebay, and, unfortunately, I'm not quite competent enough to fix it myself. It's most obvious problem is that the belt needs replacing. The transport moves, but it's squeaky. Also, I get no useful audio from the tape heads, though the op amps are definitely working fine. Occasionally, I get static from left, right or both when applying a bit of percussion or messing about with the transport controls. I've seen this problem with a few older portable cassette decks, and I'm sure you're far too familiar with it yourself. The idea of stereo micro cassette, for whatever reason, intrigues me more than it should, so I'd love to get this thing working, or find another, slightly less broken portable. I want to try it for use in the field with better stereo mics than could be easily gotten back in 1982, just for the novelty of it. It seems to me that this one's issues could be fixed without sourcing strange, old or hard-to-find parts, with the exception of the belt, though that's probably not a huge deal. Do you happen to have any recommendations for anyone who could possibly work on this deck? I'm in NYC, but don't mind sending it anywhere in the country for reasonable pricing. Thanks.
I believe that the point of stereo on a dictaphone was that if you were recording in a classroom, the lecturer would be easier to understand using headphones. This would be because you would hear ambiance and echoes coming from different positions on the stereo field, and could mentally separate them from the desired speech.
Doesn't sound too bad, considering the poor old thing won't run steadily. Might just be a dirty pot on the motor speed regulator ? I'm old enough to remember these new, a lot of the yuppies and richer commuters had them, in various forms, sometimes with AM/FM radio too. There were even Metal tapes made, rare as an honest polichicken now. I still have a tiny AIWA boombox, and a Sanyo Microcassette DECK :-)
Ha, My dad used one of those to record his garage band a long time ago. I can't imagine those recordings sounding any good from that mic. Sadly I also remember playing with it in the bathtub when I was 5.
I got a similar model like the smaller one. It got two belts in it. Unfortunaly the small belt is just too small and thin to find and replacement so only 2.4cm speed is working. IDK why they did they.
