Source for pre-recorded audio cassettes (1 Viewer)

[Rich Allen]

Does anyone have a good reliable source for pre-recorded audio cassettes. My fathers's truck only takes them and he wants a couple for Christmas. I've scanned over ebay, but I'm somewhat skittish over what I've seen there.

Thanks.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Wouldn't it be easier to just buy him a new deck for the truck?

The only good source for tapes these days are garage sales. I see them all of the time. I put mine out a few years ago at 5/$1, but only sold a handful. The rest are now in a local landfill.

 

[Rich Allen]

He doesn't want one. I suggested that and he ruled that out. He prefers what he has. At his age, he's pretty set in his ways so I'm not forceing it on him.

Guess I'll check the landfill.

 

[Phil A]

If he owns a CD player in his house and has CDs but still wants tapes for the car of music he owns perhaps just get him a cassette recorder. I have my cassette deck sitting in my seldom used basement system (mainly for weekend HDTV) sporting events and while I may have a couple of pre-recorded cassettes most is stuff I taped when I had vinyl. About every 3 yrs. I play a cassette whether I need to or not. Some of the stuff with DBX noise reduction from Mobile Fidelity vinyl still sounds good (at least the last time I listened) but I'm sure it's deteriorated over time and I've probably bought most of what I had on vinyl on CD.

The other choice is just get a portable CD player with a car adapter. They used to make adapters that would hook to the cassette deck but it's been so long since I've even looked at that stuff. Goodwill or other thrift stores may still have cassettes around.

 

[Rich Allen]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the goodwill stores too.

 

[Steve_Pannell]

What type of music is he interested in? I have some that I might part with for cheap + shipping.

 

[Rich Allen]

Well...

He's mainly looking for some Abba, a greatest hits tape.

Yes, I know, Abba....

 

[Eric Peterson]

Another place to check is Truck Stops (especially near small towns). Every once in awhile, I'll still spy a rack of tapes, but this is pretty rare.

Just a thought!

 

[Rich Allen]

That's a good idea. Worth a check. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

You can buy those cassette adapters that go into the tape deck and plug into the headphone jack of any CD player or MP3 player for about $10 in pretty much any store with an electronics department.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Library book sales are probably a good bet, too. Seems like that's a place people tend to dump their old cassettes.

I think most of us have dealt with parents or older relatives who resist new technology (although its getting to a point where CD players in vehicles isn't really all that "new" of an idea anymore). But I would recommend that you also re-consider the idea of pushing your dad into the idea of replacing his cassette deck with a CD deck. Once he sees the advantages of tracks, storage, fidelity, etc...he might just think you're the greatest son ever.

My sister got my parents a computer a few years ago--despite their protestations--and they now are e-mailing photos and 'net surfing with the rest of us (at ages 76 & 78!). I was surprised...but no more than they were surprised!

 

[Carl Johnson]

You should be able to find a stand alone cassette recorder for < $50. If you were to buy one of those and a stack of blank tapes you could record them yourself.

 

[Greg_S_H]

If you look here, some marketplace sellers have the ABBA cassette for sale. I think Amazon offers you some level of protection. I know they never see your credit card:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...292280&sr=8-15

Also, this is confusing, but I believe this is supposed to be a brand new audio cassette, in stock from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Greatest-...292122&sr=8-10

If you look at the info down a ways, it says "audio cassette." You might want to confirm with Amazon first.

 

[Steve_Pannell]

I don't have ABBA:Gold on cassette but I do have The Album.

 

[Phil A]

Another source would be Craigs List for various localities. Here is 200 cassettes for $50 - http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/emd/491469309.html

 

[Rich Allen]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The CD with the cassette adaptor was tried, and lets just said it didn't work well.

He just wants to put it in and let it play. Track hopping and the like are immaterial to him. Now to me though, that's how I usually listen.

I'm gonna give replacing it another try. Any suggestions on a car deck with large buttons and simple controls? If I can find something like that, it stands a chance. It definately doesn't have to be top of the line, just a basic player.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Rich: I think that's the right way to go. Just explain to him that finding cassettes is like finding desirable LPs these days (or good radio stations!).

I think the MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE for you to consider for your dad is a volume control knob...rather than + and - buttons. Accept no substitutes. I consider myself still rather tech-savvy and even I don't like the volume buttons on my car's CD player. I really wish it had a simple volume control knob for adjustments. The rest will take care of itself. Slide the disc in and set the volume. The only other thing he'll really need to do is hit the eject button. In/out/volume adjustments.

He might not understand about the problems with scratching the surfaces of the CDs. You might consider a viser holder to allow him easy access (and safe storage) when swapping out discs.

I also NEVER keep original CDs in my car because of conditions and the swirling marks left on discs by the players as they spin up inserted discs. You might offer to make copies of all his favorite CDs for him so that the originals can be stored safely at home.

Just some ideas. Good luck!

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Likely much tougher, actually! I've got whole catalogs of new LP releases, but nary a mention of tape.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Shhh. Don't let Rich's dad hear you!

 

[James_S]

Also check out http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html

I have seen a lot of people getting rid of their collections for cheap. I saw one on there the other day where he/she was selling 200 pre-recorded cassettes for $10.00.