Maxell, TDK, BASF, Memorex, Sony, 3M, Scotch, Capitol, Lafayette, Realistic, Norelco, Lyric, and at least a dozen other manufacturers sell audio cassettes. Many manufacture cassettes of excellent quality, others consciously exploit cassette users with sub-standard cassettes.

I’ve used cassettes since the late 1960’s when Phillips and the Japanese invented cassette audio. I’ve done countless interviews with a succession of fairly trusty Sony and Hitachi cassette recorders. I listen to most of my music on cassette and, despite its symphonic limitations, it’s the easiest way to manipulate sound.

The quality of the cassette recorder and the cassette affect how the sound comes out. But, no matter what you pay for the cassette recorder, the fidelity df its performance is fixed by the cassette. Cheap cassettes record and reproduce sound poorly, they hiss, pop, and rumble, they can damage the cassette recorder head and capstan roller, and wear out quickly.

The casual buyer is “being sold” cassettes, not “buying” them. A small minority know what cassette to buy at what price.

Some suggestions:

A) Buy only name brand cassettes. I rate Maxell and TDK among the best from personal experience and in a pinch I’d be perfectly happy with BASF, Sony, or Scotch.

B) Buy medium grade or better cassettes like Maxell UD (Ultra Dynamic) or TDK SD series.

C) Shop around, check for better prices in electronics stores and discount houses. Cassettes may cost $1 or more at your local drugstore. I pay about $2 for a Maxell UD C60 when I have Dixie Hi Fi (2040ThalbroSt.. Richmond, VA 23230) ship them to me. My local store charges $3 apiece.

D) Resist the temptation of 3 cassettes for 89i bargains.

E) Don’t listen to experts unless you’re positive they actually use audio cassettes. This applies expecially to hi-fi store salesmen.

F) Experiment if you’re brave. You can hear the difference in tape quality between cheap and quality audio cassette tape. Just put cotton in your ears, tie down the furniture, and turn it up real loud.

G) Avoid pre-recorded record company cassettes if you can manage to make your own copy from an album as a protest for the miserable quality of many prerecorded audio cassettes. I say this as someone who pays cash for prerecorded cassettes.

I have on my desk three Maxell cassettes. Each will record up to one hour of sound, but each sells for a dollar or so more than the next. Like many manufacturers, Maxell produces both economy and quality line cassettes.

When I refer to cheap cassettes I do not mean to include the economy lines of the major brands. These lines can be used effectively by those with inexpensive tape recorders, especially if the principle sound being put on or taken off the tape is talking rather than music. The Maxell C-60 is a good, well constructed, useable cassette. Personally I prefer the Maxell UD C-60 which is in the medium category. It is good for recording music and very good for recording voice. Then comes the Maxell UDXL. This is Maxell’s hottest tape and will make superior music or voice recordings within the cassette format. It’s four to five dollars a cassette. I recommend it as a classy tape.

Audio cassette recording is an excellent device for preserving conversations, live events, music, and other audible sensations. Records and open reel audio recording will always soupd better than cassettes, but they do not offer the versatility that is designed into cassette recording. It is true that the better the hi-fi system and more expensive the cassette recorder being played through it the worse the cassette will sound. But if you stay within the format, you’ll be delighted with the results.

If you follow my suggestions, you’ll get recordings that have a permanence . Just break the tabs on the spine of the cassette (tape them over if you plan to re-record) and the sound is sealed forever onto the cassette.

Take the proper care of your cassettes and they’ll outlive you. Maintenance rules: keep away from dusty places; keep away from places with high humidity; also, don’t store in shower or refrigerator; don’t leave the cassette in the sun, in a car trunk, in a window where the sun shines with any warmth, on the radiator, etc. keep away from magnets and gigantic electric motors; rewind once a year,