What is a compact cassette? If you ask this question of modern youth, you are unlikely to get the right answer. But older people with pleasure and even a certain sense of nostalgia will tell you about how they listened to musical compositions of their favorite artists on compact cassettes and dreamed of getting some clean tapes in order to be able to record a good collection of songs for any occasion. After all, it was practically impossible to buy a high-quality storage medium in our country. Therefore, the lucky ones who had access to imported audio CDs could count on a flurry of popularity among peers. All of these stories seem simply unbelievable to modern children and adolescents. But the history of the compact cassette is the history of an era. That's what we’ll talk about today.
What is a cassette?
As soon as this media was not called at the time of its popularity! But still, most know it under three names:
- compact cassette;
- cassette;
- audio cassette.
All of these formulations indicate one subject, the peak of use of which occurred in the period from the sixties to nineties. At the time of its appearance on the territory of the Soviet Union, more than once it was possible to hear disputes among young people about the topic that best conveys sound quality - a familiar bobbin or compact cassette. Usually the scales always leaned in favor of new items. But what does she really mean?
An audio compact cassette is a tape medium. Its purpose was originally to record sounds, as well as their storage. Since the novelty also required special devices for playing back the recordings, the distribution of cassettes gave rise to a leap in the development of companies producing sound recording equipment.
Visually, the cassette is a plastic box with two coils on which a magnetic tape is wound, and wheels for its free movement. On sale there were audio cassettes with two or four tracks for recording and reproducing sound. They also differed in playing time, magnetic tape thickness, playback speed and other parameters. However, similar distinctive features appeared in this information carrier after years of its use. And initially, no one could have thought that this simple item, presented to the public in the sixties of the last century, will instantly conquer the mass consumer and will fly into oblivion just as lightning fast.
Background to the appearance of the cartridge
For most ordinary people, the history of the compact cassette began in the sixties of the twentieth century. However, if you look a little deeper, you can find out interesting details about its creation.
For the first time, the Germans thought about creating a data carrier assembled in a corps. This happened back in the thirties of the last century. And just five years later, in German tape recorders released by the Lorenz company, the invention began to be actively used. We can say that it was a prototype of a modern compact cassette. A novelty was developed for wire recorders, and therefore it consisted of two spools sealed in a metal case. Tape recorders of other German companies worked in the same way. This decision was considered a reference until almost the fifties.
During this period, German companies developed a new cassette format. Now a magnetic tape was placed in a plastic case on two coils, which greatly facilitated the weight of the product and expanded its use. It is noteworthy that in the first cassettes the tape formed a loop and could scroll indefinitely. A patent for this product was obtained in the fifty-second year. Over the next few years, some inventors tried to improve the cartridge, but all options did not become close to the consumer. This form was not in demand.
In the early sixties, cassettes appeared in North America, which were closer to the new generation compact cassettes, released a little later than all others. They had four tracks and were intended for the total mass only for sound reproduction. Independent recording or erasing of information on them was not provided. They gained distribution as a carrier for car radios. However, their mechanism had a lot of disadvantages because of which the sound quality first of all suffered. If the consumer needed to jump from one composition to another, then the playback head began to move at an angle, which over time led to its loosening. The sound began to “float”, which did not add to the cassettes popularity.
However, in the sixty-third year, everything changed, and the history of the cassette made a new round.
Modern cassette format
There is still debate about which company developed the compact cassette in the usual form for most. After all, she had many prototypes that lay claim to the palm. However, Philips is officially recognized as the founder of the audio cassette. It was she who introduced a completely new audio cassette format to the court of specialists, which is distinguished by its simplicity and ease of use.
It is noteworthy that at that moment no one was able to promise a new product to a great future, but they nevertheless became interested in it. Philips' main rival in the sound recording market in the sixties was Sony. Its specialists also worked on creating their own cassettes and could well have developed something more interesting. In order to stop the rivalry once and for all and never again return to the topic of which company developed the first compact cassette, Philips decided not to charge a license fee for the production of its invention. This was a decisive moment in the fate of the audio cassette.
A year after its first show in Germany, mass production of the new product was established, and then it spread around the world. Everywhere began to organize the production of cassettes, which made them a fairly cheap product. He went to the masses and in record time won the recognition of his consumer.
History of compact cassettes
Since the modern format of the audio cassette is the brainchild of Philips, but it was she who introduced a certain labeling, which other companies began to use. Almost all new information carriers were marked with the letter “C”. To it were added numbers indicating the duration of the recording. Most often it was forty-five, sixty and ninety minutes. Cassettes with a playback duration of one hundred and twenty minutes were less common. However, all of them had one significant drawback that overlaps a lot of advantages - disgusting sound quality. In addition, you could listen to the recordings only on the recorder. Technical devices for new cassettes at that time were not yet on sale, but the demand for them was high.
About eight years after the release of the first Philips cassette, the main drawback of his invention was eliminated. They presented the consumer with a new type of tape. It was covered with chromium oxide, which at times improved the sound quality. This option was in great demand, so the first models of tape recorders for compact cassettes began to appear on sale. This move allowed Philips to consolidate its leadership position in the recording industry.
Of course, the first tape recorders were far from their more modern models, released decades later. They were uncomfortable in size, but they allowed not only listening to music, but also making notes. Favorite compositions were recorded on compact cassettes not only by ordinary people, but also by professionals. Famous musicians worked in the studios with this medium, creating the most famous hits in the eighties.
Note that the promotion of cassettes would not have been possible without the evolution of tape recorders. First of all, the manufacturer tried to make them affordable and multifunctional. Thanks to this, the sale of cassettes in the world was growing rapidly. The years of popularity of compact cassettes were from the seventies to the nineties. This time was also marked by the rapid development of technical devices for listening to sound recordings.
Production of playing devices
The popularity of compact cassettes hit a short five-year period. From the eighties to eighty-fifth years of the last century, almost every civilized inhabitant of the planet had a decent music library in his house, consisting of a large number of cassettes. They were sold by millions and at that time they were the only information carrier that replaced all the others that had been previously used.
A new generation of compact cassettes demanded that world companies produce special listening devices. And here Japanese corporations and small firms came to the fore. In the eighties, they were able to launch three types of tape recorders on the market, which instantly became very popular:
- stationary listening devices;
- portable tape recorders;
- players.
Each of these types had its pros and cons, and therefore always found its user.
Decks
That is how stationary tape recorders began to be called, having excellent technical characteristics. Thanks to them, the devices were very popular, but were not available to everyone. The dream of most consumers was the Nakamichi Decks. The Japanese manufacturer quickly orientated itself in changing world trends and launched the first tape recorder on the market in the seventy-third year of the last century. Already these not quite perfect in every sense of the word model became a real standard and model for all other companies.
Consumers considered the imperfection of sounding to be the problem of flagship models, but after seven years, almost all the flaws were fixed and Nakamichi began to produce devices for listening to sound recordings of the highest quality. He was fully satisfied with ordinary buyers and professionals. The only problem remained the extremely high cost of equipment.
However, in the late eighties, numerous small manufacturing companies entered the market. They managed to copy the devices manufactured by Nakamichi, preserving their quality, but significantly reducing the cost. As a result, “decks” became available to most of the buyers and gained unprecedented popularity. Companies such as Sony, Akai and Yamaha are considered to be the most famous manufacturers of that period (the compact cassettes of the last of these manufacturers have also become very popular among consumers over time).
Portable Boomboxes
This type of listening devices appeared almost simultaneously with the “decks”, but it was intended for completely different purposes. American and European manufacturers in time realized that the consumer wants to listen to music not only in closed and isolated rooms. In addition, the format of the new generation of audio cassettes made it possible to do this without any problems. "Boomboxes" became a factor that pushed the development of a subculture of hip-hopers. It meant street performances with a large crowd of people. Portable tape recorders and rappers were highly praised. This subculture originated in the streets and is a kind of voice of the common people, telling about everyday life. Therefore, it is not surprising that the ability to organize improvised concerts with good sound became an incentive for the development of various areas in music.
American manufacturers quickly replaced the Japanese. The Sharp and Hitachi companies, for example, instantly took leading positions in the market of sound recording devices. Customers appreciated their “boomboxes”, characterized by an unusual design and wide functionality. However, at the end of the seventies, they competed with Taiwanese firms. They launched their models on the market, the hallmark of which was the identity of European manufacturers. Selling their products under the label of well-known brands several times cheaper, companies quickly satisfied the consumer demand for “boomboxes”. As a result, the cost of devices continued to decline, contributing to the promotion of compact cassettes.
The first cassette players
The end of the seventies was marked by the advent of revolutionary technology. Sony company managed to launch a truly unique product for that time - an audio cassette player. The commercial success of this product was simply overwhelming. After all, players allowed music lovers to listen to their favorite songs around the clock, regardless of their location.
Consumer demand for players at the same time provoked a boom in the popularity of compact cassettes. Almost until the end of the twentieth century, they were bought by millions of pieces. In parallel, companies continued to improve their devices, releasing more and more interesting player models to the market every year.
Types of Cassettes
All compact cassettes produced since their first appearance have several specific characteristics. Depending on them was the cost of the information carrier and its popularity. To this day, cassettes differ in three ways:
- The composition of the magnetic tape. The first compact cassettes suffered from poor sound quality, which has been corrected since the advent of iron oxide-based media. Many called this solution hematite and at that time such cassettes were a revolutionary product. However, by modern standards, these devices were far from ideal, and competing with Philips companies also understood this. Therefore, a new type of cobalt-coated magnetic tape cassette soon appeared. The novelty was intended for professionals and fully met their needs. But the cost of the cassettes themselves and the devices for reproducing them was prohibitive. Not all record companies could afford to buy something like this. Therefore, such cassettes have not received wide distribution. The modern types of audio tapes include those whose magnetic tapes are coated with iron dioxide and other pure metals. It was they who became in demand among ordinary people and professionals. Interestingly, tape recorders of different companies were designed to play certain types of cassettes. There were those that were able to play only information from one type of medium, but some were intended for all existing audio cassettes.
- Recording duration. Experts know that in general there are more than seven options for the duration of sound recording. Cassettes with the ability to play music for sixty, ninety and one hundred and twenty minutes were in great demand among consumers. The minimum duration is forty-six minutes, and the maximum is one hundred and fifty. However, at the peak of the popularity of audio cassettes, there were attempts to introduce other types of cassettes. Media went on sale, allowing you to make recordings lasting one hundred eighty and two hundred and forty minutes. But as practice has shown, the fragile magnetic tape on such cassettes quickly failed, and therefore was unreliable and did not receive distribution. In addition to these standards, some companies actively experimented with the duration of the recording. If desired, one could find cassettes with the markings “30”, “10” or, for example, “74”. These numbers indicate minutes. Unfortunately, these formats did not become in demand.
- The thickness of the magnetic film. Interestingly, the recording duration directly depends on the film thickness. The longer it is, the thicker the magnetic carrier. For example, a film of nine micrometers is used for the production of a two-hour cassette, but for a one-hour cassette it is sixteen micrometers. These indicators are the standard, however, manufacturing companies have made their adjustments. Therefore, magnetic films on cassettes of different brands could differ from each other.
Pros and cons of cassettes
Despite the fact that in the early eighties, Soviet factories also began to produce magnetic tape-based media, the best compact cassettes still came from abroad. Many still remember the boxes with the inscription "TDK", "BASF" and others. Compact cassettes "YUSB" were quite common in our country. , .
:
, , , :
, , , - , .
In the West, the nineties were a period when for the first time there was a significant decline in the sale of cassettes. Annually, sales fell by thirty to sixty million copies a year and this caused the ruin of many companies.
The beginning of this process was the advent of CDs. This media was more convenient, versatile and not so expensive as to scare consumers away. Gradually, he began to supplant the compact cassette from the market, and the proliferation of MP3 players almost completed this process. Soon, consumers began to download music from the Internet and, if necessary, listen to them on MP3 players. This was the end of the era of audio cassettes and tape recorders for them. Out of habit, some music lovers still used cassettes and CDs in parallel, but still, by the beginning of the 2000s, they had abandoned obsolete media.
Today, cassettes can still be found in stores, albeit with difficulty. Their cost, according to recent data, is surprisingly low, but the demand for this carrier is not growing. This is partly due to the fact that the latest models of playing devices do not support the cassette format. It is believed that the last device on which you could listen to the cassette was sold about ten years ago. Yes, and these media are no longer produced. On the Internet and in some stores, their remains are sold out.
Digital technologies confidently wipe out all other media formats from the market and only memories remain about them, as are dusty boxes on the far shelves with carefully selected once musical collections recorded on cassettes. Nobody knows how to dispose of them. Sometimes on the Internet you can find requests on what to make from cases for compact cassettes. But most often they are idle in the pantries. Some music lovers hope that someday cassettes will return to everyday life, and their history will make a new round.