Hello, and welcome to The Blank Tape Gallery, also known as The BTG! Here, you will know and understand about blank cassettes, manufacturing, and even personal reviews of certain brands of cassette. Also, I'm open to contributions from people who are also enthusiasts like me. The site itself is ALWAYS under construction. I expect it to always change with new pictures and stories found each time I update this section, so enjoy yourself in exploring The BTG.

Why a website about blank cassettes???

  A pretty good question actually. Ever since I was very young, I have had a facination with recording and the equipment used to record. When I was about 5 or 6, I carried around a Fisher Price tape recorder and even created my own radio shows. I still have 2 of them to this day. As the later years went on, I made lots of mix tapes, using all different kinds of cassettes. It didn't matter what brand, if I didn't already have it, I'd want them. Even while CD-R's are getting more the common media, I still stayed strong with cassettes. At least with cassettes, you can get the best out of your music instead of the 1's and 0's of CD-R's.
  As a lot of us now know, cassettes aren't as widely sold as they used to be, and the variety is not quite the selection I was used to. I admit, I do have an mp3 player, and I do record CD's, but cassettes are still being used in my house, and they will continue to be. I also know I am not the only one out there that uses them too. That's why I have created this site. This way, I can share my interest for analog recording media and the Compact Cassette.

What do you expect from The BTG?

  When it comes down to it, the idea is simple: Just inform people about not only the history of cassettes, but watch them evolve as one of the best forms of recordable media since the reel to reel (which will ALSO be somewhat featured on this site). Some of the main manufacturers on this site include TDK, Maxell, Fuji, Denon and Sony. Many others will also be featured. Some of the focus of The BTG are the pictures and packaging that might bring back memories too. Information as well as (hopefully) extensive "testing" of certain tapes gives the average joe's look into what sound is being produced from these tapes. I'll even have information and pictures of tapes from England, Japan, and other European countries!
  I plan to have this site one of the most extensive sites about audio tapes on the net! So far, I have a a pretty good gallery of picture, not all on this site yet. The BTG is the place to help you in research, infomation, questions, or just for memories.
  If you would like to keep updated with The BTG, check out the updates on the left of this page. I try to usually update every week, unless mentioned.
  As for general site progress itself, pictures are coming in every so often and are not always up yet and info on some of the pages is not there yet. Some sections are not complete. That will take a while since my knowledge is mainly Denon, Sony and TDK. Check back soon for more info to be placed on that page. The completed home pages with the links will come soon.

Is this the ultimate site about blank cassettes?

  In a word, no. I don't claim to be perfect with my information and I welcome people with good conduct to be able to correct me. As I have said before, I want this site to be a resource. I do understand that some people may not agree with some of the info on this site, but I welcome comments. I have many years of experience dealing with cassettes, and if you have a question, feel free to ask me, I won't bite. Please though, be nice about your questions and/or your corrections.
  Oh, and one more thing. I have had people in the past insult me for no reason because of my interest in this matter. Please be open-minded and kind, not just to me, but to other with interests that you may not think are normal. A philosophy I once read about one rule of the internet: If it exists, it's someones fetish.

Pic of the month: August
  I heard a lot of complaints about how bad the last shell for the US TDK SA was, and I can agree, it did have a cheap feel to it. Still though, the design as far as look goes was great. It had a nice window and it was generally modern.
  Now, the SA-X's last design was so much better and had a 3D feel to it. The plastic didn't feel cheap at all and the overall design compared to the previous small window was a welcome change. This was what they should have gone with. Below is a European model, but the US one was not any different, other than the printing on it. The shell also wasn't much different than the previous SA and MA models of the early to mid 90's, but I did like the actual window and the "arch" of the outter part as well. This gave the tape a much updated feel, while maintaining the original design people were accustomed to.

This picture is from tapedeck.org's collection.