Maxell XLII-S Reclamation Project

[NAD613]

After a couple of weeks going thru my cassettes, I have cleaned up & erased 10 Maxell XLII-S high bias cassettes. You know, the kind I took for granted 15 years ago that Maxell quit making? Anyway, I got an old box from some Maxell SM-90's I bought some years back, so I thought I'd put them in there until I need them. I also have some Sony UX, UX Pro, & TDK SA cassettes that are next on the reclamation schedule. Here are a few photos:

[Rat44]

Those were my preferred tape also.I wished I had stocked up back then.The prices have gone up on those.I just found a couple that I unwrapped but were still blank.

[j chauvin]

About 3 weeks ago, I found 3 NOS XL-II-S at GW. $0.49 each!!

:D

j

[ampegdan]

I gotta show this thread to the wife and let her know I'm not the only one.
I've got all mine in those wall racks. When I get one erased and de-labeled I put one of those round green garage sale stickers on it. Then I know that one's good to go. What's the difference between XLII and XLII-S?
How do you erase yours?

[NAD613]

[QUOTE=ampegdan;1855271]I gotta show this thread to the wife and let her know I'm not the only one.
I've got all mine in those wall racks. When I get one erased and de-labeled I put one of those round green garage sale stickers on it. Then I know that one's good to go. What's the difference between XLII and XLII-S?
How do you erase yours?[/QUOTE

The housing on the XLII-S tapes is more sturdy & I believe the tape formula is a more durable, superior make compared to the XLII.

As for how I erase them, I bought a bulk tape eraser @ Radio Shack back in the early 90's for about $20. Using it quite a bit now.

[Nakdoc]

The XLII-S has a slightly brighter sound when using it in a deck biased flat for UDXLII or TDKSA. If you rebias your deck to -S, then there is no difference.

[NAD613]

The XLII-S has a slightly brighter sound when using it in a deck biased flat for UDXLII or TDKSA. If you rebias your deck to -S, then there is no difference.

My bias control knob is numbered -5 to 0 & 0 to +5. Where would -S be?

[j chauvin]

:( I just tried one of the SA-X's I got free last Saturday.

:( Sadly, it was 'drop out' city.

:( It was horrible.

:( I tossed it.

:( I don't hold out much hope for the rest of the cassettes.

:(

j

[Normo]

When you erase old previously used tapes are they "as good as new" or are there risks of drop outs, loss of magnetic material from older binder etc or are the maxell II-s new enough so this isn''t a worry. Norm

[ryson2]

Are you making recordings you care about on these tapes that are erased recorded over etc?

Thats like analog cassette rule #1, always use a fresh tape when recording.

[NAD613]

Why are you using old garage sale cassettes in your tape decks? Are you making recordings you care about on these tapes that are erased recorded over etc?

Thats like analog cassette rule #1, always use a fresh tape when recording.

These are tapes I bought brand new, were only recorded on once, & were always kept in good condition. I gave a listen to them & there were no drop-outs or anything.

Believe me, I would prefer to go down to Target or the old Monty Wards & buy a cartload of brand new 4 packs of Maxell XLII-S for $9 or $10, as I could back in 1993. Sadly, those days are long gone & the price of those NOS Maxells on Ebay are somewhat pricey.

[d-ray657]

I stopped by my favorite thrift today, and it looked like someone had given up on cassettes. There was a boatload of tapes they had recorded over the years, most of them containing country or Lawrence Welk type music. I picked up about 30 Maxell XLII high bias; five Maxell URII' about 5 Sony UX Pro, and 5 unopened TDK SA - at 3 for a dollar. I feel a little guilty about recording over music that someone had taken so much time to record, but then again . . .

Off the subject, but I am trying to learn more about the relative quality of particular tapes. I bought a Nak 1000 recently, that only uses normal and CrO2. Can you point me to a thread or website.

[ryson2]

Yeah thats the ticket, run those thrift store maxells thru your 30 year old Nak... I bet they will sound primo after recording over them.:tears:

btw: They still sell XL2 sealed, not what they used to be but gotta be better than what Im reading.

[Scorpion8]

I picked up 50 UDXL-IIS's a few weeks ago, and am in the process of reclaiming them. Each was recorded on once, played once, and then put away (or so it was claimed). The first few sound great! It's good tape.

[Web Police]

I have reclaimed quite a few Maxell XLII's and TDK SA tapes and have rarely run in to a problem. I would guess it depends upon how they were stored and how much play they actually got.

[d-ray657]

Yeah thats the ticket, run those thrift store maxells thru your 30 year old Nak... I bet they will sound primo after recording over them.:tears:

btw: They still sell XL2 sealed, not what they used to be but gotta be better than what Im reading.

I gotta confess, I am so much a noob when it comes to dealing with high quality audio equipment, that I don't know whether that was humor or opinion. Either way, I take no offense. I'm just so dense, I am confused. Rescue me from catastrophic ignorance if I am about to do something stupid (in a few months when I have some time).

Also, sorry, I didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Regards,

D-Ray

[ryson2]

D-Ray sorry if I came off like a dick. I was just saying you purchased a nice old deck, dont muddy it with garbage tapes from the thrift store. Is the Nak 1000 one of those old boxy ones from 70's with the analog meters and the eq on it?

[d-ray657]

D-Ray sorry if I came off like a dick. I was just saying you purchased a nice old deck, dont muddy it with garbage tapes from the thrift store. Is the Nak 1000 one of those old boxy ones from 70's with the analog meters and the eq on it?

Really, no offense taken. Ignorance is something that can be cured, and you are helping with the cure. The deck is the Nakamichi 1000, Tri-Tracer. It is very big and very heavy. I understand that it was the first three headed deck. I haven't had time to learn all of the adjustments yet, so I haven't tried any recording, just listening to some prerecorded. If you really want to cry, I can tell you that I got it for $9.99.
I think I pasted it on this post.

Regards,

D-Ray