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Tape Notes
Everything around the tape: making a mixtape, choosing a tape length and type, Dolby and tape care, sizing, printing and designing a J-card, putting out a release, and how the cassette got here.
How toHow to look after cassettes: storage, cleaning and fixing a chewed tapeStore tapes so they last, use the pencil trick, rescue a tape a player has chewed, splice a snapped one, and clean the player so it doesn't happen again.15 October 2026 · 8 min readDesignJ-card design through the decades: from blank-tape stripes to rave tape packsHow cassette J-card design changed from the sixties to now: shrunken LP sleeves, blank-tape stripes, hi-fi chrome, 8-bit game inlays, street tapes, rave packs, zines and today's small runs.15 October 2026 · 7 min readTape knowledgeDolby noise reduction on cassettes: B, C and S explainedWhat Dolby B, C and S do, how to tell if a tape was recorded with Dolby, and whether to switch it on for a mixtape, your own recordings or digitising old tapes.15 October 2026 · 7 min readTape knowledgeReading a blank tape's J-card: MOL, SOL, bias, EQ and “high position”What every line on a blank cassette's packaging means, from Type II and high position to MOL, SOL, sensitivity and bias noise, and how to use them to choose a tape.15 October 2026 · 6 min readHow toHow to make a mixtape: choosing, timing and recording a cassetteA step-by-step guide to making a mixtape on cassette: picking and ordering songs, timing each side, setting the recording level, recording cleanly and making the J-card.11 October 2026 · 6 min readTape lengthsC-46, C-60 or C-90? How much music fits on a cassetteWhat the number on a blank tape means, how many songs fit on a C-46, C-60, C-90 and C-120, why longer tapes are more fragile, and how to plan your sides.11 October 2026 · 5 min readHow toPrinting J-cards at home: paper, settings, cutting and foldingHow to print a cassette J-card at the right size: which paper to use, printer settings, US Letter, cutting along crop marks, scoring and folding, and fixes when it goes wrong.11 October 2026 · 6 min readReleasingCassettes for bands and labels: a short-run release guidePutting out your music on cassette: home dubbing or a duplicator, preparing the audio, J-card artwork and ℗ © credits, licences for covers, Bandcamp download codes and barcodes.11 October 2026 · 7 min readHow toHow to make a cassette J-card: sizes, printing and foldingThe exact J-card sizes for a standard cassette case, how much music fits on a C-46, C-60 or C-90, and how to print, cut and fold an insert that fits first time.10 October 2026 · 5 min readTape typesCassette tape types explained: Type I, II, III and IVNormal, chrome, ferrichrome and metal: what the four cassette types are, how a deck tells them apart, and which to use for a mixtape today.10 October 2026 · 6 min readHistoryA short history of the cassette tapeFrom a Philips stand in Berlin in 1963 to the Walkman, the mixtape and today's revival: how the compact cassette took over, nearly vanished and came back.10 October 2026 · 6 min read