Audio Cassette: Gone But Not Forgotten
Gramophone music records ruled the world for a long time before the arrival of cassette tapes. These are made out of vinyl and are the only way one can take the music home. Since these cannot be rerecorded, people bought tons of these records, as this was the best that was available at that time. The problem with the records is that they get scratched easily during handling and it is a sad day when you discover that your favorite song has a scratch on it.
Shortly thereafter, the audio cassette became popular with the public. Not only was was it much less fragile, but it allowed people to make audio tapes of their own. People used this media to record all manner of audio: their favorite music, university lectures, or anything else that struck their fancy.
The invention of the music cd, and the walkman, was truly revolutionary. Before the cd, the most portable form of music was a radio or a boom box. The cd freed the music lover. The walkman not only meant portable music, it also meant no one but the walkman owner had to hear the music. This was a great relief for society’s ears.
There was a major problem with the audio cassette- there was no way to skip forward or backward reliably on the tape. If you were wanting to skip over one particularly disliked song, for instance, you would have to fast-forward beyond it and then hope that you didn’t go too far and have to backtrack, or not go far enough and be stuck listening to part of the disliked song.
Audio cassettes are not in the grave yet. Though new creations like compact discs and MP3 players have been invented, many devoted people still swear by audio cassettes. Many of these users have advanced to digital audio tapes. However most members of the general public have bought new musical creations like Apple’s new IPOD.
If you grew up with old-style mixed tapes, you will probably always have a nostalgic fondness for this audio recording device that let everyone mix their own music. That technology has now been superseded by the laptops and MP3 players of today. It will always have a place in our hearts, though.
Audio cassettes gained tremendous popularity for two reasons - first, they were more durable than vinyl discs; second and much more importantly, you could record onto them! You could not pick and choose the songs; you had to listen to every single one on the tape. However, for the first time, people could make their own recordings with the same technology as used by professionals. Cassettes led way to the walkman revolution. Even with the invention of the CD and the MP3, there are still those who swear by the cassette. Some even have moved into the realm of digital audio tapes.
- Menachem Green