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posted by cmn32480 on Monday November 13 2017, @06:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the what's-old-is-still-old-but-they-are-making-more dept.

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

National Audio Co. is the only company in the U.S. that produces cassette tape. Now, as cassette tapes enjoy a resurgence in popularity, National Audio has less than a year's supply left of the stuff, The Wall Street Journal reports.

For the last 15 years, National Audio's co-owner and president Steve Stepp has been clinging to his company's dwindling supply of music-quality magnetic tape. In 2014, National Audio's South Korean supplier stopped making the material, so Stepp bought out their remaining stock before they shuttered — and has been left with a shrinking stockpile ever since.

Although the demand for tape has increased in recent years, the quality and supply has not; National Audio has long relied on outdated gear that Stepp jokes is "the finest equipment the 1960s has to offer." That's why the company — which makes cassettes for everyone from indie bands to Metallica — is planning to build the U.S.'s first high-grade tape manufacturing line in decades.

Crap! Where am I going to store my TRS-80 programs now?

Source: https://theweek.com/speedreads/735269/america-running-cassette-tape


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  • (Score: 2) by jimtheowl on Monday November 13 2017, @07:08PM

    by jimtheowl (5929) on Monday November 13 2017, @07:08PM (#596380)
    I do not own a TRS-80 specifically, I do own quite a number of legacy systems and have kept a number of cassette of tapes for that exact purpose. I also own modern attachment to most of these machines that can use SD or flash cards, but being able to use and demonstrate the original equipment adds to the experience, especially for those who might have never seen one.

    I do know at least one person who does audio mixing for a hobby and is obsessed with them. I for one am more into Vinyl, but that doesn't work for those who count audio mixing as a hobby.
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