CDing / DJ / BEAM lineup
The spread of CDs changed the cassette tape’s very role. Recording from a digital source improved sound quality but reduced differences. Tape-position differences consequently came to be regarded as preferences reflecting different materials. These models answered the needs of that era.
CDing-IV / METAL
Playing times precisely suited to CD recording
CDing-IV: first generation, 1990
C46: 1,380 yen per three-pack.
CDing-IV: second generation, 1991
C46: 510 yen.
CDing-IV / METAL: explanatory notes
CDing-IV was not only a model for recording CDs but also TDK’s first economical Metal tape.
By the late 1980s, cassette prices were falling, and inexpensive Metal tapes costing around 500 yen for a C46 began appearing.
TDK responded in 1990 with CDing-IV, the Metal model in its relatively inexpensive CDing series. Three-packs were the main sales format. A first-generation C46 cost 460 yen per cassette, the lowest price at the time.
Sharing its shell, plastic case and other components with the CDing series made it look distinctly economical beside MA. Yet economical Metal was still Metal: a tape for powerful music recording without excessive expense.
From the third generation, the name changed slightly to CDing METAL. There were six generations in all.
CDing・METAL: first generation, 1992
C46: 1,530 yen per three-pack.
CDing・METAL: second generation, 1994
C46: 490 yen.
CDing METAL: third generation, 1995
C46: 490 yen.
CDingMETAL: fourth generation, 1996
C46: 510 yen.
CDing-I / II / 1 / 2
Playing times precisely suited to CD recording
CDing-I / CDing-II: first generation, 1989
CDing-I, C46: 1,020 yen per three-pack.
CDing-II, C46: 1,110 yen per three-pack.
CDing-I / CDing-II: second generation, 1990
CDing-I, C46: 1,020 yen per three-pack.
CDing-II, C46: 1,110 yen per three-pack.
CDing-I / II: explanatory notes
The first generation was released in 1989 as an additional series intended to broaden the customer base. As its name suggests, suitability for CD recording was presented as its main advantage.
This involved more than the tape performance and sound quality emphasized by earlier models. The series highlighted fitting a CD precisely onto a cassette without wasting tape.
As on a prerecorded music cassette, music began immediately after playback started, with less blank silence when the direction changed. Such a neatly completed recording made listening more convenient and saved portable-player batteries. The first generation therefore offered six playing times matching common CD lengths: 50, 54, 60, 64, 70 and 74 minutes.
CD suitability was not limited to playing time, of course. Early CDing-I apparently used tape comparable to the proven AD music cassette, while CDing-II was comparable to the popular High Position SR. Sound quality therefore suited CD recording too. The shell was not cheapened: it used the exceptionally precise HP (High Precision) cassette mechanism. The fully transparent shell looked light, but a colored smoky tint prevented it from looking inexpensive.
Initially, three-packs were the main sales format. Low margins and high sales volumes kept prices economical. A three-pack of C50s originally cost 1,110 yen for I and 1,200 yen for II, or 370 and 400 yen per cassette, considerably better value than the contemporary AD and SR.
The series began by identifying a specific recording task and targeting the users who needed it. From the sixth generation, the names became CDing-1 and CDing-2. CDing-2 became TDK’s last High Position cassette series. CDing-1, a music model above AE, remained on sale almost until the end of TDK cassettes.
CDing-I / CDing-II: third generation, 1991
CDing-I, C46: 1,110 yen per three-pack.
CDing-II, C46: 1,230 yen per three-pack.
CDing-I / CDing-II: fourth generation, 1992
CDing-I, C46: 370 yen.
CDing-II, C46: 410 yen.
Single CDing-II: 1992
CDing-II specifically for CD singles appeared at roughly the same time as fourth-generation CDing, offering 10- and 12-minute versions.
CDing-I / CDing-II: fifth generation, 1994
CDing-I, C46: 370 yen.
CDing-II, C46: 410 yen.
CDing-1 / CDing-2: sixth generation, 1995
CDing-1, C46: 370 yen.
CDing-2, C46: 410 yen.
CDing-1 / CDing-2: seventh generation, 1996
CDing-1, C46: 420 yen.
CDing-2, C46: 460 yen.
CDing1 / CDing2: eighth generation, 1998
CDing1, C46: 340 yen.
CDing2, C46: 380 yen.
CDing1 / CDing2: ninth generation, 1999
CDing1, C46: 340 yen.
CDing2, C46: 380 yen.
CDing1 / CDing2: tenth generation, 2000
CDing1, C46: 280 yen.
CDing2, C46: 320 yen.
CDing1 / CDing2: eleventh generation, 2002
CDing1, C46: open price.
CDing2, C46: open price.
SUPER CDing
A more expensive version of the CDing series
SUPER CDing-IV: first generation, 1992
C46: 1,140 yen per two-pack.
The first generation covered three tape positions. Its unusual slim case with a wide window looked stylish. Convenience was considered too: index cards could be filled in using a word processor, for example.
SUPER CDing: explanatory notes
This was a higher-grade series than CDing.
SUPER CDing-II appeared first, in 1991. SUPER CDing-I and SUPER CDing-IV followed the next year.
Its shell differed from the transparent CDing shell. It used the higher-grade, low-resonance HP・AR mechanism with integrally molded dual-layer sections. Its plastic case was also unusually slim, with a separate window rather than being completely transparent.
While CDing was mainly sold in three-packs, this series primarily used two-packs. In the first generation, a C46 of any of the three positions, I, II or IV, cost 60 yen more than its CDing counterpart. There was thus a distinction. Yet I cost the same as AD, II the same as SR, and IV only 10-20 yen less than MA. The difference was rather subtle.
I and II each had two generations; IV was sold only in its first generation.
SUPER CDing-II / I: first generation, 1991 / 1992
SUPER CDing-II (1991), C46: 940 yen per two-pack.
SUPER CDing-I (1992), C46: 860 yen per two-pack.
SUPER CDing-II / I: second generation, 1993
SUPER CDing-II, C46: 490 yen.
SUPER CDing-I, C46: 450 yen.
WALKER CDing-II
A convenient Pattin Clip protects the tape for portable use
WALKER CDing-II: 1991
C46: 550 yen.
This High Position cassette was released in 1991 under the slogan A cassette designed for portable stereo players.
The included Pattin Clip protector covered the exposed tape, allowing compact carrying without a case. The cassette could also be put in its case with the protector attached. Anticipating noisy, shaking trains, its design emphasized deep bass and stable tape transport.
DJ
A cassette series for compilations of CD singles
DISC JACK
DJ METAL: first generation, 1994
C46: 520 yen.
DJ METAL: second generation, 1995
C46: 540 yen.
DJ METAL: third generation, 1997
C46: 540 yen.
DJ: explanatory notes
DJ stands for Disc Jack. Whereas CDing was intended to record a whole CD, this series was designed to collect songs from several CD singles on one cassette as a personal compilation.
Initially, eleven playing times were offered, or nine for Metal. New accessories included an all-titles-at-once index with room for twenty songs like a hit parade, and a label headed THE BEST COLLECTION.
Three positions appeared simultaneously: Normal DJ1, High Position DJ2 and DJ METAL. The concept was to choose tape according to the music being recorded. DJ1 was described as straight sound, DJ2 as clear sound and DJ METAL as powerful sound.
DJ2: first generation, 1994
C46: 470 yen.
DJ2: second generation, 1995
C46: 490 yen.
DJ2: third generation, 1998
C46: 490 yen.
DJ2: fifth generation, 1999
DJ1: first generation, 1994
C46: 430 yen.
DJ1: third generation, 1997
C46: 450 yen.
DJ1: fourth generation, 1998
C46: 450 yen.
DJ1: fifth generation, 1999
BEAM
Light Charge mechanism and label: a cassette that glows in the dark
BEAM1 / BEAM2: first generation, 1996
BEAM1, C46: 450 yen.
BEAM2, C46: 490 yen.
BEAM1 / BEAM2: second generation, 1997
BEAM1, C46: 400 yen.
BEAM2, C46: 420 yen.
BEAM1 / BEAM2: third generation, 1998
BEAM1, C46: 360 yen.
BEAM2, C46: 400 yen.
BEAM: explanatory notes
Introduced in 1996, BEAM had a striking feature, or rather a function: it glowed even in the dark. Packaging featured BEAM-MAN, and the new presentation emphasized its glow in every way.
There was no electrical illumination inside. Light-storing material in the cassette’s white hubs and guide rollers made them glow in dark places. This was not bright flashing, of course, but a faint glow that allowed the cassette to be identified. It was useful when searching in a dark car interior. The label was coated with light-storing material too, making writing faintly visible.
High-performance tapes were used. BEAM1’s slogan was distinct, fast high frequencies; BEAM2’s was impressive, dynamic deep bass. A precise, rigid shell also provided adequate basic performance. First-generation prices matched the contemporary DJ series.