Memorex High Bias - 1982 - US
Memorex cassettes have been around a long time.
Always trying to be a bit different, with the introduction of strange cases in the 70s, their tape formulations, like everyone else's, had also improved greatly by the time this tape was released in 1982. This was a very popular cassette in Canada and the US in the early 80's as their better appearance and lower prices made them that much more sought after. If you wanted an affordable Type II cassette, this was it!
Like many manufacturers, they outsourced their production from the 80s onwards. In this tapes case, to SKC, who made very good cassettes.
They're USA made and even the pressure pad seems to have been improved by this release. They were still not using a bridged pressure pad assembly, but rather an improved fixed set-in-place pad glued onto the magnetic shield plate.
NOTE: After 4 years here at CassetteComeback, finally found a handful of these tapes. They are not super rare, but they are not an easy find. Only 5 available.
About Memorex:
Established in 1961 in Silicon Valley, Memorex started by selling computer tapes, then added other media such as disk packs. The company then expanded into disk drives and other peripheral equipment for IBM mainframes. During the 1970s and into the early 1980s Memorex was worldwide one of the largest independent suppliers of disk drives and communications controllers to users of IBM-compatible mainframes, as well as media for computer uses and consumers.
Memorex entered the consumer media business in 1971 and started the ad campaign, first with its "shattering glass" advertisements and then with a series of famous television commercials featuring Ella Fitzgerald. In the commercials she would sing a note that shattered a glass while being recorded to a Memorex audio cassette. The tape was played back and the recording also broke the glass, asking "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" This would become the company slogan which was used in a series of advertisements released through 1970s and 1980s.
Over time the Memorex consumer brand has been owned by Tandy, Handy Holdings, Imation and as of 2016 Digital Products International (DPI)[5]. Today, Memorex is a brand for consumer electronics and accessories such as portable audio players, iPod accessories, flat panel TVs, Blu-ray Disc players, flash drives, CDs and DVDs.
Memorex High Bias II - 1982 - US