II COOL ICE ~1996 - US
Very little known about this tape. High Bias Type II. Studio Quality tape as per ICE.
A cassette put together by seemingly defunct 'Information Communications Entertainment Inc.' (ICE) of San Diego, USA. However, it was "assembled in China".
NAD613, member of Tapeheads was able to capture some information on the internet back in July of 2008 (15 years ago) and got this description about the quality of the tape and shell parts used on the manufacturing of this cassette, "Our tape manufacturing plant uses the finest grades of polyester materials and magnetic oxides in a long generation of particle development, resulting in higher frequency response and much lower noise. We use technically superior audio cassette shells, which provide a sleek high-tech appearance with improved recording and playback performance."
During the late 80's and much of the 90's many different companies were producing cassettes but being very vague about much of the origin of the tape used, shell and other parts as well as other information such as the year of production, etc, etc. The year 1996 is just a guess on my part. I always welcome input from anyone who may have more precise information about this tape or any other tape featured on this site.
A few other Tapehead members speak rather highly of this tape. You may wish to look into it. I have not had a chance to try one out yet.
The cassette does have a "Cool" look to it. It seems there are 6 different colours; Green, Purple, Orange, Yellow, Red, and Blue. The shell looks and appears to be of decent quality and it uses screws as opposed to being welded.
Note: I have been able to source out a few dozen tapes thanks to generosity of Bert R. of Idaho. I have 5 that I am making available now (2 at a time), the other 30+ are still in the USA waiting for a feasible logistics low-cost route. Conventional shipping would drive the cost of this tape another $2-$3 each at least.
Hopefully Tony Villa will do one of his wonderful and entertaining reviews on one of these tapes.