LAYRLAB L1Mini Mix Tape Cassette Recorder

Meet the L1 Mini Mix Tape Cassette Recorder. It's a 2-track analog recorder built with knobs, faders, and mini cassette tape. Please note: this is not a real recorder. It is just a toy/model.

When I was first starting to get into music recording at home, my first purchase was a Tascam Portastudio 488 MKII cassette recorder. I loved that thing and made so many demo tapes and mix tapes. This was the inspiration for creating my own 3D printed cassette recorder, what I am calling the L1. The L1 is an original design meant to sit on a desk as a fun toy or model. I tend to fidget with the knobs and faders every now and then while working, and it gives me a little break from work and allows me to focus on something else when I need to take my eyes off of the computer screen.

There are multiple components to the L1 - the Base, Top Face, Knobs, Faders, and Cassette Tape. I made the Base, Top Face, and Cassette Tape out of PLA Matte material. The Knobs and Faders were made out of PETG since there are some snaps on the back side that need a little more flex to assemble into the holes. I would recommend assembling the Knobs/Faders into the Top Face first just in case one of the snaps break off and you have to reprint them. This happened to me when I used PLA for the Knobs/Faders. I switched to PETG and didn't have this issue and was able to assemble all the parts without breaking. Once you have all of the Knobs/Faders in, you can press the Top Face into the Base and it snaps in perfectly. All that's left is adding the Cassette tape which sits in the tape deck.

I really love the simplicity of this design and how all the parts come together. It was fun assembling all the parts and even more fun keeping it on my desk to play around with when I need work break. Play around with different colors and materials and leave a comment with some photos of your creations as I would love to see the color combos you all come up with. Let me know if you have any questions and happy printing!

Disclaimer: Even though this model is like a toy, this is not meant for small children. There are small parts that can break which are not suitable or can be harmful to small children.