All about 4-track and 8-track consumer cartridge players / recorders
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62vauxhall
Addicted Member
It’s no Akai CR 81D but it is purdy.
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KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
8 track was much more common and used from 1965-1988 commonly (post 1980 the truck drivers and USA Midwest and Southerners loved their 8 track cartridges). 4 track cartridges were much more popular on the West and East Coasts in the 1960's through about 1971. (a note, if you can find the Automatic Radio Gidget 4 to 8 track adapters, your 8 track deck can play 4 track cartridges). Keep on trackin'
o indeed that 4 track adaptor. I completly forgot about it. THX man. I have ONE used retail blank consumer 4-track cardridge! Came with a lot thriftstore lot of 8-tracks! Ill try to score one of them .
In Europe , Amsterdam The Netherlands were i lived between 1962 till the end of 2009, 8-track was populair for no more then 5 years after its introduction. In other words after 1970 it was almost impossible to buy 8-track tapes recorder or players or car 8-tracks players anymore. Needless say the Philips compact cassette took over the whole cassette tape market from 8-tracks within a few years after its intruduction in 1964. Althgough for spome unexplanable reason, still most imported from the US into western europe including the Netherlands made Fords Mercs, Lincolns RR Bentleys, Jensens GM's Chevy's Pontiacs Olds Caddy's Buicks; and Chryslers Plymouth Dodge came till 1977 always with an 8-track radio combo. And AMC's and Jeeps till 1975 (they adapted to compact cassette earlyer then the other US car manufacturers) despite the fact that pre recorded retail 8-tracks and and blanck 8-0track cassettes and the home players and recorders were already grosso modo since 11 years UNOBTAINAIBLe in Europe ;-)
And less populair R2R lost in 1977 due to the top notch audio quality of the then more expensive evolved analog audio compact cassette tape decks and disapeared almopst completly in 1981 from the home audio market, including high end audio market.
But I always loved the 8-track Americana aspect of it and the simple design and look of the decks and tapes.
Bye the way, also the sound quality of 8-tracks reached at the end of its life 1981 in north america 20- to 20.000 hz full range hifi and almost hissless, but the quality of the drives in these home audio player recording decks and car players / decks degenerated equally substantial including there lifespan.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
I'd either go for an Akai CR-80D in mint condition, or a Pioneer HR-90 or HR-100 myself. The Technics Quadraphonic deck is another superb machine I love.
MRL_Audio
RIP 2022
Thanks @KentTeffeteller . I have been considering an 8 track deck for some time. I have cassette and reel decks and tapes but have never really got into 8 tracks. Now or in my youth. What are your thoughts the Wollensak lineup for 8 tracks? Have a few of their cassette decks. Some of the best assembled hardware in my collection. There are better sounding decks with more bells and whistles but I can always count on the Wolly's to work.
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KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
The Wollensak 8 track decks are superb when they work. But they use a weak DC motor, unlike the cassette decks. Wollensak designed their 8 track decks, but Sanyo in Japan built them for 3M/Wollensak. The Wollensak A/V cassette decks are a tank. I got a new one every few years when I was in special needs school. I got to take the old ones home. I still have mine.
MRL_Audio
RIP 2022
Been looking. What are your thought on the ones up the food chain? The 81 or 82?
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
82 is not as robust. Also do bear in mind, the motor run caps will often need replacement, and capstan may well need sandblasting. I think the Pioneer HR 99 probably is a better choice, or an HR 100.
I have no motor run capitor issues with my still 100% original Akai 8 track player the recorders and R2R's and R2R's with type design AC motors build in with 55 year old starter caps. What can be problematic is out put pre amp resistors and caps and resistors. Akai didn't use the best of these. But the motor caps never have failed on me a still 100% on specs also in the AC fed motors in the turntables of these brands. Same with Sansui and Robbers.
Okke 70s
Super Member
Interesting! I have always wondered about this. Born and raised in The Netherlands I can tell RTR's where very rarely spotted in the wild here, even in my childhood days (late '80s early '90s). Cassettes where all over the place back then: the car, the main rig (often a double), every kid had one is his/her room, radio-casette in the kitchen, old rig in the garage, two forgotten players in the back of some cloused.. I'd say about ten per household, on average.
But 8-tracks? If it wasn't for the internet and my querk with that old audio gear, I wouldn't even know of its existence today! I doubt even the old folks here know what an 8-track is. I've seen one actual specimen in my life. It was in the pile of querky audio gear that I was buying the RTR of. The 8-track was part of an all-in-one unit. American made.
So why was this particular medium so much more popular in the US then in Europe you think?
@Okke 70s Mutz invested patented the 4-track and Muntz / RCA / CBS the consumer 8-track cardridge All 100% US companies. All Americans can sotospeak. Now compact audio cassette tape is a 100% (like CD) Dutch Philips investing / patent / octrooi. That's one of the reasons.
In the USA / the Americas more square feet per citizen, in houses and the big automobiles. An 8 track takes a lot of space. US consumers including youngsters minors were earlyer more music minded had big stereos . And compact cassette was not stereo first 2 years, and sounded till 6 years after its introduction not as good as the cheaper 8 track format . Besides 8- track was stereo from day one. Audio compact cassette was not.
And in the Americas folks already experimented with 4-track also in cars. You can even with adaptor play your old 4 tracks on the newer 8 track players recorders.
s bigger cheaper to make, prerecorded taies were dead cheap, I. Europe pre recorded were not neither in Europe. In Europe folks started to record thus more share recorded tapes, recorded from radio. In USA less (course recording with 8-track is not a very ergonomic practice.
I think that explained it all.
In the USA / the Americas more square feet per citizen, in houses and the big automobiles. An 8 track takes a lot of space. US consumers including youngsters minors were earlyer more music minded had big stereos . And compact cassette was not stereo first 2 years, and sounded till 6 years after its introduction not as good as the cheaper 8 track format . Besides 8- track was stereo from day one. Audio compact cassette was not.
And in the Americas folks already experimented with 4-track also in cars. You can even with adaptor play your old 4 tracks on the newer 8 track players recorders.
s bigger cheaper to make, prerecorded taies were dead cheap, I. Europe pre recorded were not neither in Europe. In Europe folks started to record thus more share recorded tapes, recorded from radio. In USA less (course recording with 8-track is not a very ergonomic practice.
I think that explained it all.
Plastic rollers on 8-track cardridges. Nah not also much . Most plastic rollers tapes are made in UK or Canada. Let's say in the 8-track world one outta hundred brand new 8-track cardridges had a plastic roller. Like offcourse Pickwick, k-tel , reader digest CBC etc had often plastic rollers in there cardridges or cardridges that can't be opened without breaking something or worse, a glued together cardridge (silver blanc Scott 8-track cardridges for example and bad coming loose sending foul splices) And some demo tapes which came with your car 8-track player sometimes cane with plastic rollers. By the way, till max 20 minutes tape for the 4 programs in total a plastic roller is no problem what so ever. But I don't like them either. my Preference is thus also rubber. Its also better for the life of the tape !
My instincts suggest rubber rollers were better, but once I started repairing old 8 Tracks in order to play them, my mind changed somewhat when I ran into swollen, degraded rubber rollers in some carts. At these moments, I wished the tape had been made with a plastic one.
And heck-what's the 8 Track experience without a bit of w\f? Comforting to know that my ears and brain still recognize it when I hear it
And heck-what's the 8 Track experience without a bit of w\f? Comforting to know that my ears and brain still recognize it when I hear it
I have 400 8-tracks of which over 130 / 140 orso were nos sealed or recent limited anual production batches brand new even (mostly blanc tapes) The rest all used pre recorded tapes of which twenty or so nos or brand new pre recorded tapes.
Good rubber does not desintegrate under well stored normal frequent use in house or in car conditions or outside if portable player is used. And my rubber tires including very extensively over 50 years old used 8-track cardridges of mine are all still 100% like new inside including tape and rollers.
Unlike the pinch rollers, tires and belts in cassette decks from certain consumer electronics manufacturers, mosty Matsushita, and from Philips group have indeed used bad cheap rubber that didn't deserve the name galvanized rubber, and that's a different story than with 8-tracks and R2R's and TT's which tires and belts in most cases are still like new, unless very extensively used thus fysical wear or otherwise abused / badly stored)
However notoriously 8-track cardridge rollers are from mostly one or two always the same cardridge brand over here in the America's being from the GRT (an UK based brand manufacturer part of the Philips group back then) Almost always crumbled disformed, bonded even with the tape in the cardridge and of an odd unreplacable roller size. Although one can retrofit these roller rimm's with the right size rubber gas etc hose. Most of these cardridges have be trown away or the tape transfered, moved to another cardridge decades ago. The other would be of the first 12 years or so of the Learjet tape production. They used a rubber that did not crumple, but turned into goo with often the tape bonding with the roller even. Mostly Ford Lincoln Mercury automotive and most aviation and cardridges for marine use, including there demo tapes, have that problem. But unlike GRT carridges, these rollers are of a standard bigger size including the center hole for the shaft so another rubber roller or plastic roller can be easily installed. (But most Ford Lincoln Mercury cardridges, which thus often are Learjet type with the goo sticky rollers, are therefore also partly glued together. And that can be another complication ).
So bad disformed goo-ed up or crumpled or hardened rollers in my 8-track cardridges.? Not so much! Only a hand full thus! Bad rubber is the exeption to the rule over here! Even most of my 8 track players and recorders cassette decks and TT's still have there original belts in good condition.
Above are thus two of my 6 GRT tapes which yesterday had the tape transfered by me to the underneath cardridges which had damaged tape inside that was removed and thrown away. I only have to colour scan and print the original labels, and stick it on the cardridges below, to where the original physical GRT tape with it's origional recorded media content is transfered to!
Good rubber does not desintegrate under well stored normal frequent use in house or in car conditions or outside if portable player is used. And my rubber tires including very extensively over 50 years old used 8-track cardridges of mine are all still 100% like new inside including tape and rollers.
Unlike the pinch rollers, tires and belts in cassette decks from certain consumer electronics manufacturers, mosty Matsushita, and from Philips group have indeed used bad cheap rubber that didn't deserve the name galvanized rubber, and that's a different story than with 8-tracks and R2R's and TT's which tires and belts in most cases are still like new, unless very extensively used thus fysical wear or otherwise abused / badly stored)
However notoriously 8-track cardridge rollers are from mostly one or two always the same cardridge brand over here in the America's being from the GRT (an UK based brand manufacturer part of the Philips group back then) Almost always crumbled disformed, bonded even with the tape in the cardridge and of an odd unreplacable roller size. Although one can retrofit these roller rimm's with the right size rubber gas etc hose. Most of these cardridges have be trown away or the tape transfered, moved to another cardridge decades ago. The other would be of the first 12 years or so of the Learjet tape production. They used a rubber that did not crumple, but turned into goo with often the tape bonding with the roller even. Mostly Ford Lincoln Mercury automotive and most aviation and cardridges for marine use, including there demo tapes, have that problem. But unlike GRT carridges, these rollers are of a standard bigger size including the center hole for the shaft so another rubber roller or plastic roller can be easily installed. (But most Ford Lincoln Mercury cardridges, which thus often are Learjet type with the goo sticky rollers, are therefore also partly glued together. And that can be another complication ).
So bad disformed goo-ed up or crumpled or hardened rollers in my 8-track cardridges.? Not so much! Only a hand full thus! Bad rubber is the exeption to the rule over here! Even most of my 8 track players and recorders cassette decks and TT's still have there original belts in good condition.
Above are thus two of my 6 GRT tapes which yesterday had the tape transfered by me to the underneath cardridges which had damaged tape inside that was removed and thrown away. I only have to colour scan and print the original labels, and stick it on the cardridges below, to where the original physical GRT tape with it's origional recorded media content is transfered to!
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