The following is a sampling of mail received here in the 8-Track Heaven mail room. Thought you might enjoy reading some of it. We'll continue to add new mail to the page as time and space allows. Write 8-track Heaven at
From: "Scott Scheel" <sasdj**dellnet.com>
Subject: Why not?
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000
Hey, Trackers-
I'm old enough to remember when 8 tracks were commonplace in cars & home stereos but too young to have as many carts & players as I do. I've been collecting vinyl since I was 3 years old and have inherited many 8 tracks along with LP collections I've bought as sort of a 'please take these or we're gonna throw 'em away' type of deal. When I was restoring my '77 Trans Am (which was ordered with an 8 track player from the factory), I opted to retain the factory 'tracker' since it was mounted underdash anyway which gave me the freedom to install a cassette (now almost obsolete) head unit. I've run the 8 track's outputs through a line-level converter and back to a pair of Pioneer amps in the trunk. You've never heard a cart thump like the one in my car! I carry a small assortment of my favorite tapes with me and blow peoples' minds at car shows with my little demonstrations. The really scary thing is I was proud enough of the thing to order a vanity license plate that read :"8TRAK TA" It's pretty funny. Your site is great...
One last note. I actually own an 8 track that will blow away a CD. ELO's 'Afterglow' CD box set was so poorly mastered by CBS that the music sounds as if it were mastered through an AM radio - literally. I have ELO 'Discovery' on vinyl & 8 track and both of them flat out KILL the CD. So, all those mindless sheep out there who think old tech = low tech had better look out for the old Trans Am with the 8 track. It sounds better, looks prettier, and goes a hell of a lot faster than their plastic Hondas!
From: "Eric Koester" <koesterdoc**email.msn.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000
Organization: Microsoft Corporation
thanks for answering my e-mail. i think that you have a point, the hunt is
half of the fun. and i guess after reading your e-mail i thought that it all
made sense. i mean if CDs came out at the time of 8-track and 8-tracks where
the main stream format now, we would all be CD trackers. i just thought that
it would be kind of neat to have access to new stuff, but even i have to
confess that i own more vinyl than 8-tracks. no CD player yet, mabey mini
disc some day. but i fo not think that DVD will catch on to soon. well
thanks for your reply, and i love your site i thought that i was the only
one who listened to 8-tracks, or vinyl for that matter. i was woundering
about one more thing. i would like to purchase your "links outta here" tape,
how much is it. and do you still have it on 8-track. if you do have it on
8-track are the 8-tracks new? thanks e-mail me i would like to buy one.
From: "Steve Rogers" <steve**rogers2011.fsnet.co.uk>
Subject: Heaven on earth
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000
Thanks,
I am very grateful to find your site, I have just signed your guestlist. I haven't finished browsing your site yet, I am a new ( old man) computer user aged 48 I cant tell you how pleased I am. Only had a computer 1 week again an old one like my tracker but old is good I used to be a computer engineer ,would you believe hardware engineer working on analogue/digital valve computer systems for ICL UK. They were big beasts, with wire programmable boards----ah enough of that shit. Long live analogue--- true sound.
I'll carry on looking now
Cheers Steve.
"Christopher LeBlanc" <captcaravan**earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 3 Sep 1999
Dear 8 Track Heaven,
Let me start off by saying that I love your web sight. I really don't know how I ever
started to collect 8 tracks but your sight has been a huge help. I remember them being
around a lot when I was younger and then fading out (I'm 21) I just love everything about
home and car audio and have quiet the system in my van. I thought that it would be the
neatest thing to have an 8 track in there as well. I'm shooting for the worlds loudest 8
track system. The 8 track is sounds so good that when I have in a good cartridge, people
don't even know that it is an 8 track until I tell them!
This sytem is installed on my 1994 Plymouth Voyager. The system consist of 5 amplifiers (3
Rockford Fosgates and 2 Eclipse) and 8" Rockford Fosgate DVC subwolfer built flush
with the rear wheel well so I lose no space when I need it for traveling. Driven by a RF
Punch 75. It has 2 Boston Acustic Pro Subs (series 5) in an easily removable box. These
are driven by a RF Punch 800 amp. The speakers in the rear are Eclipse 6x9s with Rockford
Fosgate tweeters driven by a RF Punch 100. The Front speakers are Boston Acustic Pro
componets (series 4) with a 5 1/4 mid bass in the dash, and 6 1/2 RF Punch in the door.
There is an Alpine 6 disk CD changer, and the head unit is an Alpine cassette player with
Dolby B NR and auto tape EQ. The 8 track is an JVC 4 channel 8 track. It only works in two
channels but will still play the quad 8 tracks by putting 2+2 tracks together. The 8 track
acually works off the alpine cassette circuitry, The 8 track head is pretty much conected
to the Apline, there is a little ciruitry to make the impedcance difference compatible and
remove noise cause by the car's electrical system.
What we really end up is with an 8 track player that out perform just about anyones car
stereo. I think one of the most rewarding things to me is being louder and more clear than
those going down the road blaring rap music, and what a shocker it is to see when they see
they have been beatened by a blast from the past.
Sincerely,
Christopher LeBlanc
MWCPC**aol.com
Date: Wed, 6 Oct 1999
Subject: Early "8 track"
Early "8 track"
Back in the '60s I was working on a project involving continuous loop recording and
saw quite a number of systems. The earliest seems to be the Cousino "Echo-Matic"
system by Orrtronics, Incorporated, Toledo, Ohio. I also have a BASF LP 36 Continuous Tape
Cassette intended to fit on a reel player. And a Cousino "Audio Vendor", also
for reel machines. And of course several sizes of the Fildelipac type cartridges.I have
built up a collection of classical music on 8-track cartridges, simply because it is
relatively rare, and as poor a use of the medium as were 78 rpm records for classical
selections.
Yours is a very interesting web site.
Mike
Moore, David T." <David_T._Moore**cdnoxy.com>
Subject: 8-tracks & cars
I bought a brand new Mustang in 1971 and it had an 8-track. It quit working
about a month after we got it fixed, it worked fine for about 2 years, then we sold the
car. I found 8-tracks were great - the music just kept coming. The first Cassette player I
had did not have auto reverse so you had to eject the tape and re-insert - a real pain. I
actually bought a home cassette player, when they first came out and sold it, and went
back to 8-tracks. Cassettes were hard to find, where I lived, and I found that 8-tracks
were more users friendly Eventually I had to switch to Cassettes like everyone else cause
8-tracks were no longer available. I would take the best songs off the 8-track and record
onto Cassette - it was not easy, as you know, if you miss the song on the 8-track tape,
around you go through the track till the end. I have four (4) 8-track players, 3 of which
still work. My Mother-in-law also has a 8-track and she & I buy all the 8-tracks we
can (at garage sales flea markets etc) and swap tapes. She likes easy listening and I like
Rock 'N Roll and Rock, and Country What I find interesting is, I am now buying CD's that I
have on 8-track, as the new Mailbu has a CD player and a Cassette player. I keep a list of
all my music collection on Microsoft Access
DAVE MOORE
To: <>
Subject: Just dropping a line
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999
I found your site while I was just surfing around, and I couldn't resist putting my two cents worth in.
I, like every snooty survivor of the late '60's and the whole damn decade of the '70's, would not be found anywhere near an 8-track! WHEW! Now that we've got the obligatory dissing of your favoriteformat out of the way, I'll get to the meat of this missive-here goes!
If I could really remember all the artists that I first heard on 8-track, this would take all night, so I'll just list the ones that come to mind. Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, ELP, ELO, BTO, The Allman Brothers, Steely Dan, Derek And The Dominoes. Nektar, Deep Purple, Leon Russell, Leon Redbone, Marshall Tucker, Charley Daniels, NRPS, The Dead, The Who, The Troggs, ZEPPLIN!!!, Ten Years After, JIMMI!!!, JANIS!!! MORRISON!!!, CSN&Y, CLAPTON!!!!, and, of course, TINY TIM!!!!!
I guess, with a life-long love of music, I would have found these artists on other formats, but it wouldn't have been the same. It would have been out of context! Our lives back then weren't static. We were going all the time, not sitting aroundto listen to music. We were driving somewhere, or going to a bar (pre-club days), or having a party, or any number of things! The 8-track was our soundtrack! Sure, we got stoned, but the music kept playing on 8-track. (Try cueing up a record when you're rightously ripped!!!)
I guess what I'm trying to communicate is that even though I did my share of cursing (and throwing) 8-tracks, and even though they would change tracks RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of "Statesboro Blues". they really affected my life, and some of the music that I still listen to from that time has never sounded quite as good as it did on an 8-track!
One more 8-track memory- Frank Zappa, "HOT RATS"
Thanks for listening,
Mike Kaier
From: Hippie7074**aol.com
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000
Subject: 8 track player in my 1970 VW Bus!
Hey, I just wanted to say that I really enjoy 8 tracks. They do sound great
on a good player. I recently installed a under dash player on my 1970
Volkswagen Bus! It really seems to belong in that old Bus! People wonder
why I collect the old tapes, but they are cheaper than the CD's and a much
better conversation piece. I wish I had a portable player I could bring with
me all of the time. LONG LIVE THE 8 TRACKS!
>From Tim Edwards
hippie7074**aol.com
From: "Ray Leaming" <rleaming**bigfoot.com>
Subject: 8-Track revied
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999
Hi 8-track Fans;
I repaired many hundreds 8-track players, recorders, tapes while operating LEAMING
ELECTRONIC, while operating this business (retired 10 years ago) I invented and patented a
8-track cleaning kit, which was put on the market about the time that was the demise of
the 8-track. If the market on the net warrants, these could be manufactured again. The
cleaning kit had an open cartridge with trackway, which guided the probe with attached
cleaning head up against the turning capstan. It can hone the capstan along with cleaning
pads. I have made several improvements over the original since it was patented. I have
saved approx. 100+ kits. These were made by a firm in Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
If enough interest warrants I may possibly setup a web site!!!
Thanks to all 8-track fans
Ray Leaming
(formerly LEAMING ELECTRONICS)
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999
From: Scott Winter <winterfam**earthlink.net>
To: malco23**spamcop.net
Hi-I'm an audio technician who's been repairing gear since 1973.Back then 8 tracks were
still in use. To this day i fix 3 or 4 a year, and
everytime I feel like I'm keeping the flame alive.It always amazes me how they were
designed and that they actually work!If the motors are
good, I send out the capstans to be refinished,throw in new rubber,clean out all the
gunk(found a jelly doughnut in one once!)and align out the
head(I still have a full set of test tapes)People always seem to enjoy them more than most
modern equipment and will call thanking for the
repair.I still have my fisher unit,with auto stop,limiter and dolby!It makes a great
recording.Well, back to the bench repairing the crap that
passes for equipment these days!(Has anyone ever come across a tube 8tr?)
Date: Thu, 13 May 1999
From: user <user**mail.uwf.edu>
To: malco23**spamcop.net
Subject: endless loops of stuff
I heard from a guy that works in a audio repair shop that home security devices use the
same type of self-adhesive metallic tape as do 8-tracks;
this sounds logical, but I have yet to do research. Also, if you have access to a good
tape head,and an empty cart, just get hold of a
soldering iron and the type of wire used for modern compact headphones (keep the male
connector on the other end.) Solder the bare ends of thewire to the leads of the head.
Proceed to glue the head to the spot where your player reads the tape (player's head and
head in cart shold
touch when cart is in player.) Make a small hole for the wire to exit the cart, and put
the cart back together. You can then play music from
anything through your 8-track machine, just connect the plug from thecart into a headphone
jack. This is the same principle behind those
adapters made to play portable CD players in car cassette decks. THIS IS JUST AN IDEA I
HAVE NOT TRIED IT AND I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY OCCUR TO ANYTHING IN
ANY WAY. I don't even know for sure if itworks, but agan, I have used the same principle
to make adapters for cassette decks. Try it and let me know: par2**uwf.students.edu
Sparks4jim**aol.com
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999
Subject: 8 track recorder
To: malco23**spamcop.net
When I was in highschool, early 70s 8tract was king. I remember going in any record store
and there would be more 8track tapes than cassettes tapes.I had a 8track tape deck in my
1970 Gremlin under the dash.I also had a 8track tape deck recorder (I believe the brand
wasCREIG i think) .And i would record my own music from blank tapes.Those were the good
old days.Last summer I sold that 8track recorder at a garage sale for 5 dollars; along
with many pre recorded 8track tapes.Oh well,the deck was old and not playing at its best.I
guess if id known about 8track heaven then I would have kept it. I do still have an old
Sears AM&FM 8track radio player but only about two tapes.Its nice to know there is a
club like 8trackheaven around.keep up the good work.Jim
Salerno
peterlionkg**home.com
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999
To: malco23**spamcop.net
Subject: Thanks
Thanks for being out there, for years I have known that my eight tracks
could be repaired, but instead of trying to figure out materials to use
to fix them, I went out looking for rolls of the sponges, talk about
getting looked at strange!!!! Then one day I happened to come across a
repair shop that specializes in old tube equipment and I happened to
mention nonchalontly about if he knew where I could get replacement
sponges and he mentioned felt that was used in weather sealing doors,
this seemed like it was worth a try but I never tried it. I think I just
typed in eight tracks into a search engine and your site came up,
HEAVEN on the internet. I own 3+ milk crates stuffed with eight tracks
that have been sitting in a damp cellar for 4 years, and am about 1/2
way thru one of these crates, I have always had a roll of foil tape,a
roll of plain tape, and a tape splicer, as any fanatic about music will
have if he values music, these tapes are just bound to get stuck sooner
or later, but the sponges I never knew what to use. You should mention
what type of Frost King weatherstrip to use as there are at least ten
different types, I am using 3/8 foam(self stick open cell-white),it is
1/4 thick,and comes in a roll 17 inches long, i chose this cause it says
highly compressible on the package. Am also using Goop glue on the back
and invisible tape on the front, nobody knew what contact cement to
recommend cause some glues eat plastic, but so far this doesnt seem to
be too caustic to the foam. Ps:the last time
I bought eight tracks was about eight years ago(Keith Jarret-Nude
Ants(two cartridge package),and Keith Jarret--Koln Concert. I couldnt
believe it when I saw them for sale(they were sealed), and 1 or 2
dollars each, I grabbed them and tore home like I had just found an
original Picasso. They of course shredded there sponges post haste, but
now I'm gonna fix them, dont think I'm gonna go as far as ironing
anything though, but its nice to know that if there are any that have
gone that far that there is something I can do.Thanks again!!!!
Charlie Lustig" <clustig**maincomp.willex.com>
To: <malco23**spamcop.net>
Subject: wow!
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999
What a great site i like it because my grandmother had a 8 track player and 8 tracks and she used to let me play them she had this big woden think it had a recored player,radio and an 8-track i think the 8 track is better than the tapes the have now i remember just pushing a button to get to the next track instead the the rewind crap i go through now this site made me literaly cry when i came to it i am very emotinal about her scinse her death i remember her bird on top of the radio she kept it there so i could talk to it because i always played the 8 tracks and tried to get the pariket to sing the tune of the songs when my mom through it out the bird seed was stuck in the bottom of the speakers and the doors which slid she would polish it every other day with the best polish (pledge).we went to the salivation army one day and they had 8 tracks we bought allllllllllllllll 14 of them i must have played all of them at least 20 times. .......if you know where i can get some 8-tracks please send me e-mail at: andrew lesser81**hotmail.com
VWbug182**aol.com
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999
Subject: Just wanted to say thanks!
Hi,
I want to thank you so much for having such a great and helpful page. Your
page really brought me in to the whole 8-track scene and keeps me in to it.
>From the day i bought my first 8-track player and popped in my first 8-track
ever (K-Tel's Fantastic Hit's) and i first noticed the magic of 8-tracks
you've been helping me out. And the wierd thing about 8-tracks is when one of
my first 8-tracks needed repairing (the first time i played it) I didn't get
discouraged, i stuck to it and with tips from your site, i got it working
again perfectly. And the pride and satisfaction i got from fixing that tape is
what really got me in to the hobby(or as me and my friends often put it, i
caught 8-trackitis. And like your page says i did go through the four phases,
although i think i might be kind of stuck between 3 and 4 (life happens alot
like 8-tracks sometimes, darn plastic pinch rollers!).
8-tracks have really gotten me in to all kinds of music now that i never
even thought about listening to before. And now i almost feel musically
enlightened if you want to put it that way. There isn't much music that i
dislike at all anymore. I know have pretty much evry song that i've always
wanted to have and i know have (Thanks too many very generous donations from
people i have contacted through your site) a few hundred Great 8-tracks.
Whenever i listen to the radio with my friends nearly every song we here i
have on 8-track, It has gotten so that my friends start to call me
The "I have that on 8-track guy". I just got my first great portable, a yellow
Panasonic Dynamite that i am repairing, and now it is with my collection of 3 stereos 2
portables and one car stereo. I am only sixteen years old and i only got my
first 8-track player 4 or 5 months ago and now i am almost at my 8-track peak
, And i owe it all to you and your site, i am forever in debt to you. Thank
you so much for all your help.
Best Regards,
Zach
Wed, 10 Mar 1999
From:rgr53**hotmail.com
Hey guys,
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your website. As a
25 year old college student, I've been collecting 8-tracks for 7 or 8
years now. Everyone thought I was crazy at the time, but your website
lets me know at least if I'm crazy, I'm not the only one out there! I
enjoyed the articles on tape repair & tape deck repair very much!
I keep telling my wife I'm going to put a 8-track player in our car (a
1989 Ford Tempo) & she basically tells me she will kill me if I do!
Anyway, good work guys. Keep on trackin'!!!!
Ronald G. ReaganGordon J Neff 75557.200**compuserve.com
1/20/99
Yep... I figured, if I plugged "8-Track" into the search engine, I'd find
someone running a page very much like this.
I'm glad, too.
I was never much into 8-trax at the time; I played vinyl. However, to play those albums
again here and now I needed a new turntable (new to my possession, that is), and the one I
found included a decent 8-track player. Well, that pretty much launched me off on a weird
collecting trajectory. Along the way I found a -really good- 8-track cassette deck, the
kind that cost multiple hundreds of bucks at the time.That helped.
The more so as it -was- a tape deck, and could RECORD. I have found Memorex blanks still
individually shrink-wrapped, as crisp and new after all these years as if they'd been made
so many days ago. So I've become a bit weird: I get modern-day CDs and make hi-fidelity
recordings (it is reel-to-reel tape, after all), then scan the album cover for a color
print 'label.' The result: Reasonably professional-looking bootlegs of artists who have
probably never -seen- an "8-track cassette." I'm the only person I know who has
(or would even think of having) an 8-track player installed in his car.
But then, I still have an LED watch. That wows 'em, too.
From: Dearhigh**aol.com
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998
To: malco23**spamcop.net
Subject: collectors and their carts
Been into 8 tracks since high school (class of 72) my new wife thinks I'm crazy. I about
1500 tapes and a few 4-tracks and quads. 2 quad players and 4 8 track players and a 4
track player. I also have a 2XL and 14 tapes. I was so happy to find your website. I'll
get a website going some day
From: Victor Snow midiwiz**swbell.net
Organization: "People for the Ethical Treatment of Rush Limbaugh"
Since I'm only 25, I'm too young to say that your site was a nostalgic trip, but nonetheless I'm glad to see that there are others out there who still have use for the many great recordings on 8-track. Actually, I discovered 8-tracks by chance. Many of the recordings I was looking for were no longer in production, so I hit the "thrift store cycle" hoping to score some success. And I did, to say the least. Since I can pick up 8-tracks for next to nothing, I've expanded my musical horizons far beyond what the current musical culture would normally allow. Most used records, cassettes, and even CDs aren't worth bothering with, but the 8-tracks I've picked up have usually been in great condition. Once again, thanks for the site. Believe it or not, its truly trans-generational.
"Brad Jackson" <zlotow**email.msn.com
I hope you received my last email okay and that the new site is working out fine. Well, just thought I would tell you about this superb 8T score I picked up today. Our local Free Ads paper carried an ad for a load of carts plus a player in another part of Yorkshire, roughly about 50 miles away. I called and arranged to take a trip over this morning. I didnt examine the carts there and then, just checked there was a nice box full and a Binatone car deck, a BSR home deck (serviced this pm and playing now!) and an amp. I got this stuff for a knock down bargain price and once at home checked the contents.
There are exactly 100 carts - various stuff (including the usual Carpenters 69-73 and the ABBA albums!) but the real gems were:
Holy Grail OST (with sleeve) - Monty Python
>Previous Record (with sleeve) - " "\
>Matching Tie - (no label - a surprise!) - " "
Obv a Python fan. Oh, there were 16 Elton John carts, a Love You Live - Rolling Stones and loads of other stuff. When I get a more comprehensive list sorted I will let you know. Marvellous! The first big haul in quite a while. AH!!!
Gerald Tomyn" <ntomyng**HK.Super.NET>
I am the owner of another defunct format, the DCC (Digital Audio Cassette), which became defunct about two years ago now. I found your page quite by accident, as I was searching through the internet for news on DCC stuff, and then somehow your page came up in one of my searches (I may have just entered "tape" or something like that). Anyway, great page. I have an Akai quad "play and record" deck packed away somewhere. I got many years of good service out of it, although I never owned an actual quad tape. I think even the demonstration tape that came with it was regular 8-track, not quad. I took the deck apart once, but only to see how it worked. It never needed repair. The deck outlived the RCA amplifier I was using it with, and then outlived its own format. The last time I used it (hooked up to a modern stereo receiver), it still sounded great.
Your page brings back a lot of good memories about those sturdy systems that seem to stand up to anything and give predictable, if not always perfect, performance. I may have to go and look for my collection of 8-track tapes sometime; I know I still have them but haven't listened to them in over a decade.
Meyer, Jeff (Muncie)" <Jmeyer**PTS.BWAUTO.com>
Subject: Some 8 track thoughts.......
My name is Jeff, and I was born in '63. I was 13 when I received a J.C. Penney all-in-one turntable, 8-track, and tuner for Christmas. For kids in my era this was a pretty big event to have one of these in your room. The only way you could top this would maybe be a black and white television. Although pretty cheesy compared to my audio standards of today, my "stereo" was the focus of my home life. My first 8-track was Steve Miller Band "Fly Like An Eagle". That tape got played and played and played. Other later tapes were Ram Jam "Ram Jam" and Heatwave "Too Hot to Handle". When I really started buying music it was about 50-50 vinyl and 8-Track. I remember a next door neighbor got a quadraphonic outfit. It had a joystick in the middle of for purple lights arranged in a square. You could adjust the balance that way. He had a quad 8-track of some song called "Frankenstein" or something that really put the quad effect to good use. The music would spin around the room. I was awed. I got my first car in 79" and it had an indash 8-track with a set of 60w per channel rear deck speakers. In 79 this was a very loud butt-kicking sound system. I cannot remeber my home stereo eating or breaking tapes, but my car did on occasion. Yes I had to use a matchbook in the car. I had a wooden empty microsope box that they were throwing away at school that I used to store my 8-tracks in. I remember driving and seeing nests of magnetic tape and broken 8-track carts. I guess they would get messed up in the car and the irritated drivers would pitch them out the window. I pitched a few in my day. The eighties came and I moved out, leaving my venerable 8-tracks behind. Cassettes were the rage. So much for progress. My 8-tracks were taken to Goodwill or something by my parents. Yes there was a well played copy of "Never Mind the Bollocks" in there. Oh well. It is 1998, I am in my mid thirties, I bought an 8-track player. It is an Akai quadraphonic player/recorder. I payed $4.94 for it. It weighs about a ton I think. After reading your site I think I am ready to "get back to listening to them 8-tracks". Now if I can only find "Fly Like and Eagle" again.
From: Eightrackr**aol.com <Eightrackr**aol.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 14:32:46 EDT
8-track tapes and players have always been on my periphery and it's only beenin the last couple of months that I began collecting the wonderful carts and the machines that play them. I grew up in 8-track's heyday, spending my entire teen years in the 70's. I began collecting 45's in Jr. High, and began collecting Lp's shortly after. 8-tracks were always sitting there, waiting for me to get hooked, but I stuck with Lp's and began using cassettes because of their user friendliness when recording.
I always enjoyed using 8-track players at the local retailers (K-Mart, Lafayette radio, and in cars) but being brainwashed by the Hi Fi world, I believed them when they said 8-track was less than perfect (definitely one of the format's attractions now, they exude "Character") and I actually looked down my nose at those who bought and used them. A friend even had a portable player he'd bring into school to play Elton John and Steppenwolf 8-tracks he got from Record Club of America (Remember them?) . I, down deep inside wished I had one of those cool, although slowly becoming antiquated machines.
Well, along came the 80's and 8-track went away (temporarily) and I continued down the Lp and cassette route until CD's arrived. They are superior to all other forms and are cheap (to manufacture and as used items), but lack the atmosphere and character induced by Lp graffics, record labels, warps, broken splices and bad pressure pads. I still enjoy watching a record spin while it plays. you can't do THAT with a CD.
Anyway, after a friend introduced me to eBay in May 1998, I searched for "8-track", bid on a GE portable and won the bid. I told the same friend about the machine and he said..."I just saw a box of tapes at a garage sale for a dime apiece, I'll get 'em for ya", and I was HOOKED. I own a Lafayette recorder, Craig receiver/8-track and a "suitcase" Arvin stereo portable and a Pioneer/Craig amplified player, along with the forementioned GE portable. My buddy and I have gone on "Junk/thriftshop" safaris in search of tapes, players and other antiquated technology (I'm still looking for a Magnavox console with record changer and 8-track for my basement, I have fond memories of a teenaged friend's parent's Magnavox consloe that just kicked your behind with BIG SOUND) and my wife even cringes now when i mention the cursed 8-track.
I have many rolls of foil tape from Radio Shack's clearance and have repaired many carts and replaced a lot of pads with weather stripping!! I've even put collections of my fave 45's from you youth onto carts now and will be recording some punk/new wave carts soon!! It's a hobby that continues to fan out into the periphery of other collectable persuits. (the console search)...Keep on Trackin!!
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