Does anyone still own and actually use an 8-Track Player?

[gener8tr]

I just purchased a late 70's CRAIG 3307 8-Track player primarily to complete my vintage set-up, but I do plan on using it.

Now, of course, I know the sound isn't 200 gram vinyl quality, but the last thing I need is another 10lb. paperweight, so this little sucker is going to earn its keep by playing some tapes regarless of sound quality.

Just wondering if anyone else still owns / operates an 8-Track?

Here's mine (I couldn't resist once I saw the VU meters):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v710/gener8tr/8-Track.jpg

[Driver 8]

Yes, I own and use a Roberts 8-Track player that can sound surprisingly good with a well-preserved tape.

[Wufnpoof]

Yes, but do you listen to the Beatles on your 8-track player ? :p

No, I don't have an 8-track and as far as I can remember, never did. They are kinda cool though - but I remember being irritated that songs were sometimes split between one track and the next.

[JoelDF]

I used to have one. It was a Fisher and part of a whole component system my parents bought back in 1980. We only added the 8-track because my mother had an 8-track player in her '77 Grand Prix. It too had VU meters and recording level controls.

The turntable I use to this day is the only remaining piece of equipment from that whole setup bought at a local Sherwood Magnavox that included that 8-track tape deck, an AM/FM receiver, the turntable, a cassette tape deck and speakers. The 8-track was actually the first piece to go.

[Lord Hawthorne]

I have the Technics and Akai supreme quad models, expressly for quad 8-tracks.

[Ed Bishop]

I still have an old Quad deck...a must at times!

:ed:

[Driver 8]

I have the Technics and Akai supreme quad models, expressly for quad 8-tracks.

I really want to get a quad 8-track deck.

[MMM]

I have a Pioneer HR-100. I use it occasionally. I keep it in my 2nd system. Looks neat next to the Marantz 2238B.

It also helps to have it around to test my slowly growing collection of Quad 8-tracks, even though the deck is stereo only. It helps that you can set the Pioneer to stop at the end of a program, to prevent a tape from getting "eaten" if it has a foil splice that's come loose & needs to be replaced. I'm collecting the Quad tapes for an old Lincoln that I'm buying, which has a Quad tape player. I may buy a Quad deck for the house one day, even though I don't have a multichannel setup currently. Maybe a Wollensak 8080...

[RadioClash]

You people are all crazy :sigh:

[BradOlson]

You people are all crazy :sigh:
To each his or her own. After all, have you checked out www.8trackheaven.com yet?

[Driver 8]

You people are all crazy :sigh:

Quad 8-track made a lot more sense as a true discrete four-channel playback technology than the various matrix decoding systems that tried to extract four channels of sound from one groove on a record.

[BradOlson]

Quad 8-track made a lot more sense as a true discrete four-channel playback technology than the various matrix decoding systems that tried to extract four channels of sound from one groove on a record.
You are right.

[Chip TRG]

You people are all crazy :sigh:

Nice words from a newbie! ;)

I own two. A nice modern (early 80's) Panasonic recorder which is fully functional. If someone wants a Nirvana 8-track, I can make them one! :D

The other is a quad-playback deck that was built into some cheap no-name all-in-one stereo system--complete with joystick for speaker balance! But hey, it works. The only quad tape I own is that Ford Demo tape, but it does have such tracks like "Grazin' In The Grass" by The Friends of Distinction (Alternate mix from the "hit" mix), "Everybody Plays The Fool" by The Main Ingredient, and a GREAT sounding "American trilogy" by Elvis Presley.

[MMM]

There's about 6 (IIRC) Ford Quadrasonic (as they called it) demo tapes, made by RCA.

[MMM]

You people are all crazy :sigh:

You have obviously seen the closing prices for some Quad 8-track auctions on eBay... :sigh:

[-=Rudy=-]

I used to have one. It was a Fisher and part of a whole component system my parents bought back in 1980. We only added the 8-track because my mother had an 8-track player in her '77 Grand Prix. It too had VU meters and recording level controls.

Maybe I own a similar one--I picked up a cheap Fisher on eBay a few years ago. Unfortunately it needs a tune-up--I hear more than one of the programs at a time. This deck does have Dolby, however, which didn't seem too common on other 8-track decks I saw.

[Driver 8]

Maybe I own a similar one--I picked up a cheap Fisher on eBay a few years ago. Unfortunately it needs a tune-up--I hear more than one of the programs at a time.

I went through several 8-Track decks (hey, at $20 a pop, who cares? ;) ) before finding the Roberts that I use now. It does a better job than any deck I have ever heard at maintaining proper playback head alignment and only playing one program at a time.

[stumpy]

I picked up an 8-track player about 10 years ago hoping to mine the music in my dad's long-forgotten-by-everyone-else-but-me 8-track collection. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, about 8 out of every 10 tapes broke when the channel-changing splice tape came around. I wish I could remember the player's manufacturer, but I do remember being assured by the previous owner (reputable) that it had hardly been used. This led me to believe the tape adhesive had dried out and simply couldn't withstand the pressure of looping.

So.... not being able to find a 8-track tape repair kit, I ended up trashing most of the tapes (50 or more). What I did manage to transfer to cassette ended up being so distorted I even tossed what I'd managed to transfer. Instead replacing everything via vinyl, cassette or eventually, cd.

Good luck guys! :)

[Driver 8]

I picked up an 8-track player about 10 years ago hoping to mine the music in my dad's long-forgotten-by-everyone-else-but-me 8-track collection. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, about 8 out of every 10 tapes broke when the channel-changing splice tape came around. I wish I could remember the player's manufacturer, but I do remember being assured by the previous owner (reputable) that it had hardly been used. This led me to believe the tape adhesive had dried out and simply couldn't withstand the pressure of looping.

So.... not being able to find a 8-track tape repair kit, I ended up trashing most of the tapes (50 or more). What I did manage to transfer to cassette ended up being so distorted I even tossed what I'd managed to transfer. Instead replacing everything via vinyl, cassette or eventually, cd.

Good luck guys! :)

If you want to get serious about 8-Tracks, you have to learn to replace the splice with new metal foil tape. It is the weakest link in old tapes, along with the foam pressure pads.

[rickl]

I still have my Heathkit 8-track I built in the early 70s. I also have the assembly manual.

I've replaced the belt and it works fine. I had to play Smoke on the Water (Made in Japan recording) for my son. Every budding guitar player needs to know this tune :-).

rick

[Clay]

I have had the Pioneer 100 and a Fisher and a Craig and sold them. The Fisher sounded the best.

[kwadguy]

I've got some Wallensak quad 8-track player/recorders (many consider these the best quad decks made), plus some Technics decks and some other stuff...Plus many many 8-tracks, quad and otherwise.

A number of years ago, I bought out a guy from Nevada (I think) who I believe was featured in "So Wrong, They're Right" and was perhaps THE big buyer/seller source of hard-to-find 8-tracks for years. Got thousands of good titles that way that are sitting in a storage unit appreciating right now (uh, yeah, sure...)...Can't recall his name at this moment...

I also have several hundred hand-collected quad 8-tracks...

Some 8-tracks sound quite good, and some music sounds AOK on 8-track (e.g. the Elektra Stooges albums seem perfect on 8-track)....But I have to say that I haven't listened to many 8-tracks in quite a while. I went through a phase, but not recently...

Kwad

[Driver 8]

Some 8-tracks sound quite good, and some music sounds AOK on 8-track (e.g. the Elektra Stooges albums seem perfect on 8-track)...

It's a bit of a myth that 8-Tracks have to sound terrible. As discussed in this thread, get the right player, and you'll be surprised. My copy of Bowie's Station to Station on 8-Track is the best-sounding copy of this album that I've heard.

[kwadguy]

It's a bit of a myth that 8-Tracks have to sound terrible. As discussed in this thread, get the right player, and you'll be surprised. My copy of Bowie's Station to Station on 8-Track is the best-sounding copy of this album that I've heard.

Actually, 8-tracks should have been able to sound a lot better than cassettes, as the tape passes the heads at twice the speed (3 3/4 ips for 8-track vs. 1 7/8 ips for cassette). Unfortunately, 8-tracks were done in by the design of the hardware (which often resulted in poor alignment and/or contact of the tape to the playback heads), and to a lesser extent by the mechanical design of the 8-track itself. But if you get a well duplicated 8-track and a good player, the sound can be quite decent.

(Note that the predecessor to the 8-track, the 4-track, was theoretically even better, both in mechanical design and because you had only four tracks [instead of 8] on the same width of tape).

Typically, the earlier 8-track releases (particularly those duplicated by Ampex) sound better than those released in the mid '70s and beyond...Of course, for those early Ampex 8-tracks you may have to deal with a rubber roller that has melted into a sticky ooze [geez, with that and the later sticky-shed reel-to-reels, you'd think Ampex never did any long term viability tests!]

Kwad

[Curiosity]

Hi

We did have 8 tracks over here too -I still have a number of the tapes.

I used to own a Quadrophonic car player with user adjustible azimuith which I built a power supply for and added line outs to but it packed up.

It sounded marvelous playing my dolbyized copy of the Temptations 1990 cart and the UK RCA 'The Worst of Jefferson Airplane' set.

Gonna buy a 'new' 8 track for the enjoyment factor soon.

Regards Candy