“It looks so much better than the usual ones!” ahaha. Tho I must admit, I was more than happy to move past VHS-C and DV. Having the patience to dub these over to the computer is pretty respectable.
@@vwestlife also I must admit, I’ve been watching you since 2011 or 2012 so the idea of you using a “modern” camera (by then’s standards) is oddly funny to me. Was it a tape-only rule back then, or did I just imagine that based on what was around and affordable?
@@bgdwiepp fair enough, I just recall Wade seeing he’d never seen the brand before eBay. But being off in Adelaide, not everything from Sydney and Melbourne finds its way there!
I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to read my copy of radio shacks “Guide to stereo high fidelity, 1974 edition” and now thanks to Craig, I’ve found that time!
How fitting that you used that Craig Hundley Trio album. I see what you did there! Also didn’t know that album was released on 8-track, it’s one of my favorites.
tangentially related, but I also recently learned that GPX, the makers of those atrociously bad "boomboxes" was also around for a while longer than I thought, and apparently the brand is short for "Gran Prix" [sic]
Craig also made portable reel-to-reel tape recorders for home use, or for spies, like the one from “Mission: Impossible” where Mr. Phelps was using a tape recorder to play a tape where he was talking about a mission, and after that, the tape recorder was self destructed and burned up the entire machine.
I fixed my plastic head housing using small gauge solid wire, wrapped it around the screw on top, then used xacto to put small grooves in the corners of the housing and wrapping the wire around and back to the screw on top.
It looks like there's also plenty of room to epoxy the wire to the plastic to _really_ make sure it never goes anywhere. The wire reinforcement might be a good idea even if it's NOT broken yet.
Can confirm 'lavatory standard'. Certron was excrement. Crappy tape media, crappy build quality. You know you're making a sh*t product when even K-mart's own house-branded cassette and 8-track blanks were better. I'm told by some people than in the 1980s, Certron imrproved somewhat. I'll have to take their word for it.
My parents used to make mix tapes on 8-tracks on their Pioneer recorder. My mom would even type up the track list on her typewriter. Used to listen to them in the car (1972 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight) as well as the house. We only needed to cram the matchbook on top of the tape to align the playhead in the car. Otherwise, we'd hear two songs at the same time.
Great episode. 😊 I have a collection of all-in-one stereos that include 8-track recorders so this episode will come in handy when I try to get them working. I'm sure all the old equipment needs new capacitors. super glue plastic repair, head alignment and new belts. I never owned an 8-track when they were new but now I'm interested in making them work again just for the retro vibe. Craig equipment was pretty good in their heyday, especially car stereos; a Craig AM-FM cassette radio with some Craig stereo speakers in the doors sure beat the factory AM mono radio that came in the car.
Wow! I cannot believe that this 8 track player was manufactured in the exact same year of 1976 and the month of October when I was born! This 8 track player and I are both turning 48 years old this month. Now I'm really feeling old! Lol 🤣🤣🤣
Love it when you bring out stuff that I have or had in my posession like the mini amp and the demagnetizer. Brings back a touch of nostalgia. The use of period correct music is also a huge plus though in this case you really didn't have much of a choice!
well done VW, your recordings sound fantastic & nice touch with the period-correct radio shack stereo components....LOL Certron "lavatory standard" tape
I inherited those 10” Realistic 3 way speakers pictured on the catalog. I have them on my living room setup and they still awesome. Lots of lows mids and highs. I have been jamming on those since my teen years and I am 47 now. You can do the math. But I never knew they were on the front page of the catalog. 1 yr before I was born. Dad always did buy the awesome for audio and video.
Although, Craig was big in the 70s, he made a small return. About a year ago, I found some cheap electronics, w/ his name, at BigLots (mostly boomboxes, clock radios and Bluetooth speakers).
I worked in a lab for years and never thought of the "lavratory" joke. My first 8 track was a hand me down portable player that had a single speaker and loaded from the side. You should do the 2-XL Robot.
I’d never seen an 8-track recorder until a friend and mentor bought one back in the 70s and I saw it in his house as a kid. When he passed, I inherited his vintage stereo equipment including the (Sony) recorder. No idea if it actually works but it’s hooked into my 2-channel setup waiting for something to play.
Then find something and play it (as long as you replace the pads on the 8-track before playing them, or if you notice them crumbling after attempting to play them like I did), surprisingly all the antique/charity stores in my area have tons of tapes (because nobody buys them), and the really large antique mall in the next town over (largest in the state) has a full six-tier shelf built out of old wooden pallets for them, in their record room (plus stacks of them on the floor nearby)
@@ericdunn8718 I bought my first 8 track cartridge before getting a player. The format brought back memories of the school coach. Although people are correct it saying the format was dead in the U.K. by the mid 1970s, titles like "Music for the Motorway" show it was popular once.
4:30 - I like the VU illumination flickering to the motor stalling, very disco-esque. 😆 10:21 - Imitation Blondie, and their famous hit "Heart of Plexiglass." 10:33 - The Boobie Brothers? 10:42 - The Knack-offs? 10:46 - "Le Freaque" by Cheek? 12:21 - I'd always recommend using clean foam swabs, or high-quality cotton swabs, over a cleaning cassette. Cleaning cassettes are more abrasive, and can cause unnecessary wear to the head. And, of course, when it comes to isopropyl alcohol, the higher percentage the better - nothing under 80%, and only the clear stuff, not the green-tinted mint stuff. 12:40 - As you've already stated, that is one VERY silent mechanism. With the actual wood shell back on, you probably couldn't even hear it at all! 13:48 - 🏳🌈🤣 "Send in the Clones." Not a bad-sounding 8-track recorder at all, even with potentially-weak caps. It's a pity the timer can't easily be repaired. Goodwill's got a Panasonic RS-806US for sale, and I'm really tempted to bid on it, despite already having that exact same model. Considering I already have a few 8-track decks, I can't really justify getting another one, especially if it's a duplicate.
Nice repair, looks like a solid 8 Track machine! It being a recorder makes it more advanced than most players and the timer is nice, that is if it actually worked. Great video!
And Craig was the worst brand behind Lloyd’s and other brands from the 1970’s. The good ones were Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer, Realistic and more where they made great 8-track players and recorders. The first one was Lear Jet from the mid 1960’s where they introduced the 8-track player as a portable machine. Muntz also jumped on the bandwagon on making 8-track players for both home and car, and also made 4-track tape cartridges and machines for cars, and used as broadcast carts.
I had a really nice Craig cassette car stereo back in the 80s.. It had separate bass and treble controls Dolby and soft eject with a nice silver face. It was much higher end than the home units.
Watching that was an interesting bit of nostalgia. Craigs always seemed to be nicely styled. My only 8-track was in a Sears AM/FM/8-Track/Record Player combo unit I took to college. A few years later, when my few 8-track's magnetic tape began to come apart, I stopped buying 8-tracks and began buying cassettes.
Seeing that Ampex tape at 1:32 bring back memories of when I bought a blank Ampex VHS tape the same time I bought my first VCR a Toshiba DX-7C. It was quite the machine.
It sounds like a physically noisy, kinda crappy cassette deck. This is largely because it didn't survive long enough to get the nice tape formulations that cassettes eventually did.
Wow, never seen these before although am very into retro. I have grownup with audio cassettes, VHS and analog radios but this was totally new. Even i have seen spools too but never heard of a 8track cassette. Love and respect from Pakistan 🇵🇰
the best glue for everything is shoegoo. i glue everything with it, and it stands everything, but you can release the glued without leaving any residue. its a miracle this glue :) holds even with the smallest surfaces that you want to glue and glues a wide variety of materials together :)
to rough up or etch the capstan glue 400 grit sandpaper to the pinch roller of an empty 8 track cart, lowers W&F a lot. I've spent a lot of time fixing my Roberts 808D (Akai CD-81) recorder deck. cleaned and resoldered a lot of joints on the PC boards, full recap, replaced the 2SC458 output transistors with KCS1845s, transport clean/lube. Its the deck I compare all others to
I used to have the Craig, but it had problems that the plastic head assembly that was cracked which caused lack of alignment while recording over. That happened on later 8-track machines during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that had the dreadful plastic head assembly that were cracked or split. I also had my Panasonic RS-803US which was a better improvement than this, and that’s doesn’t work anymore, because the motor died. So, I upgraded to my Lafayette RK-890A 8-track recorder which is the same model I used to have, and I put a new belt, adjusting the head alignment, and it works. The only way to play an 8-track is to insert a cartridge, and it won’t play, but, it only has a play button where you can press Play, it plays the tape. You can’t pull the tape out of a player where you can hit the Stop button, and these were the two features that you don’t see them on an any of the 8-track players and recorders.
My 8-track experience was like my Reel to Reel experience. Found at yard sales when I was in middle school. If you get lucky and find a tape that is not worn all. I forgot I'm playing a 8-track. Until I heard the CLUNK to the next track. Also keep replacement pads ready. Some great articles on the internet about servicing your 8-track cart. Most of them I find need foam pad replacement and don't forget about the foil splice. Then ones I picked up as a kid. They was new enough that was #1 issue. If they just didn't jam up inside.
Nice and thorough service job, I loved that. Techmoan, eat your heart out! Craig, doesn't he play bass in The Sisters of Mercy? Ha. I still miss Patricia. Lovely lava lamp hourglass crossover, BTW.
Good video just recently picked up a Relaistic TR-801 8 track here in Australia. Came with around 20 carts including 5 recorded blanks and few with the original cardboard box protectors. Needs abit of work to get working 100% but had it running so know it works at least.
While I really hope 8-track never has an honest revival (beyond the sale of certain replacement parts) it does have a special place in the hearts of people of a certain age. It was never a great format for a bunch of reasons, but when it was popular it was ubiquitous! As a young child in the early 80s I loved messing with the 8-track decks and tapes my parents owned. In particular my mother had a portable GE 8-track player, the one with the single large speaker on it and you stuck the tape in the side. When on battery power if you moved the unit around while playing a tape you could get some massive wow and flutter effects which entertained me and my younger sister greatly at the time! Plus 8-track tapes (and cassettes too) playing on low batteries was also a trip. As my friends and I got older in the late 80s a few of us put together "sample tapes" on cassette. I really wish I still had them now! They were each filled with 60-90 minutes of audio samples from live TV, movies and all manner of recorded media recorded loads of different ways. One of those things that if someone were to post the whole thing on TH-cam you would end up with a 1000 copyright claims in short order. Basically a huge collection of audio clips, and general wackiness of pre-teens of the late 80s. :)
I can think of one good use of 8-track, which probably was one of its uses back in the day. You could record four different songs to one tape and choose among them on the fly, then put the cartridge in another machine that will re-index it for the next play. Turn the otherwise highly annoying "four parallel recordings" model from a bug into a feature.
Have helped a lot of people make this repair in the easiest way, that will last forever and prevent any re-cracking or cracking in a different point. Basically, foil splice repair tape is the same width as the bracket and has a plastic base. You wrap the removed bracket a couple times tightly with foil tape, this forms a strong brace. With the top bracjet screw removed, you have the second wrap of foil end up just past the hole. Use a toothpick to pop a hole through the foil over the hole. Then put the screw back in. This licks the tape in place and prevents it slipping or loosening. Clean and regrease the shaft while the bracket is off then reinstall. This takes 30 min to do, so you dont have to wait for any compounds to set. This is faster and works better than fabricating a metal or wire band to secure the bracket or using a compound. Have repaired dozens this way. Would rather this method than trusting a new 3D printed one that takes longer and costs more.
Yeah, it's a great album and years ago, I was lucky enough to find a near-mint condition LP album at my local Salvation Army Thrift Store for just a dollar. :)
My mom owned a Soundesign stereo with an 8 track recorder. I used to buy Memorex 90 minute cartridges & record vinyl records from the Library & local radio station running NBC Friday Night Videos in stereo. I got really good keeping it clean & running. Sadly I no longer have it.
I got an 8-track recorder from the Wahiawā Goodwill in the 80s. My first stereo recorder. I probably got a blank 8-track cassette from the nearby Radio Shack.
I also got an 8-track recorder off of eBay back in April, and it’s the same model that I used to have, and it’s a replacement of my Panasonic RS-803US, and it’s a Lafayette RK-890A from late 1971 according to the manufacturer date which was 12/28/71 which was four days before the new year of 1972. I did some minor fixes, including a new belt, some adjustments on the head including alignment and azimuth, cleaning the main unit, and it plays perfectly. It has two other features that you don’t see in an 8-track player like “Play” and “Stop” buttons, and when I load the tape, it will not run unless I hit “Play”, and it plays. After I finish, I pressed “Stop” and press “Eject” and spits the cartridge out. The Lafayette RK-890A is way better than Craig.
I really wish those electromagnetic bulk erasers and head demagnetisers were more common here in Australia. It's basically impossible to find a 220-240V option these days, and it's not feasible to step down the mains voltage for a 120V one, since they're typically rated for 5-8A, so you'd need a huge and expensive stepdown transformer, even if you only use them in short bursts.
Oh, I got a CRAIG too... but he's different and I don't remember if he can record. I need to dig him up some day and finally fix him (everything was working fine in the tape mechanism but the line output was dead, not the headphone one though) Great video again, and your jokes and puns cracked me up. Thanks.
a friend of mine got a portable 8 track player. i found some 8 tracks at a thrift store and got them as joke gifts for christmas for them and his bday.
This reminds me of my Mother's Realistic 8-Track Recorder Model TR-884 that she Still has to this vey day. My aunt gave it to her in the early 80s and throughout the 80s and 90s she proudly displayed it in her living room and now it's stored at the basement of her home. That 8-Track Recorder was a whole lot less fancier than this one. Great Video!
The 70s was the "me" decade, so maybe there's also other first-name 8 track players out there... Great video, had a moment of panic when hearing about the plastic bracket, then relief when realizing my Realistic TR-882 & 888 used a future-proof metal head mount...
I don't know why, but the thought of a rabbi inspecting a factory to ensure kosher compliance with an 8 track machine is really funny.
@@limelorax certainly reframes the word circumspect in new light 😆
Especially given their recent foray into electronics like beepers and walkie-talkies.
@@christo930That's awful! ...But also pretty funny...
Kids: "Which retro filter are you using in your video?"
VWestlife: "Filter...?"
“It looks so much better than the usual ones!” ahaha. Tho I must admit, I was more than happy to move past VHS-C and DV. Having the patience to dub these over to the computer is pretty respectable.
@@kaitlyn__L This was recorded using a digital flash memory camcorder from 2011, not tape.
@@vwestlife oh, there you go. I thought you had a personal rule to only record on tape :) I guess it’s just standard def camcorders in general?
@@vwestlife also I must admit, I’ve been watching you since 2011 or 2012 so the idea of you using a “modern” camera (by then’s standards) is oddly funny to me. Was it a tape-only rule back then, or did I just imagine that based on what was around and affordable?
@@vwestlife Really…? I could have sworn it was something analog, judging by the picture and the audio noise flooor
"craig, that's the name of an ol' mate!"
"An ol' mate you can take with you"
"An ole mate u can trust"
An ol' mate you can bring with you in your ute.
An ol mate you give to the kids
So? As common as my name!
Dankpods will be delighted to see this
This video has a distinct 70s look to it, amazing.
...using a camcorder from 2011.
@@vwestlife Do you record to tape in the camcorder, or do you feed the signal to a capture device?
@@graealex It is not a tape camcorder. It records to internal flash memory.
@@vwestlife does it really just output 1440p like that
@VWestlife Could you do a review of the Wal-Mart Onn 7 inch tablet or the Amazon fire 7 tablet?
"OHHHH CRAAAAAIIIIIIG!" -Certain Australian person
We had Craig hifis in the US too. :p But yeah I don't think we had any iCraigs.
@@Aeduoafaik they weren’t sold in Aus, they were eBay finds
@@kaitlyn__L definitely sold in Aus, iirc Big W sold a few of their product lines
@@bgdwiepp fair enough, I just recall Wade seeing he’d never seen the brand before eBay. But being off in Adelaide, not everything from Sydney and Melbourne finds its way there!
Ol' mate Craig
Compton joke got me.
Came here for this comment. Well played, VWL
Brilliant
I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to read my copy of radio shacks “Guide to stereo high fidelity, 1974 edition” and now thanks to Craig, I’ve found that time!
The planets have to be aligned as well
How fitting that you used that Craig Hundley Trio album. I see what you did there! Also didn’t know that album was released on 8-track, it’s one of my favorites.
This was a hilarious video. Love the part about the demand ever increasing enough to warrant making replacement parts again. Thanks!
Craig's one handsome older fella, looks great with that silver hair and well-built chassis 😁
If he was a man he'd be the stranger played by Sam Elliott in The Big Lebowski
@@SharreIWright "There's about 10 people in the world who could wear that mustache, and he's 8 of them!" lmao
Sounding a bit objectum there, mate
A remarkably decent machine. You don't see many 8-track recorders in the UK, the format was all but dead by the time recorders were introduced.
Ah parts shrinkage, things gone floppy, and the ticker's knackered, we all share similar fates... :P
😂
Sounds like George Costanza
Craig really is one of us
🙄TMI buddy!
That's a good rendition of Heart Of Glass, you've had this 47years, "Do Not Remove The Screws" removes screws and opens another dimension
Nice work on the repairs. Those plastics can be a real downer for restoring older equipment. Keep the great content coming. :)
Prepare for a flood of dankpods jokes in the comments...
Ya called it...
Who?
@@qmto @DankPods
@joshm264 Define: "dankpods". Thank you!😀
@@markcovington8159 An Australian TH-camr who looks over audio gear, iPods, and such.
Didn't even know Craig was a brand back in the day, impressive. Also, great work with the restoration. 🙂
tangentially related, but I also recently learned that GPX, the makers of those atrociously bad "boomboxes" was also around for a while longer than I thought, and apparently the brand is short for "Gran Prix" [sic]
Yep! and it's always been kinda crap :P
They were more into car radio and CB.
Craig also made portable reel-to-reel tape recorders for home use, or for spies, like the one from “Mission: Impossible” where Mr. Phelps was using a tape recorder to play a tape where he was talking about a mission, and after that, the tape recorder was self destructed and burned up the entire machine.
I had one!
That soft eject is a really cool feature.
I fixed my plastic head housing using small gauge solid wire, wrapped it around the screw on top, then used xacto to put small grooves in the corners of the housing and wrapping the wire around and back to the screw on top.
It looks like there's also plenty of room to epoxy the wire to the plastic to _really_ make sure it never goes anywhere.
The wire reinforcement might be a good idea even if it's NOT broken yet.
"Lavatory-standard" got a LOL from me!
Loved it. Classic quote.
Seconded. I need to find a way to start using that term.
Can confirm 'lavatory standard'. Certron was excrement. Crappy tape media, crappy build quality. You know you're making a sh*t product when even K-mart's own house-branded cassette and 8-track blanks were better.
I'm told by some people than in the 1980s, Certron imrproved somewhat. I'll have to take their word for it.
good lord this video is amazing, this channel never misses
I had that one! Used it to make tapes for my Dad's 1977 Cutlass :)
Sweet a new video ! About Craig very interesting for a 8 track recorder and love the small VU meter too.
Another excellent video and your deadpan humour is sublime! Love it!
"It's the name of an old mate!"
-Wade
The light bulbs flickering is just perfect.
My parents used to make mix tapes on 8-tracks on their Pioneer recorder. My mom would even type up the track list on her typewriter. Used to listen to them in the car (1972 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight) as well as the house. We only needed to cram the matchbook on top of the tape to align the playhead in the car. Otherwise, we'd hear two songs at the same time.
"The Realistics" should have been on a tape sold by Radio Shack!
That oil-based timer thing is really nice. And the 8-track recorder of course. I swear, you have so much random interesting stuff!
As usual, another great video
Great episode. 😊 I have a collection of all-in-one stereos that include 8-track recorders so this episode will come in handy when I try to get them working. I'm sure all the old equipment needs new capacitors. super glue plastic repair, head alignment and new belts. I never owned an 8-track when they were new but now I'm interested in making them work again just for the retro vibe. Craig equipment was pretty good in their heyday, especially car stereos; a Craig AM-FM cassette radio with some Craig stereo speakers in the doors sure beat the factory AM mono radio that came in the car.
Wow! I cannot believe that this 8 track player was manufactured in the exact same year of 1976 and the month of October when I was born! This 8 track player and I are both turning 48 years old this month. Now I'm really feeling old! Lol 🤣🤣🤣
Imagine how Debbie Harry feels 🙂
Love it when you bring out stuff that I have or had in my posession like the mini amp and the demagnetizer. Brings back a touch of nostalgia. The use of period correct music is also a huge plus though in this case you really didn't have much of a choice!
well done VW, your recordings sound fantastic & nice touch with the period-correct radio shack stereo components....LOL Certron "lavatory standard" tape
Hi Craig! What a nice 8-track like You is doing in the place like this 🥰
Ahhh my namesake
I worked on items like this back when I was much younger
Hey, it's ol' mate, Craig!
You were certainly on fire with wit in this video!
I always enjoy your content - thanks from a Kiwi....
I inherited those 10” Realistic 3 way speakers pictured on the catalog. I have them on my living room setup and they still awesome. Lots of lows mids and highs. I have been jamming on those since my teen years and I am 47 now. You can do the math. But I never knew they were on the front page of the catalog. 1 yr before I was born. Dad always did buy the awesome for audio and video.
Had a Craig CB in my car. Was great!!
Although, Craig was big in the 70s, he made a small return. About a year ago, I found some cheap electronics, w/ his name, at BigLots (mostly boomboxes, clock radios and Bluetooth speakers).
When I was a kid we had the exact same speakers as in the stereo high fidelity magazine! The brand was Taimon, brought back many memories...
"You may have seen my list."
😂Had to pause the video to come and comment on my mirth
I worked in a lab for years and never thought of the "lavratory" joke.
My first 8 track was a hand me down portable player that had a single speaker and loaded from the side.
You should do the 2-XL Robot.
I’d never seen an 8-track recorder until a friend and mentor bought one back in the 70s and I saw it in his house as a kid. When he passed, I inherited his vintage stereo equipment including the (Sony) recorder. No idea if it actually works but it’s hooked into my 2-channel setup waiting for something to play.
Then find something and play it (as long as you replace the pads on the 8-track before playing them, or if you notice them crumbling after attempting to play them like I did), surprisingly all the antique/charity stores in my area have tons of tapes (because nobody buys them), and the really large antique mall in the next town over (largest in the state) has a full six-tier shelf built out of old wooden pallets for them, in their record room (plus stacks of them on the floor nearby)
@@ericdunn8718 I bought my first 8 track cartridge before getting a player. The format brought back memories of the school coach. Although people are correct it saying the format was dead in the U.K. by the mid 1970s, titles like "Music for the Motorway" show it was popular once.
My old man had an 8 track in his Landcruiser well into the late 80’s. Also, a reel to reel recorder with an 8 track slot in the side of the case.
Was that machine an Akai the one with 8-track and cassette in the same cabinet?
4:30 - I like the VU illumination flickering to the motor stalling, very disco-esque. 😆
10:21 - Imitation Blondie, and their famous hit "Heart of Plexiglass."
10:33 - The Boobie Brothers?
10:42 - The Knack-offs?
10:46 - "Le Freaque" by Cheek?
12:21 - I'd always recommend using clean foam swabs, or high-quality cotton swabs, over a cleaning cassette. Cleaning cassettes are more abrasive, and can cause unnecessary wear to the head. And, of course, when it comes to isopropyl alcohol, the higher percentage the better - nothing under 80%, and only the clear stuff, not the green-tinted mint stuff.
12:40 - As you've already stated, that is one VERY silent mechanism. With the actual wood shell back on, you probably couldn't even hear it at all!
13:48 - 🏳🌈🤣 "Send in the Clones."
Not a bad-sounding 8-track recorder at all, even with potentially-weak caps. It's a pity the timer can't easily be repaired.
Goodwill's got a Panasonic RS-806US for sale, and I'm really tempted to bid on it, despite already having that exact same model. Considering I already have a few 8-track decks, I can't really justify getting another one, especially if it's a duplicate.
I have this exact 8 track player and had the exact same head alignment issue. Otherwise, it’s been fantastic. It’s the best one I’ve owned.
How did you get so technological knowledgeable? I could listen to you all day
I know, right? 8-Track were never a thing where I live, but I could listen to VWestLife talk about 8-tracks all day.
Nice repair, looks like a solid 8 Track machine! It being a recorder makes it more advanced than most players and the timer is nice, that is if it actually worked. Great video!
Craig was your budget Car Stereo and they looked and sounded good. Pioneer / Craig 8 Track Car Stereo
And Craig was the worst brand behind Lloyd’s and other brands from the 1970’s. The good ones were Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer, Realistic and more where they made great 8-track players and recorders. The first one was Lear Jet from the mid 1960’s where they introduced the 8-track player as a portable machine. Muntz also jumped on the bandwagon on making 8-track players for both home and car, and also made 4-track tape cartridges and machines for cars, and used as broadcast carts.
I had a really nice Craig cassette car stereo back in the 80s.. It had separate bass and treble controls Dolby and soft eject with a nice silver face. It was much higher end than the home units.
Whoever made the Disco mix tape must have played that at their 1977 New Year's Eve party.
Great video. I don’t think I knew anyone that messed with recording their own 8 tracks.
This 8 track recorder was my first step into component stereo equipment, and I also had the Realistic amplifier as well. Thanks!!!
Those SA10 mini amps were little jewels. Not a lot of power, but hook up some decent speakers to them and they'll surprise you.
Watching that was an interesting bit of nostalgia. Craigs always seemed to be nicely styled.
My only 8-track was in a Sears AM/FM/8-Track/Record Player combo unit I took to college. A few years later, when my few 8-track's magnetic tape began to come apart, I stopped buying 8-tracks and began buying cassettes.
Seeing that Ampex tape at 1:32 bring back memories of when I bought a blank Ampex VHS tape the same time I bought my first VCR a Toshiba DX-7C. It was quite the machine.
Nice. 8-track is one of the few formats I've never heard in person. I would really like to see a video of your full audio equipment collection.
It sounds like a physically noisy, kinda crappy cassette deck. This is largely because it didn't survive long enough to get the nice tape formulations that cassettes eventually did.
Oooh, thanks for that slithery slick music tip at the end!
4:30 - the wobbliness in sound and flickering of the VU meters gives a feel of a point and click adventure game.
I really like how “heart of glass” sounded sped up like that, wish you had a whole recording of it to share!
You’re gonna love the nightcore genre
@@GroupNebula563 Got a suggestion for me to check out?
Wow, never seen these before although am very into retro. I have grownup with audio cassettes, VHS and analog radios but this was totally new. Even i have seen spools too but never heard of a 8track cassette. Love and respect from Pakistan 🇵🇰
Love your video's! You have such a lot of interesting stuff! Keep them coming 😉
The cheap stuff from yesteryear becomes today's top tier.
Ok, your jokes were cracking me up today!
"It's not straight outta Compton..." -- Made me chuckle. :)
the best glue for everything is shoegoo. i glue everything with it, and it stands everything, but you can release the glued without leaving any residue. its a miracle this glue :) holds even with the smallest surfaces that you want to glue and glues a wide variety of materials together :)
Ah, I think 12voltvids uses that song you had at the end as his intro song?
Yes.
to rough up or etch the capstan glue 400 grit sandpaper to the pinch roller of an empty 8 track cart, lowers W&F a lot. I've spent a lot of time fixing my Roberts 808D (Akai CD-81) recorder deck. cleaned and resoldered a lot of joints on the PC boards, full recap, replaced the 2SC458 output transistors with KCS1845s, transport clean/lube. Its the deck I compare all others to
Glad you had good luck with those supertape 8 tracks as i got some sealed nos ones a few years back and the tape tends to shed in them
my grandpa had one. along with the matching receiver
Some of those sound alike songs have a certain kind of charm about them.
I used to have the Craig, but it had problems that the plastic head assembly that was cracked which caused lack of alignment while recording over. That happened on later 8-track machines during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that had the dreadful plastic head assembly that were cracked or split.
I also had my Panasonic RS-803US which was a better improvement than this, and that’s doesn’t work anymore, because the motor died.
So, I upgraded to my Lafayette RK-890A 8-track recorder which is the same model I used to have, and I put a new belt, adjusting the head alignment, and it works. The only way to play an 8-track is to insert a cartridge, and it won’t play, but, it only has a play button where you can press Play, it plays the tape. You can’t pull the tape out of a player where you can hit the Stop button, and these were the two features that you don’t see them on an any of the 8-track players and recorders.
My 8-track experience was like my Reel to Reel experience. Found at yard sales when I was in middle school. If you get lucky and find a tape that is not worn all. I forgot I'm playing a 8-track. Until I heard the CLUNK to the next track. Also keep replacement pads ready. Some great articles on the internet about servicing your 8-track cart. Most of them I find need foam pad replacement and don't forget about the foil splice. Then ones I picked up as a kid. They was new enough that was #1 issue. If they just didn't jam up inside.
all we need now is a dank pods collab
I love the VU meters literally say "VU" on it and have a vague measurement. It looks like something that was phoned-in lol.
Nice and thorough service job, I loved that. Techmoan, eat your heart out!
Craig, doesn't he play bass in The Sisters of Mercy? Ha. I still miss Patricia.
Lovely lava lamp hourglass crossover, BTW.
Another Craig played Bas in boyband Bros and then became a successful music exec.
Good video just recently picked up a Relaistic TR-801 8 track here in Australia. Came with around 20 carts including 5 recorded blanks and few with the original cardboard box protectors. Needs abit of work to get working 100% but had it running so know it works at least.
While I really hope 8-track never has an honest revival (beyond the sale of certain replacement parts) it does have a special place in the hearts of people of a certain age. It was never a great format for a bunch of reasons, but when it was popular it was ubiquitous!
As a young child in the early 80s I loved messing with the 8-track decks and tapes my parents owned. In particular my mother had a portable GE 8-track player, the one with the single large speaker on it and you stuck the tape in the side. When on battery power if you moved the unit around while playing a tape you could get some massive wow and flutter effects which entertained me and my younger sister greatly at the time! Plus 8-track tapes (and cassettes too) playing on low batteries was also a trip.
As my friends and I got older in the late 80s a few of us put together "sample tapes" on cassette. I really wish I still had them now! They were each filled with 60-90 minutes of audio samples from live TV, movies and all manner of recorded media recorded loads of different ways. One of those things that if someone were to post the whole thing on TH-cam you would end up with a 1000 copyright claims in short order. Basically a huge collection of audio clips, and general wackiness of pre-teens of the late 80s. :)
I can think of one good use of 8-track, which probably was one of its uses back in the day. You could record four different songs to one tape and choose among them on the fly, then put the cartridge in another machine that will re-index it for the next play. Turn the otherwise highly annoying "four parallel recordings" model from a bug into a feature.
Have helped a lot of people make this repair in the easiest way, that will last forever and prevent any re-cracking or cracking in a different point. Basically, foil splice repair tape is the same width as the bracket and has a plastic base. You wrap the removed bracket a couple times tightly with foil tape, this forms a strong brace. With the top bracjet screw removed, you have the second wrap of foil end up just past the hole. Use a toothpick to pop a hole through the foil over the hole. Then put the screw back in. This licks the tape in place and prevents it slipping or loosening. Clean and regrease the shaft while the bracket is off then reinstall. This takes 30 min to do, so you dont have to wait for any compounds to set. This is faster and works better than fabricating a metal or wire band to secure the bracket or using a compound. Have repaired dozens this way. Would rather this method than trusting a new 3D printed one that takes longer and costs more.
Man!.. I was so upset you didn't read the radio shack guide... But then you showed the big Cobra on that album cover and totally made up for it!! 🤣👍🔥❤
That timer gearbox shot would've been really satisfying to watch had it been working properly.
Dale Jacobs- Cobra at the end! Nice!!
Yeah, it's a great album and years ago, I was lucky enough to find a near-mint condition LP album at my local Salvation Army Thrift Store for just a dollar. :)
My mom owned a Soundesign stereo with an 8 track recorder. I used to buy Memorex 90 minute cartridges & record vinyl records from the Library & local radio station running NBC Friday Night Videos in stereo. I got really good keeping it clean & running. Sadly I no longer have it.
I got an 8-track recorder from the Wahiawā Goodwill in the 80s. My first stereo recorder. I probably got a blank 8-track cassette from the nearby Radio Shack.
I also got an 8-track recorder off of eBay back in April, and it’s the same model that I used to have, and it’s a replacement of my Panasonic RS-803US, and it’s a Lafayette RK-890A from late 1971 according to the manufacturer date which was 12/28/71 which was four days before the new year of 1972. I did some minor fixes, including a new belt, some adjustments on the head including alignment and azimuth, cleaning the main unit, and it plays perfectly. It has two other features that you don’t see in an 8-track player like “Play” and “Stop” buttons, and when I load the tape, it will not run unless I hit “Play”, and it plays. After I finish, I pressed “Stop” and press “Eject” and spits the cartridge out. The Lafayette RK-890A is way better than Craig.
I really wish those electromagnetic bulk erasers and head demagnetisers were more common here in Australia. It's basically impossible to find a 220-240V option these days, and it's not feasible to step down the mains voltage for a 120V one, since they're typically rated for 5-8A, so you'd need a huge and expensive stepdown transformer, even if you only use them in short bursts.
Very entertaining VW. Lovely chunky buttons!
this is great, back to form. this is why i'm subscribed.
We had Lincoln Continentals with 8-track players in them back in the day. Had a 69, 72 and 76 all with them in it.
Well done Kev.
immediately yelled "CRAIG!" when i saw the video lol
SAME! i just HAD to say it out loud xDDD ❤
😁 ~ the only visual [eye-candy] things being the timer & analog meters on that 8-track deck, liked seeing the meters “swinging”
Oh, I got a CRAIG too... but he's different and I don't remember if he can record. I need to dig him up some day and finally fix him (everything was working fine in the tape mechanism but the line output was dead, not the headphone one though)
Great video again, and your jokes and puns cracked me up.
Thanks.
a friend of mine got a portable 8 track player. i found some 8 tracks at a thrift store and got them as joke gifts for christmas for them and his bday.
I'm not sure how much of a joke those would be, as I would really like that.
This reminds me of my Mother's Realistic 8-Track Recorder Model TR-884 that she Still has to this vey day. My aunt gave it to her in the early 80s and throughout the 80s and 90s she proudly displayed it in her living room and now it's stored at the basement of her home. That 8-Track Recorder was a whole lot less fancier than this one. Great Video!
The 70s was the "me" decade, so maybe there's also other first-name 8 track players out there... Great video, had a moment of panic when hearing about the plastic bracket, then relief when realizing my Realistic TR-882 & 888 used a future-proof metal head mount...
My OCD has a serious problem with that cluster of buttons being just a little bit wider than the cartridge compartment. 🙂
Search TH-cam for the Nakamichi 700 listed alongside the Craig deck. Absolute design bliss.
Great video
Ol' mate Craig back at it again.
"Straight outta Compton" XD that was great