8 Tracks

[kandeez]

I feel like of all the audio formats out there 8 tracks are the least mentioned. Like I have countless cassettes, vinyl records, and cds but I only have one 8 track and I can't even locate a player for it anywhere. Does anyone like them or collect them or play them?

Clearly I don't know much about them but they feel so obsolete. I might do some more research on them, but wanted to post here to see if anyone was into them and wanted to share knowledge...

[Melooon]

I'm not sure they ever existed in Ireland! I remember my mum seeing one in a movie once and being like "Whats that!"  It might be an economic thing, Ireland was still a really poor country then - however on the flip side of that I know my grandad had a cassette player in his car in the early 70s.. so it can't have been that weird..

At any rate; I've only ever seen one 8-track cartridge and that was in an antiques shop in Glasgow; they always seemed very crude compared to cassette tapes but there's a charm in that too 

I'm very jealous of techmoan's dynamite players!

Id also like to shout out the 4-track tape! Which is even more obscure and forgotten! Without it, we would not have many classic (if terrible sounding) Sebadoh recordings!

[Cobra!]

If you live in Europe, just go to the north of Italy and go into any thrift store, you're guaranteed to find at least a couple, the format was huge there. :P

8-tracks are interesting for sure. I don't have any reason to collect for it because of the time it came out, I'm not a fan of music from that time period. If I see any punk or rock albums on 8-track, sure, I might give it a whirl, but for now, not too fussed about it.

I've been told 8-track technology was in use by radio stations up until as recent as 2000, as they were perfect for playing short jingles and sound effects. Just get a very short tape with a recording, hit play, and it plays it, going straight back to the beginning and stops. Of course, this was made obsolete by computers, but it's nevertheless fascinating!

At any rate; I've only ever seen one 8-track cartridge and that was in an antiques shop in Glasgow; they always seemed very crude compared to cassette tapes but there's a charm in that too 

Oh hey, I live 30 minutes from Glasgow, do you by any chance remember what shop sold it?

They weren't very big here in Scotland either, it was more a mainland European/American thing.

[Inkerlink]

I feel like of all the audio formats out there 8 tracks are the least mentioned. Like I have countless cassettes, vinyl records, and cds but I only have one 8 track and I can't even locate a player for it anywhere. Does anyone like them or collect them or play them?

Clearly I don't know much about them but they feel so obsolete. I might do some more research on them, but wanted to post here to see if anyone was into them and wanted to share knowledge...

I don't collect them or anything, but we have an 8track player and some albums out at our cottage that has been there for decades. I think it was brought out by my great grandfather when the cabin was originally built and then inherited by my grandparents. It still works and sounds great! I always loved the crazy spherical shape of it, very retro-futuristic. 

[Cobra!]

Oh wow! That looks amazing! I would totally love a player like that!

[doubleincision]

I don't collect them or anything, but we have an 8track player and some albums out at our cottage that has been there for decades. I think it was brought out by my great grandfather when the cabin was originally built and then inherited by my grandparents. It still works and sounds great! I always loved the crazy spherical shape of it, very retro-futuristic. 

oh hey a Weltron! these things are so cool. peak 70s scifi-inspired design. that little metal loop at the top was intended to be used to hang the thing from the ceiling, and i think that's so fun and silly. this page has pictures of the Weltron next to a JVC VideoSphere TV, which for some reason was also designed to be hung from the ceiling. i guess in the 70s, they thought the future was gonna be all about having all the crap in your house hung up like potted plants

[lulu]

I always thought 8 track was just a transition format, something between vinyl records and cassettes. I know better now of course, there were specific uses, like the jingles @Cobra! mentioned and stuff like the MB OMNI game system that techmoan covered. Also, they were probably the only option for listening to albums in your car for a while. I wonder if that was their main use?

If they were so popular, how come I never see them in thrift/record shops?? My buddy has a record store with a very small stack of them, they never come in. But I also don't see much of a collectors market. So, where ARE all the old 8 tracks?

When I was a young kid I remember seeing tape guts all over the road, I'm guessing car cassette decks would eat tapes & people would just.. throw them out the window in frustration? So my silly theory is that 80% of all 8 track cartridges met the same fate long ago 

I have one though! It was mostly purchased as a joke, but I think it's kinda cool, because it's shrink wrapped and still has a sleeve! I'd never even seen an 8 track with it's original packaging before

[bugholder's epiphany]

I don't know much about 8 Track players but from what i'm seeing on here they seem pretty darn neat honestly

I remember learning about them due to Pink Floyd. There's a song split in two on the album 'Animals', called 'Pigs On The Wing', which plays at the beginning and end of the album. For whatever reason, they had to change the song order, so both parts were put at the beginning of the 8-Track release of Animals. Rather than leave them as is, though, they connected both parts with an extended guitar solo.