A new release on an old format, you know Techmoan already has his copy

30 years ago is only 1991 now, it's crazy.

8-track was a superior format compared to cassette because 8-track cartridges make better ice scrapers.

Ever since you've put this soundesign on KZfaq, the value shot up.

Out of the thousands out there, "Indie Infused Lo-Fi Instrumental Chill Pop" is a new genre I never heard of. Haha! I was expecting Vaporwave, but nope.

Besides VHS, they show Viewmaster. Hey, Savannah Grand, release it on Viewmaster, too! 🤪

That was a great way to roll into 2021...thank you for another great entertaining and informative video!

Just checked and they had two 8-tracks and eight cassettes left. Bought one of each.

I agree on a VHS release. VHS hi-fi on properly working equipment has much better fidelity than most any other consumer analog format. If ripping and burning CDs and later MP3s hadn't become common, maybe hi-fi VHS could've become a way to make better recordings at home.

Soundesign, York, Craig and Lloyd's was for those who were too cheap to buy Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic/Technics.

The reason why the track changes had the fades and pauses on original tapes is because of the way the tapes were duplicated. They were duplicated on reel to reel like machines, and then the tape was spliced and wound into the shells and sensing foil was applied. Additionally, all four programs were duplicated at once with an 8-channel head. The silence allowed for a margin of error in this process. Seamless track changes would require very precise splicing of the tape, something these high-speed duplicating machines were not capable of. These smaller releases are likely duplicated in real time on a home recorder one program at a time with the tape in the shell, allowing for seamless track changes.

Wow!! My grandparents had the full Soundesign setup with that exact deck. Brought back memories immediately. I remember sneaking in and playing with the buttons... turning it on and getting in trouble from the scratchy volume knob giving me away 😄

In 80's, Soundesign was the barrel-bottom brand sold at KMart. They usually had the cassette, AM/FM, turntable, speakers in one package. If the cassette died, you were stuck with a system that had a broken cassette.

That's how I've always recorded 8 tracks. Just let it run, no fade outs, no rearranging tracks, just recording straight through and if it changes tracks suddenly right in the middle of a song, so be it.

price rise rage - the Techmoan effect!

I suspect the original 8 track fade out and in was probably because they were dubbing them at high speed and if they were a bit off in the timing you'd end up with a jumble of track content right at the splice. I always liked the way you could get a mostly interrupted track change on a real-time recorded one.

I remeber my bother and I had an 8-track tape-to tape recorder. The run through of songs was a thing you do to get the most out of your tapes. We did learn how to fade in and out, but mostly did run and gun like was done on this tape.

Ohhh cool based in Florida! Always glad to support local music I'm going to have to get a release of theirs for sure.

I have about 10 of Those audiopak tapes in white that my dad recorded on about 50 years ago. Still work and sound good to this day...

It may be a sound design but it is a beautiful unit and well worth the money now day I see the price of it going up a little higher

REALLY good to see you got the 8-track part working again. This is one of my favourite 8-track decks because of that digital track indicator.

Happy new Year VWestlife, thanks for all the videos this past year and my best wishes to you.

Right at 7:22, it changed from program two to three w/ minimal interruption. So now fade-out/fade-in split tracks here!

That amazing song at 6:46 is called "I Couldn't Think Up A Title For This Track, So Here It Is"

Happy new year from Malaysia, VWestlife.

I wonder if 8 tracks will be the next retro format to make a comeback? that would be cool. The 8 track is sold out now, but the music is actually pretty interesting and something i wouldn't not listen to, so I might have bought one lol.... I can definitely understand not wanting to take the time to make 4 sets of songs fit snugly on each track, even with a time calculator I find it to be a lot of work making mix 8 tracks. It's still fun though lol

That is cool. There has been an 8-track following community for some years now, maybe 10 or more, before the cassettes. Happy new year!

It was probably produced with Garage Band or Logic.

In 2022, They Might Be Giants released 250 copies of their most recent album (Book) on 8-track.

Thank you for introducing me the band, i really enjoy their stuff and looking for more

I love Band Camp. I bought Tim Staffell's "Two Late" on CD from his Band Camp and it's a really good listen.

What a trip down memory lane... Thanks!

Although I would have never paid that for the unit, I'm happy they got what they wanted for them. I thought your tape sounded great. This is one of the best bass response tapes I heard in this format. Thank you for sharing.

So now there is a VWestlife effect to go with the techmoan effect. Please do a video on Technics sl-10 and sl-7..I have 2 each I am restoring and would like top dollar. :D Happy new year 2021!

All these old formats getting a revival I am desperate to see Laserdisc make a return.

We lived on 8 tracks back in the 70s, especially in cars and with portable players. Glad to see 8 tracks in 2021.

I have Ghosts live album Ceremony and Devotion (2017) and Prequelle (2018) on 8-track. I feel AC/DC dropped the ball by not releasing there 2020 album power up on 8-track. They released it on cassette,Vinyl,CD and digital download but not 8-track. We need some new music on reel to reel.

came here for retro tech, left with a new artist rec ;)

Now THERE’S a business model destined to succeed.

Good video. Also interesting on the Dolly Parton 8-track Christmas release.

they sound pretty good.....its cool to hear on 8-track as well..when i was a kid i had a nice portable 8 track with a shoulder strap...loved it.

Starting the new year with a new vid. Nice!

That's really cool. Plus seeing the vhs and view master slide disks on there along with cassette on label . a new 8 track . very cool.

That was awesome of them to do that along with other artists that also done that... I might down load the stream and record it onto my own 8 track tape...

I worked at a radio station in the late 80’s. Part of my job was to copy the commercials and song singles from reels or records to Fidelipac cartridges or carts - basically an 8-track cartridge with only one, big track. After magnetically erasing the cart I would have to listen to the blank cart until I heard the ‘wow’ from the tape splice. Then I would stop the playback and the cart was ready to record. You didn’t want your commercial or song to have that ‘wow’ in the middle of playback. There was an inaudible tone put at the start of each track so when the commercial or song was over the tape would continue to play until the deck detected the tone and would stop the tape. In that way the tape was all cued up and ready for the next time it was needed.

Whenever I recorded on the Realistic 8tracks usually the 90 minute ones, I would just let it switch while still playing, easier that way. Usually was able to fit 2 records on one cartridge. 45 minutes between two track switches..like recording on a 90 minute cassette. Good times! Lol

Wow, bring back the 8 tracks, cassettes, and VHS tapes!

That unexpected track change is so aesthetic

Fixed a old 8 track recorder from the early 80s a few weeks ago,recorded a few pink floyed songs over a old perry como tape that I got from fle Market for 25 cents sounds great.

Mark Ronson released an 8 track about a year or two a go. It was made by this guy who uses old 8 tracks, peels off the old labels, tapes over them and puts new labels on them.

"what this would have originally COME with"

I didn't know 8-tracks could sound so good.

you can use baking soda as a super glue "activator". will add some body to the joint as well

cool back to THE classics

Wonder if they’ll ever be a day that we can buy new 8-track equipment and tape cartridges again? Awesome thanks!

Sweet man,that is so awesome 👌, keep up the good work man

"Emo Cow Records" That's the most interesting Record Label I have ever heard.

That super glue reminds me of "Bob Smith Insta-Cure" which is the same principle, but comes in different viscosities, can highly recommend !

Track 2 definitely has bass. I was watching this in my car (not driving) and my subwoofer went crazy lol.

Ahh Audiopak, we used Audiopak carts at our stations. once went to pick up pallets of them at their plant in the early 1990's in Winchester Virginia.

I bought TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL by STRYPER on 8 track from COLUMBIA HOUSE RECORD CLUB in 1989, that was the last year COLUMBIA HOUSE RECORD CLUB carried 8 track tapes

I find it interesting that they sent it to you in a Caseology box, which was probably what they had lying around to send it to you in. 1:06 🥴 1:48 They probably used Logic Pro, which is basically the pro version of GarageBand.

The audio sounds pretty good considering that all is retro of the past. Beautiful deck.

Very cool! A local band called Ocean City Defender (which is a fantastic band name if you get the reference) did a very small run of their EP on 8-track a few years ago, but the sound quality was pretty bad unfortunately. I didn't get the details on how they did the duplication, but Savannah Grand did a great job.

Happy New Years to you Sir. Love your channel man. It's awesome 👌

Lol...My first stereo was a Soundesign paid for with money earned from mowing lawns. I ended up selling it to my sister who also yielded many years out of it.

The only problem I see with not fading between track changes is if, say in 25 or so years you have to redo the sensor splice, you're going to lose some music.

Just in today, another 2021 8-track release. Comedy band Power Salad (heard on The Dr Demento Show) has released their 2017 LP "Vaudeville" on 8-track. So it's been on lathe-cut vinyl and now on 8-track, though still not CD! So if there are any tapeheads still out there, this is your area! More info at powersalad.bandcamp.com/album/vaudeville

It's actually very good music, I like it a lot! It's better than what I was expecting!

Mr. VW may jump-start the old 8-Track era. If you couple that with the new genre: "Indie infused Lo-Fi instrumental Chill Pop", then we have something to look forward to post-Covid.

Happy new year to all of you :-)

Yes! I saw the video just one hour after it was released

The cartridge format was used extensively in radio well into the 90s because it was high fidelity tape, running at 7 ips that always stopped at the start of the commercial, jingle or song. Referred to as carts, an inaudible stop tone laid down when you started recording on it meant the tape was always cued up to be ready for the next play, (unless the last person using it pulled it out of the cart machine before it hit the stop tone). There was also an optional secondary tone, called a sec tone that would trigger the next event in an automation system. Carts were made in 20, 40, 70 second lengths for short bits like commercials, and up to several minutes for music. Many stations had everything on carts because it was the most convenient format. The 7 ips tape speed meant the frequency response was pretty good, up to 15kHz, the upper limit of FM broadcast sound.

looks like I need to pick up my own copy,as soon as I can get a 8 track player.

Really liked the tunes!

I might have already commented on here before that 8tracks are my 1st go to format then cd & then vinyl...growing up my parents only had 8tracks in the 60's & 70's...i recently bought a brand new 8track player with cd & usb as well as a dual cd/8track for my Explorer...theyve never stopped making 8tracks...i recently got the latest McCartney..Sting..Gary Numan on 8track & Cheap Trick put out 1 of their recent albums on 8track too...i was playing an 8track the other day & the person thought I was playing a cd or vinyl...they were amazed 2 find out it was an 8track...8tracks sound great if u take care of them like u do with cds or vinyl & if u take care of your player....i know a lot of people who luv 8tracks & is their go 2 format....

That's a gorgeous combo machine. I'd love the Sanyo one you showed briefly during the last video, but it turns out they only sold them in the US and Japan, and shipping something that heavy to the UK, only for it to probably turn up in pieces, isn't really an option. So I'll just have to enjoy these decks vicariously via the power of KZfaq! The quality of that recording surprised me tbh. Like most people I'm used to 8-track being quite muddy and warbly compared to vinyl, but I now wonder how much of that is just down to ageing tape and badly aligned decks.

It has a bit of the Stranger Things intro vibe to it.

thats the beauty of getting old I no longer hear above 13k so I don't hear tape hiss anymore, the 8 track sounded fine to me :)

The bass sounds good sounds nice overall

I Will Take 8-Tracks Over Cassettes Any Day! I Still Play My AC/DC - Back In Black (1980) & Judas Priest - British Steel (1980) 8-Tracks I was given to by My Older Cousin Joe, who bought then Brand New when they were both released in 1980! Once in a while so My 1978 Panasonic 8-Track Stereo Recorder/Player does not Cease Up & Quit On Me, I Record & Play 8-Tracks On It A Few Times Now & Then! By The Way, Back in the Late 1990s when Brand New CD Album Prices srarted to Drop, I bought both Back In Black & British Steel on CD Format because I Decided That I Did Not Want To Wear Out those 2 8-Tracks! I Play These 2 Albums A Lot Still & That is Why I bought Them Both on CD Format! I Put My Lee Aaron - Fire And Gasoline CD (2016) Onto An 8-Track and It Sounds EXCELLENT RECOREDED ON MY PANASONIC, JUST LIKE MY PRERECORDED AC/DC & Judas Priest 8-Tracks! Very Amazing How You Still Were Able to Buy A Brand New Album On 8-Track Format These Days! Good Luck & All The Best In New Year 2021!

Back in the 90's I used to put new music on 8 tracks all the time. I would even get music off my vcr to 8track

HAPPY NEW YEAR VWESTLIFE.

If you like stuff like this, check out Dead Media Tapes on Facebook - facebook.com/deadmediatapes/ or @deadmediatapes on Instagram (featured on Techmoan a couple times). Entering our 15th year of manufacturing 8 tracks and reel to reel tapes for locals and international artists such as Mark Ronson, Alice Cooper, Ghost, Lemon Demon, and also existing as a label of its own with various genre releses. About to make a run for a legendary 70s punk band but can't mention it now. So be sure to follow and stay tuned.

Now I want to restore my eight track. I also have a QUAD 8track built into a 7"reel to reel.

I have some of the higher-end 8-track decks, such as the Wollensak 8075A, 8055, and 8050, Pioneer H-R 99, Akai/Roberts 808D... however, my most used 8-track player is a Soundesign 4411 AM/FM/8-track. I have it hooked up as a deck to the stereo. Has no extra features, but sound quality is decent, and I have plenty of parts for it as the transport they used is common among the lower-end players.

VHS! VHS!

Btw, a permanent fix for the plastic head bracket crack is to wrap sensing foil tape 2 or 3 times around the frame of the bracket. Like a brace. No other corners will ever crack. Pop a hole in the top with a toothpick where the screw goes and put the scree in which will make sure the sensing foil tape never comes off, like a stake. Done this with 15 or 20 decks in the past.

Their music is actually pretty good! I’m gonna check them out. Maybe not on 8-track though lol

There's a very simple reason for the short interruption: It was actually recorded with an 8-track recorder unlike the mass-produced 8-tracks of former decades. This is also the reason, why your tapes sounds so good and the tracks are well aligned. Back in the days, the 8-track tapes were duplicated by the use of special reel-to-reel machines with 8-track tape heads. The machines would run at high speed, likely around 16x, and record the album several times onto the final tape. Normally, they would use a low-frequency timing signal to indicate where the tape should be later cut. Because the cutting position was never that precise, you would have to leave some blank space before and after to ensure everything was there in the end. The final step was then to actually wind the pre-recorded tape into the final cartridge. Even though it was mass product, rejection rates used to be pretty high.

Reel to Reel was discontinued by Columbia House in 1984 and replaced with the compact disc option

A second run of the cassette tapes is up for pre-order on the CTT bandcamp.

Beta stereo would have a way better sound than vhs. Played back through a good sony beta player, it would be very good.

9:15 - And you're not going to ask for a ViewMaster release? It's on the cover too! LOL That's a nice transition from Program 2 to Program 3. Like you, I remember "the fade" and honestly, I like it better without the fade. Man, my John Denver "Rocky Mountain High" tape always got stuck right after the Program change - right smack dab in the middle of "Goodbye Again" from Program 1 to 2, that's the only song they jumped across Programs with, and I used to sing along right up to the word that it would stop on, and then have to mess with the tape to get it whirring on again, whirring up the lyrics as I went along. It took me a while to learn to sing it normally after I bought the cassette! LOL

very educational video's well explained

4:52 I’ve never used that product before, but I know their epoxy works well. It looks like the “activator” (heptane) softens the plastic so the super glue (cyanoacrylate) works even better. Good idea.

PS most of our tapes retail $18-$40 depends on the artist. We have a rock n roll comp coming out this month!

just subscribed. Got sucked in with 8 track and sound design. Really tired of pundits disrespecting Sound Design. May not be a Macintosh, but they filled a niche for people my age back in the 70's whom desperately wanted a stereo, but had no funds. That is a particularly nice unit you have. I keep banging on my old 8 track gear. Plastic head mount breakage is a big deal.

Listening this on Sony lbt-xb80av and it sounds amazing and the bass is so deep and clean

LOL..my first stereo was a sound design,with a cheap BSR turntable and lookalike allegro speakers with a fake tweeter.